Athletics is a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking.[1] The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and walking race.

The International Association of Athletics Federations, the sport's governing body, defines athletics in six disciplines: track and field, road running, race walking, cross country running, mountain running, and trail running[17] (mountain running was added in 2003[18] and trail running was added in 2015[19][20][21]). All forms of athletics are individual sports with the exception of relay races. However, athletes' performances are often tallied together by country at international championships, and in the case of cross country and certain road races the finishing positions or times of the top athletes from each team or country are combined to declare a team victor.