Introduction: The History of Athletics
Dicas Educação Física has prepared a summary of the long and fascinating history of athletics. You’ll see in this post: Where, when and how Athletics came about, how it came about, the origin of the word Athletics, the ancient modalities of Athletics, its Olympic history and the curiosities of the long history of this fascinating sport.
Where athletics originated
O Athletics originated in Greece old. Since the beginning of mankind’s existence, man has been motivated by the desire to compete. As a result, various disciplines have been developed to feed this need, one of which is athletics.
The origin of the name Athletics
The wordathletics is derived from the Greek root ATHI, which means competition.
How athletics came about
The emergence of athletics is linked to the fantastic Greek mythology, since Homer, in his epic poem, the Iliad, tells us that Achilles held sporting competitions, in one of his passages, the poet mentions a race “Son of Oileus, and Ájax took the lead, on his steps the divine Ulysses threw himself…”. The Greeks used to hold sports competitions to honor the gods and pay homage to visitors.
When athletics came about
Athletics emerged in 776 BC, but as early as 884 BC, Pythia suggested that the king of Elida, Iphitus, bring back the games so that the gods could put an end to the plague that was hitting the Peloponnese. However, these games were only recorded 108 years later.
Video History of Athletics
The disciplines of ancient athletics
Athletics was one of the sports that formed part of the ancient Olympic games, initially subdivided into three (3) disciplines:
The race:
The Race is one of the most traditional events in athletics and world sport. It was run in a stadium over a 192.27-metre course, which the Greeks gave a peculiar name, calling it the 600 feet of Hercules, as a way of paying homage to the demigod.
According to Homer, the first race to be considered a sporting event was organized by Hercules, who, after completing his 12 labors, took up residence on the island of Crete and built his stadium, in which sporting events were held.
Initially, the race was run over two laps of the track, which they called diualo. Later, they started to run longer races consisting of 12 complete laps, which they called dólico.
The origin of the starting block
Runners used to make holes in the ground to get a better boost at the start of the race. Hence the origin of what we know today as the starting block in athletics.
Launches
In ancient times, throws were made from the Discobolo, which was a barrier made of earth on which the athletes stood to make their throws.
Throws were made with darts, which were approximately 1.80m long and contained a sharp iron part at their tip, which helped the spear to pierce the ground, so that the distance reached during the throw could be measured.
In addition to darts, throws were also made with stones and iron or bronze disks.
Heels
Jumping was one of the disciplines of ancient athletics and is still practiced today. In them, athletes could run to the line and jump so that their feet didn’t touch the line separating the track from where they were supposed to fall.
Each competitor could jump three times and the winner of the race was the one who achieved the greatest distance in the jump. This distance was the sum total of the three jumps.
The end of athletics
After the Romans took Greece in the 1st century AD, the games continued, but they were more recreational than competitive. In addition, the athletes were not free citizens, they were slaves or prisoners of war, and the practice was not done to worship gods or visitors.
There was a great decline in athletics during the transition from Greek to Roman culture. This alone was a great loss for what sport really represented, however, in 394 AD the then emperor Theodosius, responsible for the death of 10,000 Greeks, decided to convert to Christianity, and abolished the games, since they were created by the pagans, causing them to be abolished for 8 centuries.
After that, athletics were practiced discreetly around the world, as in England. However, in Europe during the medieval age, its interests were directed towards military training, as they were facing a time of war and it was more useful for people to learn how to fight than to practise sport.
The return of athletics
In 1892, at a meeting held at the Sorbonne in Paris, Pierri Fredi presented a project to recreate athletics and the Olympic Games, which had been abolished by King Theodosius. The proposal aimed to improve the character of young people and children, and to awaken team spirit and a taste for competition.
The Creation of the International Olympic Committee
The history of athletics is often intertwined with the history of the Olympic Games. In 1894, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) was created at a congress in Sorbonne, attended by 14 representatives from different countries.
The first Olympic Athletics Program
The first Olympic athletics program of the modern Olympics kept the essence of Greek athletics, as it included running; long and high jump, triple jump and pole vault; weight throw and discus throw.
The Creation of the Marathon
A special type of race was created, the Marathon, which consists of a 42 km course. It was a tribute to the distance run by a Greek soldier, Philipides, to announce that the Greeks had won the war against the Persians. The distance covered by the soldier was around 35 km, after which he died of exhaustion.
Curiosities about athletics and its history
- Women were only allowed to take part in athletics and the games in 1928.
- The first recorded winner of an athletics event was the Greek Corebo, from Elida. He won the race in 776 BC, which Iphitus promoted in order to please the gods.
- Long before the Greeks, the Egyptians were already involved in stick fighting competitions. Ten centuries later, the Cretans began to use sport for competition and recreation, such as dancing, pugilism and foot races.
- In 1936, the Olympics were held in Berlin, Germany, in the middle of the Second World War. Black athlete Jesse Owens disappointed Hitler’s expectations. Owens won four golds in the 100m and 200m races, the 4 x 100m relay and the long jump.
- The first Brazilian to win an Olympic athletics event was Adhemar Ferreira da Silva in the triple jump at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki.
More about Athletics
- History of the Olympics
- Jumps in Olympic Athletics
- Field Trials in Olympic Athletics
- Track events in Olympic athletics
- Flat Races in Athletics
- Relay races in athletics
- Barrier races in athletics
- Obstacle races in athletics
- Brazilian Athletics Confederation