What is the most significant evolution in Olympic track and field?

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What is the most significant evolution in Olympic track and field? image

How have Olympic track and field events evolved since the early 1900s? Originally answered on July 6, 2015.

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Answer by Aaron Ellis, track coach

The most significant way that the Olympics evolved was the gradual expansion of the women’s program to match that of the men’s. It has been a decades-long process, but it has been important progress toward reaching much-needed gender equality in athletics.

History

The current men’s Olympic program in athletics became set at the 1956 Summer Games in Melbourne. The 10-kilometer racewalk — an event that had been on and off the men’s Olympic program since 1932 — was replaced by the 20-kilometer racewalk. This brought the total number of men’s events to 24, including:

  • 12 track events: 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters, 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, 3,000-meter steeplechase, 100-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles, 4x100 relay, 4x400 relay

  • Eight field events: Long jump, high jump, triple jump, pole vault, shot put, javelin, hammer throw, discus

  • Three road events: Marathon, 20-kilometer racewalk, 50-kilometer racewalk

  • One multi event: Decathlon.

MORE: What is the most embarrassing moment in Olympic history? | Why don't top Olympic sprinters compete in the long jump anymore?

By comparison, the women’s program in 1956 consisted of only nine events:

  • Four track events: 100 meters, 200 meters, 80-meter hurdles, 4x100 relay

  • Five field events: Long jump, high jump, shot put, javelin, discus

Over the next few decades, the women’s program slowly closed the gap, and today there are 23 events (the 50-kilometer racewalk is still not one of the women’s events).

The timeline

The path to equality was slow and troubled, with a series of missteps and obstacles.

1960, Rome: The 800 became the 10th event in the women’s program. It was one of the original five events that women could compete in during the first women’s Olympic athletics competition in 1928 (the others were the 100, 4x100 relay, high jump and discus). The 800 was removed from the program after 1928, after the International Olympic Committee claimed many competitors suffered from exhaustion and/or couldn’t finish the race. The claim was that five women dropped out of the final, five others collapsed at the finish line and another runner fainted in the locker room. Years later, that claim was shown to be inaccurate.

Contrary to popular opinion, the runners did not fall on the track but several moved to the infield to lie down since they were not only winded but also disappointed at not winning. The removal of the race from the Olympic Games by the IAAF was unjustified based on the evidence presented.

— Lynne Emery, "An Examination of The 1928 Olympic 800 Meter Race For Women"

The portrayal of the race became one of the greatest obstacles in furthering women’s athletics. Detractors could always point to the race and claim women could not handle strenuous events.

Kinue Hitomi of Japan and Lina Radke of Germany battle in the 1928 800m final. Radke won.

1964 Tokyo: Two new events were introduced: the 400 meters and the pentathlon. The 400 was a logical addition to the 100, 200 and 800. The pentathlon was a major addition as the first women’s multi-event. It consisted of the 80-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, 200 meters and shot put. Though it consisted of half as many events as the men's decathlon, those five represented the same number of events as the entire 1928 women’s program.

1972 Munich: Three more events appeared: the 100-meter hurdles, 4x400 relay and 1,500 meters. Though the short hurdles had been on the women’s program since 1932, it was only the 80-meter race. The new, longer event was comparable to the men’s 110-meter high hurdles. With the 400 having been introduced eight years earlier, it was only a matter of time before the relay event arrived. It ended up being one of the most anticipated finals of the '72 Olympics: a showdown between semifinal winners West Germany and East Germany in West Germany.

1984 Los Angeles: The largest increase in the number of events took place in the LA Games, with the 3,000 meters, 400-meter hurdles, the marathon and heptathlon added. The marathon was the most significant addition because the outcome again supported the argument that women could not handle difficult distance events. The focus wasn't on the tough, gritty race won in record time by American Joan Benoit, who had knee surgery just weeks before the Olympics. Instead, it was on Swiss runner Gabriela Andersen Schiess, the 37th-place finisher. Looking like she was on the verge of a deathly collapse, the crowd and media were horrified when she ran her final lap in the Coliseum, never mind the fact she finished the race unassisted and was OK. Similar to how the 1,500 meters was added as a (near) double-distance race to the 800, the 3,000 was the double distance race to the 1,500. Though it was progress, the comparable men’s event was the 5,000 meters, so women were still running a shorter race. The heptathlon — a seven-event multi-competition — replaced the pentathlon. The javelin and 800 meters were added to the original five events of the pentathlon.

1988 Seoul: The 10,000 meters was added.

1992 Barcelona: The 10-kilometer racewalk became the second road race. Though it was half the distance of the shortest men's racewalk, the argument was that the men's 20-kilometer racewalk was preceded by a 10-kilometer racewalk, so the same should apply to the women's race.

1996 Atlanta: The triple jump became the first new women's field event since 1948. Women had been competing at a high level in the event since the mid-'80s, but it didn't become a major international event until the 1993 World Championships. Also, the 5,000 meters replaced the 3,000 meters.

2000 Sydney: The introduction of the pole vault and hammer throw brought the number of women's field events equal to the men's. The 20-kilometer racewalk replaced the 10-kilometer racewalk.

2008 Beijing: The 3,000-meter steeplechase was not quite as overdue as some of the other new events; steeplechase was a relatively new event for women. Then again, considering men had been competing in the steeplechase in the Olympics since 1920, it was shameful that it took 88 years for women to be able to compete in this event at the Olympic level. This inclusion brought the number of women's and men's track events even.

Summary

The women are one behind the men overall because the 50-kilometer racewalk remains a men's-only event. The event is not widely contested among women, however, so there has not been a proposal to the IOC to add the event. If women increase their participation over time and a proposal is made to make it an Olympic event, the process will be less of a struggle than what women have had to deal with over the past nine decades.

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