Historical Dictionary of Track and Field

While the earliest evidence of organized running can be traced back to Egypt in 3800 BCE, the modern sport of track and field evolved from rural games and church and folk festivals, and rules were drawn up in the final quarter of the 19th century in those advanced societies where enough people had the leisure time to indulge their fancies. Today, in addition to the running events, track and field includes such events as the high jump, pole vault, long jump, shot, discus, javelin, hammer, and dec…