Name the Track and Field Event for Kids Quiz

Answer: 400 meters

The 400 meters has been an official Olympic event for men since 1896 and since 1964 for women. American Lee Evans was the first man to run under 44 sec. He recorded a time of 43.86 sec at 1968 Mexico Olympics. Poland's Irina Szewińska recorded a time of 49.9 sec to become the first woman to run under 50 sec in 1974.

Answer: Pole Vault

The long flexible pole is usually made of fiberglass or carbon fiber. It was an ancient sport participated in by the Greeks, Cretans and Celts. This has been an Olympic event since 1896 for men and since 2000 for women. Sergei Bubka of Ukraine was the first man to vault 6 m in 1985. In 2005, Yelena Isinbayeva from Russia was the first woman to leap over 5 m.

Answer: Javelin

Javelin was one of the pentathlon events competed in during the Ancient Olympic Games in Greece in 708 BC. The spear length is 2.5 meters, weighing 800g for men and 600g for women for official competition. It is an Olympic event for both men and women. In 1964, Norwegian Terje Pedersen was the first man to throw over 90 m; he achieved a distance of 91.72 m. In 1988, Petra Felke of Germany became the first woman to achieve a distance of 80 m.

Answer: Triple Jump

The triple jump is an Olympic event for both men and women. The athlete has to run down a runway to a takeoff mark, from which the distance is measured. In 1995, British athlete Jonathan Edwards was the first man to leap over 18 m. In 1987, Chinese athlete Li Huirong was the first woman to leap over 14 m.

Answer: 10000 meters

The 10000 meters race is an endurance distance, with athletes running twenty five laps around the race track. African runners from Ethiopia and Kenya have dominated this event at the Olympics and World Championships. Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia achieved a world best time of 26 min 17.53 sec in 2005. In 1993, Wang Junxia from China was the first woman to run under 30 min.

Answer: Hurdles

There are four hurdle events in the Olympics: 110 m and 400 m hurdles for men and 100 m and 400 m for women. There are 10 hurdles in the shorter race and 12 in the longer race. The height of the hurdle for the 110 m event for men is 106 cm (42 in) and in the 100 m event for women it is 83.3 cm (33 in). For the 400 m events, it is 91.4 cm (36 in) for men and 76.2 cm (30 in) for women.

Answer: Steeplechase

The steeplechase is a 3000 meter event running over twenty-eight barriers and seven water jumps. It is an official Olympic event for men and women. Since the 1968 Olympics, this event has been dominated by Kenyan runners. The obstacles for the men are 91.4 cm (36 in) high, and for the women 76.2 cm (30 in).

Answer: Decathlon

The decathlon consists of ten track and field events competed in by men: 100 m, discus, pole vault, javelin and 400 m on the first day, 110 m hurdles, long jump, shot put, high jump and 1500 m on the second day. The athlete with the highest number of points wins the event.

Answer: Marathon

The official distance of the marathon is 42.195 kilometres (26 miles 385 yards). The distance was based on the famous run by Greek soldier Pheidippides, who reported the victory of the Battle of Marathon to Athens. Marathon running is now a very popular mass sporting event organised in many cities around the world. The Boston Marathon started in 1897 is the oldest marathon event in the world, traditionally held on Patriots' Day on the third week of April.

Answer: Discus

Discus was competed in as part of the pentathlon during the Ancient Greek Olympics as early as 708BC. The weight for men is 2 kg and 1 kg for women. American athlete Al Oerter was the first man to win four consecutive Olympic gold medals in 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968.