PHYSICAL

EDUCATION 3
History of Athletics and
Olympic Games
IRISH M. ORGETA, MAED
INSTRUCTOR II
OBJECTIVES
•Identify the history of athletics
•Familiarize with the facilities and
events in athletics.
•Trace the Olympic games from ancient
to modern.
Warm up
Exercise
Review
Why there is a sporting events in
Olympia/ Greece?
Review
What is the usual attire of an
athlete in ancient
Greece/Olympia?
Review
When does the
first Olympics
held?
Review
What does the victors
received if during the
awarding ceremony
after winning in an
event?
Continuation…
Famous Olympians
KROTON from
southern Italy won
three consecutive
stadion races from
488 to 480 BCE.
Famous Olympians
PHANAS of Pellene
managed to win three
events in the
Olympics of 521 BCE -
the stadion, diaulos
and the race in
armour.
Famous Olympians
LEONIDAS of
Rhodes went even
better and
managed to win all
three events in
four consecutive.
Famous Olympians
Olympics between 164
and 152 BCE. A feat
almost matched by
HERMOGENES of
Xanthos, known as
‘the horse’ who won
eight running events
over three Olympics
between 81 and 89 CE.
Famous Olympians
MILON of Kroton won
the wrestling
competition five times
from 532 to 516 BCE
Famous Olympians
The runner ASTYLOS
of Kroton won six
crowns across the
three Olympics of
488, 484 and 480
BCE
Famous Olympians
HERODOROS of
Megara won an
incredible ten
consecutive trumpet
competitions from
328 to 292 BCE
Famous Olympians
The Games and their
prestige also attracted
famous competitors
from outside the
sporting world like The
great Athenian general
and statesman
ALCIBIADES won three
chariot races in 416
BCE.
Famous Olympians
PHILIP II of Macedon
won the horse race in
356 BCE and repeated
his winning streak in
the chariot races of the
352 and 348 BCE
Games.
Famous Olympians
Roman emperor
NERO famously won
every event he
entered in 65 CE.
Famous Olympians
The first woman to win the crown
of victory was KYNISKA in 392
BCE. Although women were not
permitted to compete, they could
own horses and it was the owner
who won the olive crown prize.
Many other women went on to
emulate Kyniska and Spartan
women, in particular, enjoyed a
high reputation in the equestrian
events at Olympia.
End of the Games
The Games continued
through the Hellenistic
period with more buildings
added to the site, greater
comforts offered for the
spectators and an increase
in the professionalism and
event specialization of the
athletes.
End of the Games
In Roman times, although
there were some changes
to tradition such as
Sulla’s moving of the 80
BCE Games to Rome, the
Games continued to be
popular and their
prestige increased under
hellenophile emperors
such as Hadrian.
End of the Games
However, it was Emperor
Theodosios who finally
decreed that all cult
practices, including
Games, be stopped and
the final Olympics was
held in 393 CE after a run
of 293 Olympics over
more than a millennium.
End of the Games
During the next several centuries Athletics developed in
slow steps. However, during the Middle Ages the new wave
of the track and field development began. During that time
track and field developed in the Northern part of Europe.
Track and field as we know it today began developing in the
19th century when first competitions in track and field took
places. In that time, those track and field competitions
primary were organized by educational institutions, sport
clubs and some military organizations. The events
organized by these institutions were actually the one that
included the hurdle races.
End of the Games
During this period, first national athletics associations
have been established and shortly after that first
national competitions took place. Among the first
associations who organized such competitions was
Amateur Athletic Association of England who in 1880
organized the annual AAA Championship. Even before
England, the New York Athletic Club from the United
States organized the first USA Outdoor Track and Field
Championship back in 1876.
End of the Games
As track and field was developing in big steps during
that time, there was one common problem that all
athletes shared. During that time, all athletes were
considered to be amateurs and because of the known
rule that the amateur athletes could not receive
training money, money prizes or sponsorship deals
that was ever growing issues among the athletes. The
charges that some athlete might be a professional
eventually lead to stripping of the victories that that
athlete had in previous period.
End of the Games
One of the biggest milestone for the development of the
Athletics came back in 1896 at the Summer Olympic Games.
In those Games in Athens, track and field together with a
marathon comprised the majority of the sporting events at
that Games. Besides that, those Games are also important
because they for the first time introduced the metric
measurement that was used in the track and field
competitions. During the next couple of decades the
development of the track and field, or rather, the athletics
in general, put the Athletics on the path of becoming the
most important aspect of the Olympic Games for every
games in the future.
End of the Games
In 1912, the second milestone in the development of the
Athletics occurred when the International Amateur Athletic
Federation or IAAF was founded and as such it became the
international governing body for track and field. The
officials of the IAAF of that time emphasized the importance
of the amateurism for the athletics and it became of the
basic principle on which IAAF will continue to operate. Up
until the early 1920’s, track and field was only a male sport.
Women became part of the athletics only after women’s
sport movement organized Women’s World Games back in
1921. However, women for the first time participated in
track and field competitions at the Olympic Games back in
1928 Summer Olympic Games.
End of the Games
After athletics gained more media coverage and since it
became appealing for big companies the amateur statues
of the athletes were dropped in favor of the
professionalism. Officially, in 1982, International Amateur
Athletic Federation abandoned the notion of amateurism
and it became the organization of professional athletes.
Following that, the next year marked the first year in which
the first IAAF World Championship in Athletics was held and
from that moment, the popularity of athletics and athletes
continued to grow and today they are among the most
respected athletes in any sport.
End of the Games
The ancient Olympic Games
lasted from 1170 years, for
