Topic Content:
- Brief History of Athletics
Athletics can be traced back to the time of the early men, who had no choice but to be fit to survive. Javelin throwing and several running sports are the modern sports that most accurately reflect some of the hunting skills of early humans.
The first organized athletics was held in Greece in 776 BC and was known as the Olympic Games. The Olympic games are held every four (4) years.
The ancient Olympics was held in honour of the king of Greece god whose name was Zeus. Emperor Theodosius banned or abolished the ancient Olympics in 394 AD because it was regarded as a pagan festival.
In 1896, a French lover of sports Monsieur Baron Pierre De Coubertin revived it, which earned him the name the father of modern Olympics.
The Olympic flag has five (5) joined rings of different colours viz, which are, from left to right, blue, yellow, black, green and red.
The international body that controls the Olympics is called the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The current IOC headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The Olympic motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius” (“Faster, Higher, Stronger”) was adopted by the IOC in 1894. The new motto, which now reads “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together,” was unanimously approved at the 138th session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on July 20, 2021.
The current International body governing athletic sports is known as the International Association of Athletic Federation (IAAF) founded on 17 July 1912, in Stockholm, Sweden.
The Nigeria body responsible for athletics is the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) founded in 1944. The AFN headquarters is at the Nigeria National Stadium in Garki, Abuja.