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The 100 meter dash used to be called the 100 yard dash. All the races used to be measured in yards in this country, the 200 meter was the 220 yard dash, the 400 meter was the 440 yard dash and so on. That means that people used to measure the track by yards instead of meters. Since, for example, the 220 yard dash came out to be about a yard and a quarter more than the 200 meter dash, separate scores had to be maintained for each race.
The 200 m dash is sometimes run on a straightaway. Mostly, it's run on the
curve of the track.
The 400 m used to be a middle distance but runners got so good and ran it so
fast that it is now a sprint. The 800 m may even become a sprint if runners
continue to run it so fast.
The crouch start started out with Serrill of Yale in 1888 and has been universally used ever since. It used to be made by holes dugs in the track, but now it is done by using starting blocks.
It takes 13 seconds for oxygen to get to your muscles so sprinter do not need
to breath on the 50, 60 or 100 m dashes if they don't want to. Still, it relaxes
them to breath so they really need to breath after the race or their muscles will
cramp up and they will collapse.
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This is what shoes looked like 20 years ago. Notice that there are no
spikes.
Here's what shoes look like now. They have spikes and they cost a lot
more. They are pretty fancy.