Athletics
Athletics is running, jumping, throwing and walking. It has sprints, hurdles, middle and long-distance races, the steeplechase and relays on the track; the high jump, pole vault, long jump and triple jump; the shot put, discus, hammer and javelin; combined events such as the decathlon and heptathlon, scored on points across several events; and road running and race walking. A race is won by the fastest time, a throw or jump by the best valid mark.
New to athletics? Start here
Which to watch first, and how long
Start with Sprints. The shortest races: one start, one finish line, over in seconds.
- Sprints
- Races on the track from 100 m to 400 mWinners at Paris 2024: 9.79 s (men's 100 metres) to 48.17 s (women's 400 metres)
- Middle and long distance
- Track races from 800 m to 10,000 mWinners at Paris 2024: 1 min 41 s (men's 800 metres) to 30 min 43 s (women's 10,000 metres)
- Hurdles
- Races over barriers, 100 m (women), 110 m (men) and 400 mWinners at Paris 2024: 12.33 s (women's 100 metres hurdles) to 50.37 s (women's 400 metres hurdles)
- Relays
- Teams of four, 4 × 100 m and 4 × 400 mWinners at Paris 2024: 37.50 s (men's 4 × 100 metres relay) to 3 min 15 s (women's 4 × 400 metres relay)
- Jumps and throws
- Three trials each, then three more for the top eight
- Road running and race walking
- Road races up to the marathon; walks on the roadWinners at Paris 2024: 1 hr 19 min (men's 20 kilometres walk) to 2 hr 51 min (mixed marathon walk relay)
- Combined events
- The decathlon (ten events over two days) and the heptathlon (seven)
Lengths are from the rule book.
The big events, and why they matter
- 1Olympic Games (athletics)The title every athletics event is measured by.Every 4 years · Holder: 48 events; the United States led the medal…
- 2World Athletics ChampionshipsThe sport's own world title in every event.Every 2 years · Holder: Tokyo 2025, 13 to 21 September: 49 events
- 3Diamond League and FinalThe top one-day meeting series, ending in a Final.Yearly · Holder: 32 champions of 2026
- 4Asian Games (athletics)Asia's multi-sport title; for India often the most reachable major medal.Every 4 years · Holder: 50 events; China led with 17 golds
How the tournaments are graded
Outside the Olympics and the World Championships, the year's one-day meetings are graded. The Diamond League is the top series, ending in the Diamond League Final. Below it, the World Athletics Continental Tour has four levels: Gold, Silver, Bronze and Challenger, set by the quality of the field and the prize money; there are 11 Gold meetings in 2026.
The grade matters to athletes because the world rankings give more points for a place at a higher-graded meeting: a Diamond League meeting counts with the World Indoor Championships, and a Continental Tour Gold meeting with the Asian and Commonwealth Games.
India
- Athletics at the Olympic Games: 4 medals: Norman Pritchard's two silvers (1900); Neeraj Chopra's gold (Tokyo 2020) and silver (Paris 2024) in the javelin
- World Athletics Championships: 3 medals: Anju Bobby George, long jump bronze (2003); Neeraj Chopra, javelin silver (2022) and gold (2023)
- Diamond League: 1 title: Neeraj Chopra, javelin, 2022
Countries to know
India and the nations that have done best, biggest titles first.
- IndiaAthletics at the Olympic Games: 1 gold, 3 silvers (latest 2024); Athletics at the Asian Games: 86 golds, 111 silvers, 110 bronzes (latest 2026)
- United StatesAthletics at the Olympic Games: 359 golds, 281 silvers, 225 bronzes (latest 2024); World Athletics Championships: 211 golds, 139 silvers, 119 bronzes (latest 2025)
- ChinaWorld Athletics Championships: 20 golds, 29 silvers, 29 bronzes (latest 2025); Athletics at the Asian Games: 216 golds, 193 silvers, 131 bronzes (latest 2026)
- Great BritainAthletics at the Olympic Games: 56 golds, 87 silvers, 77 bronzes (latest 2024); World Athletics Championships: 33 golds, 43 silvers, 50 bronzes (latest 2025)
Who runs it
| Rules made by | World Athletics, Competition and Technical Rules, 2026 Edition |
| International federation | World Athletics |
| In India | Athletics Federation of India (AFI): recognised, on the MYAS list for 2026 |
Where and when it is played
In a stadium, on a track with the field events inside it, and on roads for the marathon, other road races and race walking. The big events: the Olympic Games every four years, the World Athletics Championships every two years and the Diamond League every year.