Olympic athletics begins in Rio de Janeiro with the preliminary competitions. The popular sport known widely as track and field has especially high stakes this Olympic Games as returning champions and world-record breakers prepare to defend their titles.
Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt is the favorite for the men’s 100 meter and 200 meter, having won the gold in those events at both the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games. He is also the world-record holder for the fastest times in those events and has been dubbed “the fastest man on Earth.” Another world-record holder, David Rudisha, returns to defend his title in the 800-meter event, although he struggled in Kenya’s qualifiers, placing third. In the 2012 Games, the U.S. women’s 4 × 100-meter relay team and the Jamaican men’s 4 × 100-meter relay team each broke the world record for their event.
Other notable track athletes include Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethopia (10,000 meter) and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica (100 meter), both competing for their third Olympic gold. Somalian-born British distance runner Mo Farah will fight to add to his two gold medals in both the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter races.
In field events, the defending champions of the decathlon (Ashton Eaton) and of the heptathlon (Jessica Ennis-Hill) return after having shown tremendous overall strength in their events in 2012. World champion and record holder Anita Włodarczyk will be a force to be reckoned with in the hammer throw. France’s Renaud Lavillenie will be leading his team and trying to beat his own seemingly unbeatable pole-vault record.
The excitement about athletic events has been shrouded by significant doping problems in recent years. According to the International Association of Athletics Federation, 12 men and 29 women were charged with doping violations in the 2012 London Games alone; their performances have since been annulled. Doping has been an important issue in the Rio Games since Russia’s government-sponsored doping scheme came to light.