Athletics can be divided into four areas: track, field, road and combined events. Among the main track events are the sprinting disciplines (100m, 200m, 400m), middle-distance running (800m and 1500m) and long-distance running (5000m and 10,000m). Also included are hurdling (100m and 400m for women, 110m and 400m for men), the men's 3000m steeplechase, and the men’s and women’s relay events (4 x 100m and 4 x 400m).
Field events, for both men and women, will consist of the long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put, discus, javelin and hammer throw. The Sydney 2000 Games will mark the debuts of both the women's pole vault and hammer throw in Olympic competition.
Out on the road, the events taking place will be the men's and women's marathons, the men's 20km and 50km race walks and the women's 10km race walk. Each event will finish within the Olympic Stadium.
The combined events are separated into the heptathlon for women and the decathlon for men. Athletes compete in a series of track and field events over two days in which points are based upon their finishes in each event. The winner is the athlete who has accumulated the greatest number of points after all events are completed.
