For the American League baseball team based in Oakland, California see Oakland Athletics.

Athletics, also known, especially in American English, as track and field or track and field athletics, is a collection of sport events, which can roughly be divided into running, throwing, and jumping. The word is derived from the Greek word "athlon" meaning "contest".

History

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Athletics was the original event at the first Olympics back in 776 BC where the only event held was the stadium-length foot race or "stade". There were several other "Games" held throughout Europe in the classical era:

• The Pythian Games (founded 527 BC) held in Delphi every four years
• The Nemean Games (founded 516 BC) held in Argolid every two years
• The Isthmian (founded 523 BC) held on the Isthmus of Corinth every two years (one year being that which followed the Olympics)
• The Roman Games – Arising from Etruscan rather than purely Greek roots, the Roman Games deemphasized footraces and throwing. Instead, the Greek sports of chariot racing and wrestling, as well as the Etruscan sport of gladiatorial combat, took center stage.

Other peoples enjoyed athletic contests, such as the Celts, Teutons and Goths who succeeded the Romans. However, these were often related to combat training, and were not very well organized. In the Middle Ages the sons of noblemen would be trained in running, leaping and wrestling, in addition to riding, jousting and arms-training. Contests between rivals and friends may have been common on both official and unofficial grounds. Many athletic sports have found favour in Europe throughout the ages. However, in Britain they fell out of favour between the 13th and 16th centuries due to government restrictions on sports aiming to reduce the practice of archery. After this ban was lifted in the 17th century sports began to flourish once more, but it was not until the 19th century that organization began to appear. This included the incorporation of regular sports and exercise into school regimes. The Royal Military College, Sandhurst has claimed to be the first to adopt this in 1812 and 1825 but without any supporting evidence. The earliest recorded meeting was organised at Shrewsbury, Shropshire in 1840 by the Royal Shrewsbury School Hunt. There are details of the meeting in a series of letters written 60 years later by CT Robinson who was a pupil there from 1838 to 1841.

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@ndobregon3 i've never seen anyone vie for so much attention from random athletes haha
Maxwell_Cabello (Maxwell Cabello) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:43:07 -0000
@ndobregon3 i've never seen anyone vie for so much attention from random athletes haha
CRAZY Trick Athletes are Using to get CUT without Steroids... It actually works. http://tinyurl.com/ye2fm5p
AffiliateKnight (Robert Knight) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:40:51 -0000
CRAZY Trick Athletes are Using to get CUT without Steroids... It actually works. http://tinyurl.com/ye2fm5p
Meghan Berlingo and Jared Karstetter Named WSUCougars.com Student-Athletes of the Week http://bit.ly/18Q0k
WSUCougars_com (WSU Cougar Athletics) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:40:07 -0000
Meghan Berlingo and Jared Karstetter Named WSUCougars.com Student-Athletes of the Week http://bit.ly/18Q0k
RT @brianbolter: Professional athletes should wear their annual salaries instead of numbers. Cheering would immediately adapt to scale.
nancy_xx (Nancy Hughes) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:39:04 -0000
RT @brianbolter: Professional athletes should wear their annual salaries instead of numbers. Cheering would immediately adapt to scale.
If its a boy that's cool too cuz mix kids make good athletes...look @ the rock
UnKutKane (K'Juan Don) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:38:30 -0000
If its a boy that's cool too cuz mix kids make good athletes...look @ the rock
Lazarus: NCAA needs justice: Too often throughout collegiate sports do student-athletes get treated as athletes.. http://bit.ly/1Bpbw9
UKBIGBLUENATION (CHIP MILLER) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:38:05 -0000
Lazarus: NCAA needs justice: Too often throughout collegiate sports do student-athletes get treated as athletes.. http://bit.ly/1Bpbw9

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