ATHLETICS
Activity 4. Let’s make a
Flipchart
CAPUNO, ERMELA RHOS B.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND HEALTH
ATHLETICS
Athletics is a group of sporting events that
involves competitive running,
jumping, throwing, and walking. The most
common types of athletics competitions
are track and field, road running, cross
country running, and race walking.
THROWING EVENTS
Throwing events are amongst the oldest in track
and field athletics. Where competitors once threw
rocks and spears, they now use the shot and javelin.
Throwing events require great strength and
throwers are usually the biggest athletes in any
athletic competition. There are four recognized
throwing events in modern track and field athletics:
the shot put, the discus, the javelin and the
hammer.
SHOT PUT
The shot put has been an Olympic sport since 1896 and
involves pushing or putting a heavy metal ball called a shot
out of a 7-foot diameter concrete circle. The shot weighs 16
lbs. in men's competitions and 8.8 lbs. for women. The two
main methods used in shot put are the spin and the glide.
Most top putters use the spin method. The men's world
record for the shot is 23 meters, 12 centimeters -- or 75 feet
and 10 inches, and is held by American Randy Barnes, as of
2010. The women's world record of 22 meters, 63
centimeters -- or 74 feet and 3 inches, is held by Natalya
Lisovskaya of Russia.
DISCUS
Discus throwing has been a sport since ancient Greece circa
708 B.C. and consists of throwing a heavy circular disc as far
as possible. Up until 1906, the discuss was thrown from an
elevated pedestal but modern discuss throwers use a circle
similar in size and design to shot putters. Discus throwing
was featured in the first Olympics in 1896 and was one of the
fist women's Olympic events in 1928. Men throw a discuss
weighing 4 lb., 7 oz. while women's discus weighs 2 lb., 3 oz.
Discus throwers use rotational throwing technique, which
can see the discuss flying to distances as far as 250 feet.
JAVELIN
Javelin throwing was once an integral part of ancient
warfare and the farther a warrior could hurl a javelin, the
greater his standing in the army. The first men's Olympic
javelin event was in 1908 and in 1932 for women.
Originally made of wood, modern javelins are made of
metal. Men's javelins weigh 800 g and women's javelins
weigh 600 g. Javelins can be thrown huge distances and
have had to be redesigned as athletes were generating
throws in excess of the length of modern athletics stadium.
Javelin throwing is the only track and field throwing event
that allows a run up.
HAMMER
The hammer throwers of old used to throw blacksmiths
hammers. The hammer used in modern competition does
not really resemble a hammer and consists of a heavy
metal ball and a long wire handle. The hammer is thrown
from a 7-foot diameter concrete circle after the thrower
has spun around three or four times. The hammer used in
men's competitions weighs 16 lbs. and the hammer used
by women weighs 8.82 lbs. The men's world record is held
by Yuriy Sedykh and measures 86.76 meters, as of 2010.
The women's world record is 78.30 and is held by Anita
Wlodarczyk of Poland.
RUNNING EVENTS
Track running events
are individual or relay events with athletes
racing over specified distances on an oval
running track. The events are categorized
as sprints, middle and long-distance,
and hurdling
SHORT DISTANCE OR SPRINTS
A sprint is a short running race. In a track and field competition
there are generally three different sprint distances: 100m, 200m,
and 400m. The original Olympic event, the stadion race, was a
sprint of around 180m. A sprint race starts out with the runners
in starting blocks in their lane. The official will say "on your
marks". At this point the racer should be focused on the track,
have their feet placed in the blocks, fingers on the ground behind
the starting line, hands slightly wider than shoulder width,
muscles relaxed. Next the official will say "Set". At this point the
runner should get their hips slightly above shoulder level, feet
pushed hard into the blocks, holding their breath and ready to
race. Then there is the bang and the race has started.
MIDDLE DISTANCE
The middle distance races are the 800m, the
1500m, and the 1 mile long runs. These races
require different skills and tactics to win that
the sprints. They rely more on endurance and
pacing than just pure speed. Also, the runners
don't stay in a single lane for the entire race.
They start out in staggered lanes, to make the
distance the same for each runner, but the race
soon becomes open with no lanes and the
runners must to pass around each other to gain
the lead.
LONG DISTANCE
There are three main long distance races:
the 3000m, the 5000m, and the 10,000m
races. These races are similar to the middle
distance races, but the emphasis is even
more on correct pacing and endurance.
HURDLES
A hurdles race is one in which obstacles are
placed at intervals along the track that the
runners must jump over on their way the finish
line. Typical hurdle races are the 100m and 400m
for women and 110m and 400m for men.
Timing, footwork, and technique are key in
wining hurdles events. Of course you still need
to be fast, but jumping the hurdles in stride
without much slowing down is how to win in the
hurdles.
RELAYS
Relay races are where teams of runners compete
against each other. There are typically 4 runners
and 4 legs to the race. The first runner starts with
the baton and runs the first leg handing off to the
second runner. The hand off must typically take
place within a given area of the track. The second
then hands off to the third and the third to the
fourth. The fourth runner runs the final, or anchor,
leg to the finish line. Common relay races are the
4x100m and the 4x400m.
