Athletics at the Summer Olympics
Athletics has been at every Summer Olympics since 1896.
Athletics has been part of every Summer Olympics since the modern Games began in 1896, with its origins reaching back to events in the ancient Greek Olympics. Today’s program includes track and field, road running, and race walking. Cross country running was included in earlier Games but was removed after 1924.
The list of events has changed over time. Between 1900 and 1920, tug of war was considered an athletics event, though it is now seen as a separate sport. Since 2021, the IOC has classified medals from the 1904 athletics triathlon under artistic gymnastics, calling it "Individual All-Around, Field Sports Men." However, the medal table here follows the original IOC classification, meaning those medals stay in athletics. Some sources, like Olympedia, place them in artistic gymnastics, which would give the United States an extra gold, silver, and bronze in that sport.
For men, no new events have been added since the short racewalk was introduced in 1956. The men's 50 km race walk was contested at every Olympics from 1932 to 2020, after which it was dropped from the program. The long racewalk is not the only men’s event not offered to women—the women's 50 km race walk was introduced at the 2020 Olympics as a single mixed-gender event, not a separate women's event, and men's 50 km race walk was dropped after 2020. The last women’s event added was the 3000 m steeplechase in 2008. In total, 52 different men’s events have been held, with 23 currently on the program. Many discontinued events were similar to modern ones but at different distances, especially in steeplechase, hurdles, and racewalking. Team races were dropped after appearing in six early Games. The athletic triathlon and pentathlon were replaced by the decathlon, and the medley relay gave way to even-leg relays. Standing jumps and modified throwing events from 1908 and 1912 are no longer held. Cross country, held from 1912 to 1924, is the most notable athletics discipline absent from the Olympics.
Women’s athletics began at the 1928 Summer Olympics.
Mixed events started with the 4 × 400 m relay at the 2020 Games, where teams of two men and two women run in the order man–woman–man–woman (before 2022, teams could choose their own order). The 2024 Paris Games added the Marathon Race Walking Mixed Relay, with no other mixed events added for that edition.
Quick Facts
- Code
- ATH
- Sport
- athletics
- Menevents
- 23
- Mixedevents
- 2
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Athletics has been contested at every Summer Olympics since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics. The athletics program traces its earliest roots to events used in the ancient Greek Olympics. The modern program includes track and field events, road running events, and race walking events. Cross country running was also on the program in earlier editions but it was dropped after the 1924 Summer Olympics.
From 1900 to 1920, tug of war was considered to be part of the Olympic athletics programme, although the sports of tug of war and athletics are now considered distinct. Since 2021, the International Olympic Committee has reclassified medals from the 1904 athletics triathlon under artistic gymnastics. The men's 50 km race walk was contested at every Olympics from 1932 through 2020, after which it was dropped; it was not removed in 1976. Women have competed in the 50 km race walk at the Olympics since 2020, making it an event offered to both genders. As of the current known canon, no mixed 4 × 100 m relay has been officially added to the Olympic programme for 2028.
Reader's Guide
Athletics is the core sport of the Summer Olympics, having been present at every edition since 1896. Its program has evolved significantly, with men's events stabilizing after 1956 and women's events expanding gradually, the last addition being the 3000 metres steeplechase in 2008. The inclusion of mixed events starting in 2020 marks a modern shift. The sport has seen many discontinued events, such as standing jumps, team racing, and cross country running (dropped after 1924). A notable historical ambiguity involves the 1904 athletics triathlon, which the IOC now classifies under artistic gymnastics, though some sources like Olympedia follow that reclassification. Every nation that has competed in the Olympics has entered athletics, underscoring its universal appeal. The long racewalk remains the only men's event not offered for women, while women compete in the heptathlon and 100 metres hurdles instead of the decathlon and 110 metres hurdles. The medal table is updated after the 2024 Summer Olympics, considering stripped and reallocated medals as of June 2026.
Did You Know?
- Cross country running was dropped from the Olympics after the 1924 Summer Olympics.
- The last women's event added to the athletics roster was the 3000 metres steeplechase in 2008.
- A mixed 4 × 100 metres relay was added to the programme in 2025 and is scheduled to debut at the 2028 Olympic Games.
