3.1 34 The word athletics derives from the Greek word athlos, meaning contest or task . The ancient Olympic Games were held from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. It was a contest which consisted of five events: the stadion, throwing the javelin, throwing the discus, the long jump, and wrestling. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894 and this led to the organisation of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. ATHLETICS THE HISTORY OF ATHLETICS Athletics includes a variety of competitions that cover four fundamental human movements: walking, running, jumping, and throwing. It is also known as track and field because of where the competitions take place: tracks for walking and running, fields for throwing and jumping events. The competitions can be indoors or outdoors. Origins and early development There are a few milestones in the origins of athletics. In Ancient Egypt some tombs in the Saqqara necropolis were found showing illustrations of men running and high jumping. The Tailteann Games were an ancient Celtic festival held in Ireland in 1829 BC which included sporting events such as running and throwing a stone. The first Olympic Games of Greece in 776 BC featured a stadium-length running race known as the stadion, which was so prestigious that its winner was often considered the winner of the entire games. Throwing and jumping events were later included in the Games and became part of the Pentathlon. Athletics as practised today began and grew in England. The first mention was recorded in 1154, when practice fields were established in London. In the 1300s athletics competitions were banned by King Edward III but were revived a century later by King Henry VIII. Modern pentathlon to ban: bandire to feature: presentare to revive: ripristinare track: pista 72 TO DO Athletics is not so much about the legs. It's about the heart and mind. Eliud Kipchoge Modern development Organised running competitions were held in England in 1825 but it was in the 1860s that the first championships started in England and North America, along with the creation of the first Athletic Associations. In 1912 the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) was founded, so the sport became truly international. Important international competitions before World War II included the Olympics , the British Empire Games, and the European Championships, but it was after the war that athletics had its greatest growth, especially in developing countries such as Africa and Latin America. In 2001 the International Amateur Athletics Federation changed its name to the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) to emphasise the non-amateur status of top competitors and the professionalisation of the sport. In 2019 it changed the name again into World Athletics, which better reflects the global nature of the organisation.