Track and field originates back to early Greece in 776 B.C. Other archeological studies show that these events originated as early as the 9th or 10th century B.C. Some of the artifacts that have been found from these games are ancient bronze trophies.
Although thought to have been held in the first Olympic Games, the marathon was not in the modern Olympics until 1896 in the city of Athens, Greece. The first marathon was 42 miles. Later it was standardized to a distance of 26.2 miles.
A sprinter crossing the finish line