1,503 years the Olympic Games
were not held. The Old term for
Olympic Game is called “Pan
Hellenic Game” Years later
come the renaissance period,
this was the start of modern
Olympic Games which took
place at Athens, Greece on
1896.
End of the Games
Thirteen nations sent almost 300
athletes to compete in the first
modern Olympic Games, most of
the events were track and field.
The successful campaign to
revive the Olympic Games was
started in France by Von de
Coubertin who is known as the
Father of the Modern Olympic
Game.
Dates and Sites of the Modern Olympic
Dates and Sites of the Modern Olympic
Dates and Sites of the Modern Olympic
What did the Olympic Ring signify?
 What did the Olympic Ring signify?
The Five (5) Rings in Colored blue, black, yellow, green, and
red which represent the five major regions of the world
which are: Africa, Asia, Oceania (Pacific Ocean Countries),
The Americas, Europe. It is important to emphasize that
Pierre de Coubertin never said nor wrote that the colors of
the ring were linked with the different continents. The five
Olympic rings were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and
debuted at the games at Antwerp, Belgium in 1920. At the
end of each Olympic Game, The Mayor of the Host City
presents the flag to the mayor of the next Host city.
 What did the Olympic Ring signify?
The Five (5) Rings in Colored blue, black, yellow, green, and
red which represent the five major regions of the world
which are: Africa, Asia, Oceania (Pacific Ocean Countries),
The Americas, Europe. It is important to emphasize that
Pierre de Coubertin never said nor wrote that the colors of
the ring were linked with the different continents. The five
Olympic rings were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and
debuted at the games at Antwerp, Belgium in 1920. At the
end of each Olympic Game, The Mayor of the Host City
presents the flag to the mayor of the next Host city.
The official Olympic Motto
The official Olympic Creed
The Olympic Flame
It is the lit in
Olympia and
brought to the host
city by runners
carrying the torch in
relay. There it plays
an important role in
the opening
ceremonies. The
torch fire had been
around in 1928.
 The Olympic Mascot
An animal or
human figure
representative the
cultural heritage of
the most country,
was introduced in
1968. It has played
an important part
of the games since
1980.
 Ancient Olympic Games
There are myths and legends surrounding the origin of
the Ancient Olympic Games. The most popular legend
describes that – “Heracles”- Was the creator of the
Olympic Games. He built the Olympic Stadium and
surrounding buildings as an honor to his father “Zeus”.
According to the legend he walked in a straight for 400
strides and called his distance a “Stadiom” in Greek. In
roman “Stadium”, in English “Stage”. This is also why a
modern stadium is 400 meters in circumference length (1
stadium = 400 meters)
 To add more information
regarding the history and
origin of Athletics, let’s watch
this video.
Athletics
It is a branch of sports otherwise known as track and field
involving different events in running, jumping, and throwing.
Running, jumping, and throwing have been sporting activities
since the beginning of history. These skills were used both in hunting
and in war. The ancient Greeks, Persians and Romans used running
as part of their military training. In addition, competitive human
instincts led to contests to determine who could run the fastest and
jump or throw the farthest.
Athletics
There are few records of sports in the Dark Ages, but,
in England, as early as the 12th century, accounts can
be found of a variety of sports being practiced by the
general population including most of the events that
gradually develop into modern track and field over
the centuries. Foot racing, both sprinting and distance
running, were widely popular in England in the latter
half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th
century.
Athletics
Many of the competitions were match races between
professionals, and betting was widespread. At the
same time, school and university activities began to
develop from informal sports days to informal sports
days to more organized competition. There are a
number of reasons for this remarkable progress in
athletics. They include increased competition,
especially in Europe, as well as improved training
methods, equipment, and techniques. Traditionally,
athletics have been an amateur sport.
Athletics
However, the rules have been broadened to allow
athletes to receive large sums of money for endorsing
athletic shoes or other products and for appearing in
invitational events. The opportunity to earn money
has increased the level of competition. Improved
training methods help today’s athletes perform well.
Training with weights gives athletes greater strength
for throwing, jumping, and even running. New
equipment has raised performance levels.
Athletics
In the high jumps, for example,
the use of Fosbury Flop adds
about 15 centimeters to most
jumps. The style was named
after the American high-jumper
Dick Fosbury, who introduced it
in the late 1960’s.
 Athletics
Synthetic tracks, which
have more spring, cut a
runner’s time by as
much as one second per
lap.
Athletics
The use of fiberglass
vaulting poles instead of
wooden ones helped
increase the
performance levels of
the athletes.
 Athletics
Current athletics champions reflect the international popularity of
the sport. The biggest names in men’s athletics in the 1980’s
included hurdler Edwin Moses and sprinter Carl Lewis of the
United States, distance runners Said Aouita of Morocco and
Sebastian Coe of Great Britain, pole vaulter Sergey Bubka of the
Soviet Union, and Decathlon Athlete Daley Thompson of Great
Britain. In women’s events, sprinter Marita Koch and sprinter and
long jumper Heike Drechsler of East Germany, sprinter Florence
Griffith Joyner and long jumper and heptathlon competitor
Jackie Joyner-Kersee of the United States were major figures in
the 1980’s. Likewise, Asia’s Fastest Woman for almost a decade is
the pride of the Philippines, Lydia de Vega, one of the finest
athletes after the sensational events of Mona Sulayman who had
gained laurels for the country in the Olympics
Athletics

EDWIN MOSES
Athletics

CARL LEWIS
Athletics

SAID AOUITA
Athletics

SEBASTIAN COE
 Athletics

SERGEY BUBKA
 Athletics

DALEY THOMPSON
Athletics

MARITA KOCH
Athletics

HEIKE DRECHSLER
Athletics

FLORENCE GRIFFITH
JOYNER - KERSEE
Athletics

LYDIA DE VEGA
Athletics

MONA SULAYMAN