Athletics at the Olympic Games: pole vaulting, hammer throwing, relay race, running with hurdles

Athletics at the Olympic Games appeared in Athens in 1896. These were the first games of our time. And since then has invariably been present in the programs of sports forums every 4 years.

Only for men

At the first modern Olympics athletics was presented in several versions - running, jumping in length and height, shot put and discus throwing. In most of them, representatives of the United States prevailed. Only in the race for 800 and 1500 meters, the Englishman Teddy Flake was able to win, and the Greek was the first to become the Greek - Spiridon Luis. Then it was played 12 sets of awards, 9 of which were won by the Americans.

The first time athletics at the Olympic Games was exclusively male prerogative. Women were not allowed to participate in official competitions. This situation persisted until 1928. Only this year at the games in Amsterdam there were women's disciplines.

So, for the first time, women took part in the 9th Summer Olympic Games: in the 100 and 800 meters race, the 4 to 100 relay race, the high jump and the throwing of the disc.

Hammer throwers

Hammer throwing for the first time in history was included in the program of the Second Olympic Games in Paris in 1900. Then 5 sportsmen from two countries came to the competitions - the USA and Sweden. As a result, the whole pedestal went to American athletes. Defeated John Flanagan with a result of 51 meters and 1 centimeter. This was the first Olympic record in hammer throwing.

The interruption of the hegemony of the Americans at the Olympic Games was only succeeded in 1928 by the Irishman Patu O Callaghan. In 1960 in Rome, the victory was first won by the Soviet athlete Vasily Rudenkov, who sent the projectile at 67 meters and 10 centimeters. As a result, the most gold medals at the Olympics in this discipline were won by just the Soviet and American athletes - 7. The Hungarians won five times, who also managed to create a good school in this sport, twice Irish and one German, Finns, Poles, The Japanese and the Slovenes. Today, the current Olympic champion in the discipline of hammer throwing at men is Tajik Dilshod Nazarov. Its result is impressive: 78 meters and 68 centimeters.

The world record in hammer throwing has been holding for 30 years. Since 1986, no one can surpass the achievement of Soviet athlete Yuri Sedykh, who sent the hammer to 86 meters and 74 centimeters.

Jumpers with pole

As mentioned above, in 1896 the first Olympiad in modern history was held in Afnam. Pole vaults were already in her program. In the competition took part 5 athletes - 2 Americans and 3 Greeks. As a result, the hosts of the competition get only bronze, it is from Evangelos Damaskos. He was bowed by a bar with a height of 2 meters 60 centimeters. The first Olympic champion is the representative of the USA Wells Hoyt, he flew to a height of 3 meters 30 centimeters.

Since then, pole vaulting has been included in the program of every Olympics. A lot of excellent jumpers and among the Soviet and Russian sports school.

In the 80s Sergey Bubka and Rodion Gataullin were running a sports ball. The latter after the collapse of the Soviet Union began to speak for Russia, and Bubka - for the national team of Ukraine. Sergei's result, by the way, has not yet been surpassed by anyone. In 1994, at the competitions in the Italian Sestriere athlete took the bar at 6 meters 14 centimeters. This record has been holding for 22 years. The Olympiad also defeated him. Pole vaults became his golden discipline in 1988 in Seoul. In total for his career, he set 35 world records.

Among women, the result in the open air of Russian woman Elena Isinbayeva has not been surpassed so far. Planck in 5 meters and 6 centimeters, taken by her in August 2009 at the stage of the Golden League in Zurich, has still not submitted to anyone else. It was her 27th world record.

In the relay race

The mixed relay at the Summer Olympics was first introduced in 1908. The tournament was held in London.

A total of 7 teams participated. The idea of consistency was that in the first two stages athletes run 200 meters, on the third - 400, and at the last - 800 meters. Teams competed in pairs, the winners immediately went to the finals of the Olympic Games.

For the gold medal in the discipline of the "mixed relay" as a result, the combined teams of Hungary, Germany and the United States fought. The Americans passed their distance in 3 minutes 29.4 seconds and became the winners of the tournament. Here are the names of the champions - Nathaniel Cartmell, John Taylor, William Hamiltoni Melvin Sheppard. The Germans had silver, the Hungarian team had bronze medals.

Running with barriers

Running 100 meters with barriers is one of the Olympic track and field disciplines. At the last games in London in 2016, competitions were held only among women. Men participated in the distance of 110 meters.

The whole season in this kind of program persisted the hegemony of American athletes. But only three participants were allowed to go to the Olympics. Happened and did an amazing story - the leader of the season, athlete from the United States Kendra Harrison, was unable to pass the American selection. But at the same time, just 3 weeks after the unsuccessful performance, I broke the world record, which had been holding for almost 30 years before. At competitions in London, she overcame a hundred-meter mark with barriers in 12.2 seconds.

On the game itself came 48 athletes, who were divided into 6 races. As a result of the preliminary stages, athletes from the USA, Belgium, Finland, Canada, the Bahamas, Great Britain, Germany, Norway, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Belarus, Nigeria and France passed the next round.

Our fans most of all remember the performance of the Belarusian Alina Talai. In the preliminary race, she came to finish second with a result of 12.74 seconds.

If she had demonstrated the same time in the semi-final, she could have got a second place again. But the athlete performed much worse. I ran the distance in 13.66 seconds and came to the finish line.

In the finals were athletes from the United States, Britain, Germany, the Bahamas and Canada. As experts predicted, athletics at the Olympic Games became the crown discipline for American women, because in this kind of program all the medals went to them. Olympic champion was Brianna Rollins with a result of 12.48 seconds.

In a triple jump

In the triple jump at the Olympics in London, competitions were held both among men and women. 48 participants competed for medals among representatives of the strong half of humanity. Only 12 qualify for the final. Among them are representatives of the United States, China, Colombia, Portugal, Guyana, Cuba, Mexico, France and Poland. For many finalists, it was not the first Olympics. The triple jump was another benefit of American athletes.

In the final, with a result of 17 meters 86 centimeters, the victory went to American Christian Taylor, silver was in his compatriot Will Clay, bronze in the Chinese Dong Bin.

Medal set-off

Track and field athletics at the Olympic Games traditionally brings teams the greatest number of medals. Only in the last games in Rio were played 47 sets of awards.

Most of the medals were won by US athletes - 13 gold, 10 silver and 9 bronze. By 6 wins from Kenyans and Jamaican athletes.