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Athletics, term denoting a group
of athletic events held as contests between individuals or
teams—generally amateurs—at both indoor and outdoor
meetings. In the United States and many other countries the
sport is called track and field. The basic categories of the
sport are track events, comprising runs and walks, and field
events, which include jumps and throws. Running events, which
constitute the largest number of athletic events, range from
the indoor 50 m sprint to the outdoor marathon, covering 41
km 947 m. In the United Kingdom and United States the distances
covered were formerly expressed in yards, but since 1976,
for official records, only metric distances (except for the
mile), have been recognized. In Europe and for the Olympic
Games, distances have always been expressed in metres |
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