Record-Breaking Performances and Historic Firsts
The Rio 2016 athletics programme produced three world records and a cascade of historic firsts that elevated the competition beyond its usual boundaries. Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana shattered the women's 10,000 metres world record by nearly fifteen seconds on the very first day, in a race that also produced four of the five fastest times ever recorded at that distance and eight national records. South Africa's Wayde van Niekerk then dismantled Michael Johnson's 400 metres mark, which had stood untouched since 1999, clocking 43.03 seconds. Poland's Anita Włodarczyk claimed the third world record in the hammer throw. Beyond the records, the Games witnessed German discus thrower Christoph Harting become the first man in Olympic history to follow his brother Robert to the top of the podium in the same event. Colombia's Caterine Ibargüen and Brazil's Thiago Braz da Silva became the first South American athletes to claim Olympic athletics gold on South American soil. Usain Bolt completed his hat-trick of consecutive 100 metres titles, cementing his status as the most decorated sprinter in Olympic history.
Scheduling, Venues, and the Global Broadcast Push
The Rio 2016 athletics competition was structured around three distinct categories—track and field, road running, and racewalking—spread across multiple venues to serve both athletes and a worldwide television audience. Track and field events took place at the João Havelange Olympic Stadium, while the marathon and race walks started and finished at Pontal Beach in the Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighbourhood and the Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí. A notable scheduling shift saw ten track and field finals moved to morning sessions for the first time since the 1988 Seoul Games. This change was driven by the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee and the Olympic Broadcasting Services, with IOC backing, to guarantee that at least one final per day could be shown live across all 24 of the world's time zones. Unlike most previous Summer Games, the athletics stadium did not host the opening or closing ceremonies; those events were staged at the Maracanã, Brazil's premier football venue. At the opening ceremony itself, marathon medallist Vanderlei de Lima lit the Olympic flame, and Kenya's Kipchoge Keino received the inaugural Olympic Laurel for his lifelong advocacy of sport.
Qualification Reform and National Selection
Ahead of Rio 2016, the IAAF overhauled its qualification framework, replacing the previous two-tier system of 'A' and 'B' standards with a single unified threshold. Each National Olympic Committee could enter up to three athletes per event who had met that standard between 2015 and 11 July 2016. Countries that failed to produce a qualifier were still permitted to send one male and one female athlete, ensuring broader representation. Marathon runners benefited from additional pathways: a top-20 finish at the World Championships or a top-10 result at an IAAF Gold Label race counted as meeting the standard. Relay teams were selected through a different mechanism—the top eight finishers at the 2015 IAAF World Relays earned automatic entry, with the next eight slots allocated to the highest-ranked teams on the seasonal lists based on their two best aggregate times. On the national level, countries with deep athletics traditions, such as the United States, held formal selection trials, while others relied on panel decisions by their governing bodies to name their squads.
Defending Champions, Upsets, and Dramatic Reversals
Rio 2016 delivered a remarkable mix of defending champions holding their ground and long-reigning favourites being dethroned in dramatic fashion. Great Britain's Mo Farah successfully defended his 10,000 metres title despite falling and dropping to the back of the pack mid-race, a resilience echoing his triple-gold 'Super Saturday' in London four years earlier. Yet his 2012 heptathlon gold-medallist Jessica Ennis, who entered Rio as the favourite, was stunned by 21-year-old Belgian Nafissatou Thiam, who added over three hundred points to her personal best. Defending long jump champion Greg Rutherford was pushed to third by American Jeff Henderson in a tightly contested final. In the women's 100 metres, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce's bid to become the first athlete to win three consecutive Olympic sprint titles was denied by her Jamaican compatriot Elaine Thompson. In the shot put, American Michelle Carter secured her nation's first-ever title with a final throw, robbing New Zealand's Valerie Adams of a third consecutive gold. In the women's marathon, Kenya's Jemima Sumgong claimed the country's first Olympic gold in the event, in a race featuring two sets of twins and the first triplets to appear in an Olympic final.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did athletics first appear at the Summer Olympics?
Athletics has been a staple of every Summer Games since the modern Olympics began in 1896, with its lineage stretching back to the ancient Greek athletic festivals.
When did women first compete in Olympic athletics?
Women's athletics events entered the Olympic program at the 1928 Amsterdam Games. The 3000 metres steeplechase, added in 2008, was the most recent women's event to join the roster.
What disciplines are included in Olympic athletics?
The current athletics program spans track and field, road running, and race walking. Cross country running was part of earlier editions but was removed after the 1924 Paris Games.
Why is athletics considered the centerpiece of the Summer Olympics?
Every nation that has ever competed at the Olympics has entered the athletics competition, giving it the widest participation of any sport. Its unbroken presence since 1896 and ancient Greek heritage make it the symbolic heart of the Games.
What was the first mixed-gender athletics event at the Olympics?
The 4 × 400 metres relay became the first mixed-gender athletics event when it debuted at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Prior to that introduction, all athletics events were competed separately by men and women.
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