Editing Track and field (section)

===Middle distance===
{{Main|Middle-distance running}}
[[File:ArneAndersson&GunderHagg1942.jpg|thumb|[[Arne Andersson]] (left) and [[Gunder Hägg]] (right) broke a number of middle-distance world records in the 1940s.]]
The most common middle-distance track events are the [[800 metres]], [[1500 metres]] and [[mile run]], although the [[3000 metres]] may also be classified as a middle-distance event.<ref>"[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/381174/middle-distance-running Middle-distance running]", ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507140125/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/381174/middle-distance-running |date=7 May 2015 }}. Retrieved on 5 April 2010.</ref> The [[880 yard run]], or half mile, was the forebear of the 800&nbsp;m distance and it has its roots in competitions in the United Kingdom in the 1830s.<ref name=IAAF800 /> The 1500&nbsp;m came about as a result of running three laps of a 500&nbsp;m track, which was commonplace in continental Europe in the 20th century.<ref name=IAAF1500 />

Middle-distance events can begin in one of two ways: a staggered start or a waterfall start. In the 800 meter race, athletes begin in individual lanes that are staggered before the turn.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Douglas |first=Scott |date=14 July 2022 |title=Each Track and Field Event Has Unique Characteristics, So Let's Brush Up on the Basics |url=https://www.runnersworld.com/races-places/a20812256/how-to-watch-track-field/ |access-date=8 June 2023 |website=Runner's World |archive-date=20 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120181647/https://www.runnersworld.com/races-places/a20812256/how-to-watch-track-field/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Runners must remain in their lanes for the first 100&nbsp;m before cutting in to run as a pack.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rosenbaum |first=Mike |url=http://trackandfield.about.com/od/middledistance/p/middledistance.htm |title=Introduction to Middle Distance Running |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303184605/http://trackandfield.about.com/od/middledistance/p/middledistance.htm |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=usurped |website=About |access-date=5 April 2010}}</ref> This rule was introduced to reduce jostling between runners in the early stages of the race.<ref name=IAAF800 /> The 1500 meter and longer events typically use a waterfall start, where runners start the race from a standing position along a curved starting line and then immediately cut in towards the innermost track to follow the quickest route to the finish.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 July 2022 |title=Each Track and Field Event Has Unique Characteristics, So Let's Brush Up on the Basics |url=https://www.runnersworld.com/races-places/a20812256/how-to-watch-track-field/ |access-date=8 June 2023 |website=Runner's World |archive-date=20 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120181647/https://www.runnersworld.com/races-places/a20812256/how-to-watch-track-field/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Physiologically, middle-distance events demand that athletes have good [[Aerobic exercise|aerobic]] and [[Anaerobic exercise|anaerobic energy producing systems]], and also that they have strong [[endurance]].<ref>[http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/factsheets/sports/middle_distance_running Middle Distance Running] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502090010/http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/factsheets/sports/middle_distance_running |date=2 May 2016 }}. [[Australian Institute of Sport]]. Retrieved on 5 April 2010.</ref>

The 1500&nbsp;m and mile run events have historically been some of the most prestigious track and field events. Swedish rivals [[Gunder Hägg]] and [[Arne Andersson]] broke each other's 1500&nbsp;m and mile [[list of world records in athletics|world records]] on a number of occasions in the 1940s.<ref>Julin, Lennart (28 November 2004). [http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=2/newsId=27920.html A tribute to the career of Gunder Hägg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041209104739/http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=2/newsId=27920.html |date=9 December 2004 }}. [[IAAF]]. Retrieved on 5 April 2010.</ref><ref>[http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1954-05-07-09-014&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1954-05-07-09 Stepping-Stones to the Four Minute Mile] {{Webarchive|url=http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20100109112904/http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1954-05-07-09-014&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1954-05-07-09 |date=9 January 2010 }}. ''[[The Times]]'' (7 May 1954). Retrieved on 5 April 2010.</ref> The prominence of the distances were maintained by [[Roger Bannister]], who in 1954 was the first to run the long-elusive [[four-minute mile]],<ref>[http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1954-05-06-04-008&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1954-05-06-04 British Athletics Hopes] {{Webarchive|url=http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20100109112902/http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1954-05-06-04-008&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1954-05-06-04 |date=9 January 2010 }}. ''[[The Times]]'' (6 May 1954). Retrieved on 5 April 2010.</ref><ref>[http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1954-05-07-08-010&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1954-05-07-08 Four Minute Mile – Triumph of R. G. Bannister] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406230343/http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1954-05-07-08-010&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1954-05-07-08 |date=6 April 2010 }}. (7 May 1954). Retrieved on 5 April 2010.</ref> and [[Jim Ryun]]'s exploits served to popularise [[interval training]].<ref name=IAAF1500 /> Races between British rivals [[Sebastian Coe]], [[Steve Ovett]] and [[Steve Cram]] characterised middle-distance running in the 1980s.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics2000/bbc_team/859595.stm Sebastian Coe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224192530/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics2000/bbc_team/859595.stm |date=24 February 2021 }}. [[BBC Sport]] (9 August 2000). Retrieved on 5 April 2010.</ref> From the 1990s until the 2010s, North Africans such as [[Noureddine Morceli]] of [[Algeria]] and [[Hicham El Guerrouj]] of [[Morocco]] came to dominate the 1500 and mile events.<ref name=IAAF1500 /> In the 2020s, Western European athletes have returned to the forefront of the distance, with athletes such as [[Jakob Ingebrigtsen]] of [[Norway]], [[Jake Wightman]], and [[Josh Kerr (runner)|Josh Kerr]] (both [[British people|British]] milers) winning global titles.

Beyond the short distances of sprinting events, factors such as an athlete's reactions and top speed becomes less important, while qualities such as [[pace (running)|pace]], tactics and [[endurance]] become more so.<ref name=IAAF800>[http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9389.html 800 m – Introduction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025035445/http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9389.html |date=25 October 2012 }}. [[IAAF]]. Retrieved on 5 April 2010.</ref><ref name=IAAF1500>[http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9397.html 1500 m – Introduction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025035439/http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9397.html |date=25 October 2012 }}. [[IAAF]]. Retrieved on 5 April 2010.</ref>