Track and Field Events

Genzebe Dibaba ran 3.50.07 in Monaco at a Diamond League event, one of the best middle distance races of all time.

Hicham El Guerrouj and Bernard Lagat are two well known stars of this event. Great Britain has had success in this event including the first World champion from 1983, Steve Cram.

1500m is usually the principal event in any major championships such as the Olympics and the Worlds. 1600m is a race run at invitational meets such as the Diamond League.

Heptathletes or decathletes can specialise in one event and can win a medal or medals e.g Olympics or World Championships. Netherlands Dafne Schippers proved it in the 100m on 13th August 2014 to become European champion.

Another former British heptathlete, Denise Lewis won gold at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

The 2004 Olympic final over twelve and a half laps track featured three global champions. Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge, the 2003 World champion, Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele, the 10,000m winner and Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj, the 1500m winner who actually won it.

Stars of 1 lap running include Michael Johnson and Wayde Van Niekerk, now the new world record holder, 43.03, an average of around 10.75 seconds per 100m.

Jeremy Wariner, Sanya Richards, Michael Johnson as well as British stars such as Katherine Merry, Nicola Sanders and Christine Ohroughu.

Holly Bleasdale is by far and away Great Britain's best pole vaulter and recently she became European Indoor champion in Gothenburg, Sweden.

I should also mention a French pole vaulter, Renaud Lavillennie.

Yelena Isinbayeva and Sergey Bubka are two of the great names in this event.

There have been British runners over this distance including Paula Radcliffe and Jo Pavey, both former European gold medallists.

Liz Mccolgan won gold in this event at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

The 2003 World Championships was such a classic race between Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele, both from Ethiopia and it was the latter that prevailed. The 2012 Olympic 10,000m final was not a classic but Britain's Mo Farah got everybody on the edge of their seats including myself.

Recently, Christian Taylor jumped 18.21 at the World Championships in Beijing to put him second on all time list.

Christian Olsson and Phillips Idowu are two of the many well known triple jumpers.

Jonathan Edwards' two amazing world records at the 1995 World Championships. 18.16 and then 18.29.

No doubt that the 2012 Olympic final saw all eight athletes including Great Britain's Andrew Osagie ran lifetime bests. Of course, Kenya's David Rudisha broke the world record, 1.40.91.

Kelly Holmes and David Rudisha are just two of the big names in 2 lap running.

To round off 2014 on a high, a Qatari athlete jumped 2.43 on Friday 5th September 2014 at a Diamond League event in Brussels to put him second in the all time list behind Cuba's Javier Sotomayor.

Recently, there was an enthralling encounter at one Diamond League event in New York on 14th June 2014. A Qatari and an Ukranian athlete jumped 2.42m and wrote their names in the history books. Another Ukranian athlete joined the 2.40m club recently in Lausanne, Switzerland on July 3rd 2014, another Diamond League meet.

There have been great high jumpers internationally such as Stefan Holm and Blanka Vlasic.

Robbie Grabarz has certainly put British high jumping on the world map. In the 2008 Olympics, three British representatives made the final, one of them got the bronze.

Great Britain has had some great sprinters, the latest been Dina Asher Smith who ran 10.85 to win gold at the 2018 European Championships.

Legends of this blue riband event of track and field event include Usain Bolt, Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce and Linford Christie.

To run under ten seconds nowadays is a common occurrence be it the Diamond League, World Championships or the Olympics.

Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce, Usain Bolt, Carmelita Jeter and Maurice Greene are of the big names in 100m sprinting.

Great Britain has had success in this event from John Regis to Adam Gemili to Dina Asher Smith.

Dafne Schippers ran 21.63 at the 2015 Beijing World Championships, one of the fastest times in history.

Great Britain has had successes in this event including its newest sensation, Adam Gemili. Ran 19.98 in the European Championships when he won the gold.

Michael Johnson, Usain Bolt, Allyson Felix and Veronica Campbell Brown are four of the big names in 200m sprinting.

Andreas Thorkildsen, Jan Zelezny as well as British stars such as Steve Backley, Tessa Sanderson and Fatima Whitbread are just some of the names in javelin.

Greg Rutherford's 8.31m recorded at the 2012 London Olympics where he became Olympic champion.

The 1991 World Championships in Tokyo between Carl Lewis and Mike Powell was nail biting to watch. The latter athlete prevailed jumping I think 8.95. Britain's Greg Rutherford jumped 8.31 to become Britain's first Olympic champion for 48 years.

An up and coming American sprint hurdler named Jasmin Stowers ran 12.35 recently at a Diamond League meet in Doha, Qatar, one of the fastest times ever.

For women, it is the 100m hurdles. Jessica Ennis ran 12.54 in the opening discipline that would have put her in the Olympic individual final. For men, it is the 110 metre hurdles. Britain's greatest hurdler of all time is Colin Jackson, twice World champion in 1993 and 1999. Liu Xiang and Aries Merritt as well as Sally Pearson are three of sprint hurdling's greatest stars.

Great 400m hurdlers internationally such as Felix Sanchez and Jana Rawlinson, the latter came from Australia. Perri Shakes Drayton, Sally Gunnell and Natasha Danvers are the British stars of this event.

Dai Greene is probably Britain's greatest 400m hurdler since Kriss Akabusi even though he failed to deliver at the 2012 Olympic final. He is of course the 2011 World champion as well as past European champion.

I seem to remember Great Britain's historic 1991 World Championship Men's 4x400m final against the United States. In that quartet was a sprinter, John Regis. Kriss Akabusi ran the last leg.

It is the 4x400m relay.

New Zealand's Valerie Adams is the most dominant figure in this event.

Great Britain also won gold in the 2017 London World Championships in the Olympic Stadium in Stratford.

It is the 4x100m relay. Examples are Jamaica's men's team in both 2008 and 2012 Olympics and the USA's women's team in the 2012 Olympics, three world record performances. Great Britain's men's team won gold in 2004 at the Athens Olympics.