History of Athletics in Nigeria

The story

The oldest sport in the world

Prior to the initiation/introduction of this sports in Nigeria, Track and Field sports has long been in existence as the event was normally held in collaboration with carnivals and other games making it one of the oldest when it comes to sporting competition.

It was first featured in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece of which only a single event was competed in, which is the Stadion Footrace. Later in the subsequent years, the game was established to many forms which include running competitions adding to the introduction of the Ancient Olympic pentathlon which made track and field to be recognized in the world today.

The ancient pentathlon sports events initially comprised five event competitions which include wrestling, stadion footrace, javelin throw, long jump and discus throw.

The modern Olympic Games were established during the 19th Century which set a new ground for track and field. The Olympic athletics competition which consists of track and field event with the marathon race comprises mainly of the prominent sporting competitions of the 1896 Summer Olympics.

The Olympics also brought in the use of metric measurements in international track and field events for race distances and for measuring jumps and throws.

Track and Field event was among the foremost Games featured at the Olympic Games as it has rapidly grown over the years.

The two most famous international track and field competitions that are being organized in this modern century are the Olympic Games athletics event and the World Athletics Championships.

Nigeria has its governing body that governs and directs track and field sports in Nigeria as well.