The Olympics games took part in London in 1908

Virgin Media Sport takes a look back at the origins of athletics.

The name "athletics" is derived from the Greek word "athlos" meaning "contest".

The original and only event at the first Olympics around 776BC was a stadium-length foot race or "stade", run on a track.

There were several other "games" held in Europe in the classical era:

Panhellenic Games:
The Pythian Games (founded 527 BC) held in Delphi every four years
The Nemean Games (founded 516 BC) held in Argolid every two years
The Isthmian Games (founded 523 BC) held on the Isthmus of Corinth every two years
The Roman Games - Arising from Etruscan rather than purely Greek roots, the Roman Games deemphasized footraces and throwing. Instead, the Greek sports of chariot racing and wrestling, as well as the Etruscan sport of gladiatorial combat, took center stage.
The Tailteann Games (claimed foundation 1829 BC) - held near modern Telltown in Ireland, this thirty-day meeting included foot races and stone-throwing events

Other peoples, such as the Celts, Teutons and Goths who succeeded the Romans, enjoyed athletic contests. However, these were often related to combat training. In the Middle Ages the sons of noblemen would be trained in running, leaping and wrestling, in addition to riding, jousting and arms-training. Contests between rivals and friends may have been common on both official and unofficial grounds.

Annually, from 1796-1798, L'Olympiade de la République was held in revolutionary France, and is an early forerunner to the modern summer Olympic Games. The premier event of this competition was a footrace, but various ancient Greek disciplines were also on display. The 1796 Olympiade also marks the introduction of the metric system into sport.

In the 19th century the formal organization of the modern events accelerated - in France, Germany, and Great Britain in particular.

Modern athletic events are usually organized around a 400 metre running track on which most of the running events take place. Field events (vaulting, jumping, and throwing) often take place on the infield, inside the track.

Athletics was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has formed their backbone ever since.

Women were first allowed to participate in track and field events in the 1928 Olympics.

An international governing body, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), was founded in 1912; it adopted its current name, the International Association of Athletics Federations, in 2001.