ATHLETICS

The sport of athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking.The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking. The results of footracing events are typically decided by finishing position, while the jumps and throws are won by the athlete that achieves the highest or furthest measurement from a series of attempts. The simplicity of the competitions, and the lack of a need for expensive equipment, makes athletics one of the most commonly competed sports in the world. Athletics is mostly an individual sport, with the exception of relay races and competitions which combine athletes' performances for a team score, such as cross country.

International Events

The international athletic events taken place are:-

1. Commonwealth Games

2. Olympic Games

3. Asian Games

National Athletics Rockstars

MILKHA SINGH

Milkha Singh (born around the 1930s), also known as The Flying Sikh, is a former Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army.The race for which Singh is best remembered is his fourth-place finish in the 400 metres final at the 1960 Olympic Games, which he had entered as one of the favourites.

JYOTIRMOYEE SIKDAR

Jyotirmoyee Sikdar won two Gold Medals and a Silver medal, in the 1998, Bangkok Asian Games, where she cheered up the nation, electrified the sagging morale of the participants and silenced the media criticism of the sports officials. The 29 year-old athlete returned home to be hailed as the 'New Golden Girl' of India. Already an Arjuna Award winner (1995), she got the 'Most Valued Performance Award' instituted by Samsung. There years later she became the first athlete to be honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (1998).

Career and Achievements
Jyotirmoyee made her national debut with a Silver Medal in 800 metres at the All-India Open Meet in 1992. A Gold medal in the Open Nationals of the following year earned her a berth to the 1993 South Asian Federation (SAF) Games at Dhaka where she picked up a Silver in the 1,500 metres. With a Gold at the Singapore Open in 1993, she went on to break the national mark in the 1,500 metres at the National Athletics Meet in 1994. In the trials for the Asiad '94 she came under Shiny Abraham's 800 metres mark and confirmed her place in the Indian team to the 1994 Asian Games at Hiroshima where she took part in the two events but could manage just a fourth place in 1,500 metres. She was a part of the 4x400m relay team that won the gold at the World Railways Meet in London in 1994. She took part in the World Championships in Sweden followed by the 1995 Asian Track & Field Meet in Jakarta where she claimed a Cold in the 800 metres and her team won the Silver in the 4x400m relay. She created a new 800 metres national record in 1995 and was named Indian Railways Best Sportsperson in 1996, the year she won Gold in the 400 metres at Taipei and was a part of the Indian 4x400m relay team at the Atlanta Olympics. She participated twice in the International 1TC Meet, winning a Bronze in 1994 and a Gold and Silver in 1997.

Jyotirmoyee won Bronze Medals in the 800 and 1,500 metre events to along with her team winning the 4x400m relay Silver or the Asian Track & Field Meet at Fukuoka in Japan in 1997. But it was the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok where she was to give her best performance with career best timings of 2:01.00 seconds in 800 metres and 4:12.82 seconds in 1,500 metres to win the Gold in both the events. Her third medal, Silver, came as member of the 4x400 relay squad.

P.T. USHA

Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha (born 27 June 1964), popularly known as P. T. Usha, is an Indian track and field athlete from the state of Kerala. P. T. Usha has been associated with Indian athletics since 1979. She is regarded as one of the greatest athletes India has ever produced and is often called the "queen of Indian track and field". She is nicknamed the Payyoli Express. Currently she runs the Usha School of Athletics at Koyilandy in Kerala. P. T. Usha was born in the village of Payyoli, Kozhikode District, Kerala. In 1976 the Kerala State Government started a Sports School for women, and Usha was chosen to represent her district.

ANJU BOBBY GEORGE

Anju Bobby George - It's after a very long time that an athlete capable of winning medals at the international level has come up on the Indian sports horizon. And she is none other than Anju Bobby George. Anju jumped to fame by winning the bronze medal in long jump at the World Athletics Championships, 2003 in Paris.
Achievements and Accolades
With her bronze winning performance at the world athletics Championship 2003 in Paris, Anju Bobby George catapulted herself to fame and won the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2004. Even before winning the bronze at the Paris meet, Anju had shown a lot of promise by winning the gold at the junior Asian Championship in1996. Although she started with Heptathlon, but later began to concentrate on her jump events and went on to win long jump medal at the junior Asian championship. She also won the silver medal at the SAF games in Nepal. Anju became the first Indian woman to win a bronze medal clearing 6.49 m at the Commonwealth Games at Manchester 2002. She also won the gold medal at the Busan Asian Games. Anju received the prestigious Arjuna award (2003) for eminent sports persons from the government of India after her success in the World Athletic meet.

International Athletics Rockstars

USAIN BOLT

Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, CD (born 21 August 1986), is a Jamaican sprinter. Widely regarded as the fastest person ever, he is the first man to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic time measurements became mandatory in 1977. Along with his teammates, he also set the world record in the 4×100 metres relay. He is the reigning Olympic champion in these three events, the first man to win six Olympic gold medals in sprinting, and an eight-time World champion. He was the first to achieve a "double double" by winning 100 m and 200 m titles at consecutive Olympics (2008 and 2012), and topped this through the first "double triple" (including 4×100 m relays).

FLORENCE GRIFFITH JOYNER

Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner (December 21, 1959 – September 21, 1998), also known as Flo-Jo, was an American track and field athlete. She is considered the fastest woman of all time based on the fact that the world records she set in 1988 for both the 100 m and 200 m still stand and have yet to be seriously challenged. She died in her sleep as the result of an epileptic seizure in 1998 at the age of 38. She attended University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

MICHAEL JOHNSON

Michael Duane Johnson (born September 13, 1967) is a retired American sprinter. He won four Olympic gold medals and eightWorld Championships gold medals. Johnson currently holds the world and Olympic records in the 400 m. He formerly held the world and Olympic record in the 200 m, and the world record in the indoor 400 m. He also currently holds the world's best time at the 300 m. His 200 m time of 19.32 at the 1996 Summer Olympics stood as the record for over 12 years. Johnson is generally considered one of the greatest and most consistent sprinters in the history of track and field.