15 Reasons Why Track is the Best Sport in the World

There's an ongoing argument between fans of team sports and fans of individual sports. Do individual sports really count as "sports?" Team sport fans will say no they don't and individual sport fans will rally together in protest. Let's put this argument to rest once and for all. Take a look at what the dictionaries have to say.

The 1st is from Merriam-Webster's dictionary:

Sport: A contest or game in which people do certain physical activities according to a specific set of rules and compete against each other. 

The 2nd is from Collins English Dictionary: 

Sport: An individual or group activity pursued for exercise or pleasure, often involving the testing of physical capabilities and taking the form of a competitive game such as football(soccer) tennis, etc. 

There you have it. Argument settled. I don't want to hear any more about it. But even though you can whip out dictionaries, there are still some team sportsters that will argue that sports like track and field aren't really sports. They'll put forth the argument that a sport needs a ball or implement and you need to be able to score some kind of goal with one offense opposing another team's defense.  

"Track's not a sport because all you do is run. You can't score and you don't play against the other teams defense in a game!" Well team sport supporters, you're right about track athletes there. We don't "play," we compete. We don't "score," we medal. We don't play games against one teams defense, we compete against 30 other teams all at once. While you're thinking about that, think about this, our sport is your sport's punishment. 

So, for all the "track haters" out there, here's 15 reasons why track and field is the best sport in the world! 

1.  It's the original sport! 

The Greeks held track meets beginning in 776 BC and continued doing it for 11 centuries afterwards! Can you think of another sport that has that deep of a history?

2. It made the Olympics what it is today.

First modern Olympic games in Athens, Greece 1896

The first modern Olympic games, held in 1896, was simply just a world track meet. It was such a huge success that the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) decided to open the Olympics up to other sports, but track was the first.

3.  It made college sports what it is today.

(far left) University of Pennsylvania track team 1890, (middle) members of the Chaffey College track team 1893, (far right) an Amherst College track athlete 1888

Track and field was the first intercollegiate sport where universities competed against one another beginning in 1819 in England. The United States first started participating in intercollegiate track and field in 1876 beginning in New York. As a result of American universities competing in track and field, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association (IAA) was founded as a way to govern the participation. The IAA was later renamed the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). 

4. The term "Athletics" means Track and Field.

You go to most any country in Europe and say the word "athletics" in their native language, you aren't saying "sports", you're saying "track and field." Go ahead and take a look at what the first definition of the word "athletics" is in Collins English Dictionary.....go ahead. I'll wait. 

5.  The title of "World's Fastest Man/Woman"

(left) Usain Bolt, (right) Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

You can be fast in football, basketball, soccer, or rugby, but the world ONLY recognizes the fastest person in the world as the winner of the Olympic 100 meter dash.  Currently the fastest man in the world is Usain Bolt of Jamaica. The title of worlds fastest woman currently belongs to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica. 

6.  The title of "World's Best Athlete"

(top) Ashton Eaton, (left) Bruce Jenner, (middle) Bryan Clay, (right) James Bausch

Just like the title of "World's Fastest Man/Woman" can only belong to a track athlete, the title of "World's Best Athlete" can only belong to a track athlete, specifically the reigning Olympic decathlon champion. For those of you that don't know, the decathlon is made up of 10 separate track and field events where the athlete scores points based on how well they do in each of those events. The events are the 100 meters, long jump, shot-put, high jump, 400 meter dash, 110 meter high hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, and the 1500 meter run. The current holder of the "World's Best Athlete" title is Ashton Eaton of the United States. 

7.  Victory or defeat...it's all on the athlete

In most other sports, if something goes wrong, an athlete can reasonably cast blame on another one of his teammates as the source of their failure. A wide receiver can blame the quarterback when the ball is overthrown. A first baseman can blame a pitcher for pitching outside when he should have pitched outside. But if you lose in track, it's  on no one but you. You can't blame anyone else because you didn't run fast enough, jump high enough, or throw far enough. It's the same if you win. No one else can take credit if you run the fastest. 

8.  Upsets. It's full of them. 

Upsets aren't just for popular team sports like football, basketball, or hockey. No champion, record holder, or hot favorite is ever safe in the world of track and field. 

9.  The legendary athletes

(far left) Carl Lewis, (middle) Steve Prefontaine, (far right) Jesse Owens

Carl Lewis, Steve Prefontaine, Jesse Owens, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Michael Johnson, Lolo Jones, Bruce Jenner, Jim Thorpe, Usain Bolt, and on and on! There are so many that I couldn't possibly list them all.   

10.  It's the embodiment of the Olympic motto.

The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius." These three latin words translate to "Faster, Higher, Stronger." This has been the Olympic motto since the beginning of the modern era and it was adopted with track and field as its image. "Faster" refers to the sprint events like the 100 meter dash and all running events. "Higher" refers to events like high jump or pole vault. "Stronger" refers to the throws like discus, javelin, shot-put, and hammer. You need all three of them combined to succeed in any of the events of track and field. 

11.  Physique.

(Top) Jessica Ennis, (left) Tyson Gaye,  (middle) Trey Hardee, (right) Allyson Felix

Yeah, take a look at that. You will not find better conditioned or better looking athletes anywhere in the world than on the track. 

12.  It's the ultimate umbrella sport.

All other sports are an appendage of track and field. Give me a sport, any sport, and I'll show you that it's ancestry is found in track and field. For the naysayers I have one question, what sports don't involve running either during competition or during training? *mic drop*

13.  Curses

This is number 13 for a reason. Curses aren't just for the Boston Red Sox or the Heisman Trophy. Track and field has it's own "Curse of the Bambino" in the "Cover Star Curse." The "Cover Star Curse" holds that the athlete who is featured on the front cover of the daily program for the Track and Field World Championships has failed to win the event for which they were the favorite. Even Usain Bolt has fallen victim to the "Cover Star Curse." 

14. It was one of the first sports that allowed women to compete.

(top) A New York Ladies Athletic Club relay in 1902
(bottom) participants in the Women's 800 meters at the 1928 Olympics

Women's track and field officially became part of the Olympic games in 1928. However, years before that (as early as 1890) private clubs as well as universities had already organized women's teams, making track and field one of the first sports in the U.S. to allow women to compete at an intercollegiate and world level. 

15. It was one of the first sports to integrate. 

(left) 1901 Univ. of Wisconsin track team, (middle) Poage at 1904 Olympics, (right) Poage in his USA uniform

Before football, baseball, and basketball, track and field was the first intercollegiate/world sport to integrate. In 1901, George Poage became the first African-American to participate in collegiate track, running at the University of Wisconsin. After a great deal of success at Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Athletic Club decided it would sponsor Poage to compete in the 1904 Olympics held in St. Louis. At those Olympics, Poage would become the first African-American to win an Olympic medal, taking home the bronze in both the 220 yard and 440 yard hurdles. 

So there you have it folks. The next time someone tells you track isn't a sport, do them a favor and drop a knowledge bomb on them like: 

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About Unknown

"I'm a graduate of the University of Utah and self proclaimed 'biggest track fan in the state of Utah.' Since Utah is an Olympic proud state, it seems odd that Utah doesn't fully support the marquee sport of the Olympics. Let's do something about it!"