Athletics at the Summer Olympics

has been contested at every Summer Olympics since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics. The athletics program traces its earliest roots to events used in the ancient Greek Olympics. The modern program includes track and field events, road running events, and race walking events. Cross country running was also on the program in earlier editions but it was dropped after the 1924 Summer Olympics.

Events

The events contested have varied widely. From 1900 to 1920, tug of war was considered to be part of the Olympic athletics programme, although the sports of tug of war and athletics are now considered distinct.

Men's events

No new events have been added to the men's athletics programme since the 1956 addition of the short racewalk. The roster of events has not changed since then, with the exception of the omission of the long racewalk in 1976. The long racewalk is the only event currently held for men but not included on the women's programme, with the exception of women taking part in the heptathlon rather than the decathlon and the 100 metres hurdles rather than the 110 metres hurdles. The last women's event added to the roster was the 3000 metres steeplechase in 2008.
A total of 52 different events have been held in the men's competition. The current list comprises 23 events. Many of the discontinued events were similar to modern ones but at different lengths, especially in the steeplechasing, hurdling, and racewalking disciplines. Team racing events have been eliminated after appearing in six early editions of the Games. The athletic triathlon and pentathlon multi-discipline events were phased out in favor of the decathlon, and the medley relay replaced with even-leg relays. Standing jump competitions are no longer held, nor are the various modified throwing events which were experimented with in 1908 and 1912. Cross country running was on the program from 1912 to 1924 and is the most prominent form of athletics not to feature at the Olympics.

Event

1904 Summer Olympics|04]

1948 Summer Olympics|48]

1952 Summer Olympics|52]

2008 Summer Olympics|08]

Years

100 metres

Athletics at the [1896 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|X]

1900 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|X]

1904 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|X]

1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|X]

1912 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|X]

1920 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|X]

Athletics at the [1924 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|X]

Athletics at the [1928 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|X]

Athletics at the 1932 [Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|X]

Athletics at the [2020 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|X]

–

–

–

–

Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's [400 metres hurdles|X]

–

3000 metres steeplechase

–

Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's [3000 metres steeplechase|X]

4 × [100 metres relay]

–

4 × 400 metres relay

–

20 kilometres race walk

–

20 kilometre walk|X]

–

–

–

Total

Past events that occurred only once
Only at the 1900 Summer Olympics

2500 metres steeplechase
4000 metres steeplechase
Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's [5000 metres team race|5000 metres team race]

Only at the 1904 Summer Olympics

Only at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Only at the 1912 Summer Olympics

Only at the 1920 Summer Olympics

3000 metres race walk

Past events that occurred twice to five times

60 metres: 60 metres|1900], 1904
200 metres hurdles: Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's [200 metres hurdles|1900], 1904
3000 metres team race: 1912, 1920, 1924
10 kilometres race walk: 1912, 1920, 1924, 1948, 1952
Pentathlon: 1912, 1920, 1924
Standing long jump: 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912
Standing triple jump: 1900, 1904
Standing high jump: 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912
56 pound weight throw: 56 pound weight throw|1904], 1920
Cross country
* Individual: 1912, 1920, 1924
* Team: 1912, 1920, 1924

Event	96	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
50 kilometres race walk	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	–	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	-	20

Women's events

Women's competition in athletics began at the 1928 Summer Olympics.

Event

Games

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

3000 metres steeplechase

–

4 × 100 metres relay

4 × 400 metres relay

–

20 kilometres race walk

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Event

Games

80 metres hurdles

–

−

Pentathlon

–

−

3000 metres

–

−

10 kilometres race walk

–

−

Total

Mixed events

The mixed event, a 4 × 400 metres relay, first made an appearance at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The event includes teams of four athletes, two men and two women who run in the order man–woman–man–woman. Paris 2024 featured another mixed team event: the Marathon Race Walking Mixed Relay, which includes teams of two athletes, one male and one female. Another mixed event called 4 × 100 metres relay was added to the Athletics programme by IOC in 2025 and is scheduled to debut at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Event	20	24	28	Games
4 × 400 metres relay	X	X	X	3
Marathon race walk mixed relay	–	Athletics at the 2024 Summer Olympics#Athletics – [Marathon race walking mixed teams\|X]		1
4 × 100 metres relay	–	–	X	1
Total	1	2	3	-

Nations

Every nation that has competed at the Olympics has entered the athletics competition. The numbers below represent how many athletes each nation sent that year, starting with 1896.
NOTE: This table is a work in progress. The empty boxes in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 columns do not necessarily mean that the country did not send athletes that year.

Medal table

Updated after the 2024 Summer Olympics, considering stripped medals and reallocated medals as of August 2024.
Sources: