Track answers
Straight answers about track and field
Questions athletes and coaches ask, each answered in the first line, with the numbers and the source.
- How many laps around a track is a mile?A mile is just over 4 laps of a standard 400m track. A mile is 1,609.344 metres, so it is 4 laps (1,600m) plus 9.34 metres; mile races start 9.34 metres behind the finish line.
- How long is a running track?A standard outdoor track is 400 metres in lane 1, about 437 yards or a quarter of a mile. Each lane is 1.22 metres wide, so a lap in lane 8 is about 453 metres.
- How many barriers are in the steeplechase?The 3000m steeplechase has 28 barrier jumps and 7 water jumps: five per lap after the first partial lap, one of them over the water. Barriers are 0.914 m for men and 0.762 m for women.
- How heavy is a shot put?The men's shot weighs 7.26 kg (16 lb) and the women's 4 kg (8.82 lb). US high school boys throw a 12 lb (5.44 kg) shot and girls a 4 kg shot.
- How heavy is a discus?The men's discus weighs 2 kg and the women's 1 kg. US high school boys throw a 1.6 kg discus and girls a 1 kg discus.
- How heavy is a javelin?The men's javelin weighs 800 g and the women's 600 g. U18 boys throw 700 g and U18 girls 500 g.
- How heavy is the hammer in the hammer throw?The men's hammer weighs 7.26 kg (16 lb), the same as the men's shot, and the women's 4 kg. U20 men throw 6 kg and U18 boys 5 kg; U18 girls throw 3 kg.
- How tall are hurdles, and how far apart are they?Men's 110m hurdles are 1.067 m (42 in), women's 100m hurdles 0.838 m (33 in). In the 400m hurdles men clear 0.914 m (36 in) and women 0.762 m (30 in). Every race has 10 hurdles.
- What wind is legal in track and field?A tailwind up to +2.0 metres per second is legal for records and best marks in the sprints up to 200m, the hurdles up to 110m, the long jump and the triple jump. Anything over +2.0 is wind-aided. Inside a combined event the limit is +4.0.
- What is a false start in track?A false start is leaving the blocks before the gun, or reacting faster than 0.100 seconds after it. Under World Athletics rules the athlete responsible is disqualified on the first false start.
- How many attempts do you get in the long jump and throws?Under World Athletics rules each athlete gets three attempts, and the best eight after three get three more, six in all. With eight or fewer athletes, everyone gets six. Many school and club meets use three or four.
- How are ties broken in the high jump and pole vault?The athlete with fewer attempts at the last height both cleared places higher. If still tied, the one with fewer failures in the whole competition places higher. A tie for first place then goes to a jump-off.
- What do PR, PB, SB, w and h mean in track results?PR (personal record) and PB (personal best) mean the same thing: an athlete's best ever mark in an event. SB is a season best. A w marks a wind-aided mark, h a hand time, A a mark at altitude, i an indoor mark and NWI a mark with no wind reading.
- How is a decathlon scored?Each of the ten events scores points on its own World Athletics formula, and the points add up. A 10.55 100m is worth 963 points; the world record is Kevin Mayer's 9,126 from 2018.
- What are the decathlon events?The decathlon is ten events over two days. Day one: 100m, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m. Day two: 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500m.
- What are the heptathlon events?The heptathlon is seven events over two days. Day one: 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200m. Day two: long jump, javelin and 800m.