These are the core concerns that drive our newsroom-defining topics that are of great significance to the global economy.

These are our most ambitious editing projects. enjoy!

Our emails will shine in your inbox, and there will be something new every morning, afternoon and weekend.

Track and field events embody the traditional Olympic motto of citius, altius, fortius or "faster, higher, stronger". Running fast, jumping high, and throwing objects far are the core human pursuits of many other sports, such as football, rugby, and basketball. Athletics strips off these skills and presents them in their purest form. Their appeal lies in their simplicity.

So how do we explain the strange set of movements required for the triple jump?

Although the fascinating events of track and field-the 100-meter sprint, the 1500-meter run, the marathon-need no explanation, but some of the more esoteric events may even confuse long-term Olympic audiences. These include triple jump, pole vault, obstacle course and hammer throw.

These events usually take place off-camera, and only the most die-hard fans know their medal winners. How they became part of the Olympic Games and why they stayed in the Olympic Games have a lot to do with the central role of track and field in the history of the Olympic Games.

Like many sports, athletics developed organically, and it was not organized until the 19th century when the United States and Europe began to take leisure activities seriously. Over time, competitions held in fairs and country greens became more formal, and distances became standardized. English schools held running competitions, and Oxford and Cambridge universities held their first university gatherings in 1864. Walking—long-distance walking competitions that lasted for many days and crowds—was all the rage in the 1870s and 1880s. Betting is common, and the sport developed the first professionals, namely runners and walkers who shared bonuses with bettors. Elsewhere, throwing competitions are very popular in Scotland (and still so at the modern Highland Games).

According to track and field historian and podcaster Jesse Squire, these different threads were woven together at the first Olympic Games in 1896. Inspired by the Ancient Greek Games, the founder of the Olympic Games Pierre De Coubertin organized a track and field competition with 12 events, including sprint and long-distance running (and the first marathon), and Jump and throw items. The two items Discus and Javelin were especially added to the game because of their ancient Greek origin, and there has never been a game in modern times.

A total of 64 men from 10 countries participated in the competition. The winner received a silver medal, and the runner-up received a bronze medal. (The third place got nothing.) Squire said that the Olympics were held specifically for amateur athletes to eliminate the annoying elements of pedestrian gambling.

Over the years, new events have continued to increase-the hammer throw that debuted in 1900, the obstacle course in 1920-as the Olympic track and field began to define modern track and field, it became the sport's fixed event. At the Tokyo Olympics, nearly 2,000 athletes from 190 countries are expected to compete in 48 men's and women's events.

The triple jump may be considered the first modern Olympic event, because the first medal won at the 1896 Olympics was American champion James Connolly. In the 19th century, jumping was a popular sport. Except for the long jump, high jump, and triple jump—all of which were played in the 1896 Olympics and continue to this day—other events include standing long jump and standing high jump (which appeared briefly in later Olympics), in which athletes did not Take a run to start.

The modern triple jump is also called "jump, jump, and jump", which requires the athlete to take off on one leg (jump), then take off again and land with the other leg (jump), and then jump into the bunker. The best man in the world approaches 60 feet in three steps. In the first Olympic Games, Connolly won with the technique of "one hop, one hop", but by 1900, the event was standardized into a modern form.

Poles are often used to cross the canals and streams of Northern Europe. Instead of a bridge, a pile of poles allows travelers to swing themselves over obstacles. This activity evolved into a sport. The height and distance of the pole vault have been played in England, Germany and the Netherlands. The long-distance pole vault has never entered the Olympics and therefore is not part of modern athletics, but it is still a regional sport in the Netherlands, where it is called fieflijeppen (which is worth seeing).

Initially, pole vaulters used hard poles made of bamboo or aluminum, but with the introduction of flexible fiberglass poles in the 1950s, people’s heights became higher and higher (the men’s world record is now 6.18 meters, or 20 feet 3 inches). ). The women's pole vault became an Olympic event in 2000. "Pole vault," Squires said, "it takes great athleticism and complete madness."

Hammer throwing can be traced back to the ancient Irish Tailteann game, where contestants will throw various heavy objects, including blacksmith hammers. Like other throwing sports, the weight of the hammer becomes fixed. It eventually evolved from a real hammer into a heavy ball with a rigid handle, until its present form: a steel ball fixed on the handle with a wire. Men's hammer weighs 16 pounds (7.26 kg); women's is 8.8 pounds (women did not throw hammers at the Olympics until 2000). The Scottish Highland Hammer Throw still uses a ball attached to a fixed pole.

The hammer can be fascinating because the contestant spins violently into a tight circle on the edge of loss of control before being released.

Although most long-distance races are very simple, the 3,000-meter obstacle course is a special exception. Runners have to run more than seven and a half laps, jumping over 28 fixed obstacles-unlike fragile obstacles, these obstacles do not create obstacles when hit. The strangest thing is that each lap also includes a water barrier. Although most runners can run out with only one wet shoe, occasionally some poor runners fall in.

Obstacle races originated from cross-country races held in England and Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries, when both runners and equestrians participated in the competition. (The name comes from the rider who ran from the church steeple in one town to another). Obstacle runners will jump over walls and wading. These obstacles were replicated when the event was later played on flat ground and played in laps.

The obstacle course is another Olympic event that has only recently added women's competitions. The first event was in 2008.

Both men's and women's obstacle courses are dominated by Kenya. Kenyan men won a total of 22 medals in this event (the runner-up Finland won 9), while the women won two silver and one bronze medals.

Unlike 100-meter sprints and long jumps, these events require little or no equipment, and competitions are common. Events such as pole vault, hammer and triple jump may require expensive equipment, specialized instruction, or inherently dangerous. ——Or a combination of the three. Even in rich countries, they have not been widely disputed.

As more and more sports join the Olympic Games, we have reason to doubt whether they will become victims to accommodate athletes in more popular sports such as break dancing and rock climbing. This is something that Squire is worried about. Squire said that for decades, Italy's Primo Nebiolo (Primo Nebiolo) was the authoritarian and morally flexible head of the track and field management agency, and his preeminence in the Olympics has been enthusiastically protected. Its current head, Sebastian Coe of the United Kingdom, may not be willing to fight to protect the track.

Ultimately, Squire said, the solution may be to reduce the number of athletes in each event. Currently, each has 24 to 80 qualifiers. Making it harder to enter the game may be to ensure that all events, even the most inconspicuous events, remain the same.

📬 Start drinking coffee and daily briefing (BYO coffee) every morning.

By providing your email, you agree to the Quartz privacy policy.

© 2021 Quartz Media, Inc. All rights reserved.