# Everybody Plays!

# Athletics

Paralympic symbol

The sport of running track is done on a large oval, called a track that is typically orange or green in color. It is about 20-25 feet wide and ¼ of a mile around. There are usually seven white lines drawn on the track to designate eight running lanes. There are many kinds of races. Some people run short, fast races, called sprints. The 50-yard dash is a sprint race. Other people run distance races at a slower rate. The 1,500-meter race is a distance race.

Field events take place either in the center of the track or off to the side in the grass. The javelin is a long pole with a metal tip on the end. The thrower runs and throws the javelin for distance. The metal tip helps it stay straight in the air and to stick into the ground. The shot put is a heavy ball that the thrower holds tight to his neck. The thrower spins in a circle and then throws the shot put as far as possible. The discus is a heavy, plate-shaped rubber or metal object that the thrower holds in the palm of his hand. The thrower spins and releases the discus with a straight arm so that it flies flat like a plate for as far as possible. There are three jumping events. Two of these, the standing broad jump and the running long jump, require the jumper to jump as far as she can into a sand pit. The high jump has a bar held up by two poles. The jumper feels how high it is, steps back, takes a running start, and jumps over the bar. The jumper lands on her back onto a large foam mat.

A boy leaps into the air toward the sand pit. A coach watches the boy in the air practice the long jump.

A boy runs unassisted around an oval track.

A boy runs independently in the grass. In one hand he holds a looped rope that is attached to a carabiner. The carabiner is clipped onto a guidewire. The carabiner glides along the guidewire as the boy runs.