Editing Track and field (section)

===Hurdling===
{{Main|Hurdling|steeplechase (athletics)|l2=steeplechase}}
[[File:20070701-nk2007-400m-horden.jpg|thumb|A women's 400&nbsp;m hurdles race at the 2007 Dutch Championships]]
[[File:MITSteeple.jpg|thumb|left|Men traversing the water jump in a steeplechase competition]]
Races with [[hurdle]]s as obstacles were first popularised in the 19th century in England.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rosenbaum |first=Mike |url=http://trackandfield.about.com/od/sprintsandhurdle1/a/sprinthistory.htm |title=A Brief History of Sprints and Hurdles |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707075205/http://trackandfield.about.com/od/sprintsandhurdle1/a/sprinthistory.htm |archive-date=7 July 2011 |url-status=usurped |website=About |access-date=9 April 2010}}</ref> The first known event, held in 1830, was a variation of the 100-yard dash that included heavy wooden barriers as obstacles. A competition between the Oxford and Cambridge Athletic Clubs in 1864 refined this, holding a 120-yard race (110&nbsp;m) with ten hurdles {{convert|3|ft|6|in|m}} in height (each placed {{convert|10|yd|m}} apart), with the first and final hurdles 15 yards from the start and finish, respectively. French organisers adapted the race into metric (adding 28&nbsp;cm) and the basics of this race, the men's [[110 metres hurdles]], has changed little.<ref name=IAAF100H>[http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9423.html 100 m Hurdles – Introduction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100809105354/http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9423.html |date=9 August 2010 }}. [[IAAF]]. Retrieved on 9 April 2010.</ref> The origin of the [[400 metres hurdles]] also lies in Oxford, where around 1860 a competition was held over 440&nbsp;yards and twelve 1.06&nbsp;m high wooden barriers were placed along the course. The modern regulations stem from the [[1900 Summer Olympics]]: the distance was fixed to 400&nbsp;m while ten {{convert|3|ft|cm|adj=on}} hurdles were placed 35&nbsp;m apart on the track, with the first and final hurdles being 45&nbsp;m and 40&nbsp;m away from the start and finish, respectively.<ref name=IAAF400H>[http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9436.html 400 m Hurdles – Introduction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100809105413/http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9436.html |date=9 August 2010 }}. [[IAAF]]. Retrieved on 9 April 2010.</ref> Women's hurdles are slightly lower at {{convert|84|cm|ftin|abbr=off}} for the 100&nbsp;m event and {{convert|76|cm|ftin|abbr=off}} for the 400&nbsp;m event.<ref name=IAAF100H/><ref name=IAAF400H />

The most common events are the [[100 metres hurdles]] for women, 110&nbsp;m hurdles for men and 400&nbsp;m hurdles for both sexes. The men's 110&nbsp;m has been featured at every modern Summer Olympics while the men's 400&nbsp;m was introduced in the second edition of the Games.<ref name=IAAF100H /><ref name=IAAF400H /> Women's initially competed in the [[80 metres hurdles]] event, which entered the Olympic programme in [[Athletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics|1932]]. This was extended to the 100&nbsp;m hurdles at the 1972 Olympics,<ref name=IAAF100H /> but it was not until 1984 that a women's 400&nbsp;m hurdles event took place at the Olympics (having been introduced at the [[1983 World Championships in Athletics]] the previous year).<ref name=IAAF400H />  Other distances and heights of hurdles, such as the [[200 metres hurdles]] and [[low hurdles]], were once common but are now held infrequently. The [[300 metres hurdles]] is run in some levels of American competition.

Outside of the hurdles events, the [[steeplechase (athletics)|steeplechase]] race is the other track and field event with obstacles. Just as the hurdling events, the steeplechase finds its origin in student competition in Oxford, England. However, this event was born as a human variation on the original [[Steeplechase (horse racing)|steeplechase competition]] found in [[horse racing]]. A steeplechase event was held on a track for the 1879 English championships and the 1900 Summer Olympics featured men's 2500&nbsp;m and 4000&nbsp;m steeplechase races. The event was held over various distances until the [[Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics|1920 Summer Olympics]] marked the rise of the [[3000 metres steeplechase]] as the standard event.<ref name=IAAFSteeple>[http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9443.html 3000 m Steeplechase – Introduction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605084126/http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9443.html |date=5 June 2011 }}. [[IAAF]]. Retrieved on 9 April 2010.</ref> The IAAF set the standards of the event in 1954, and the event is held on a 400&nbsp;m circuit that includes a [[water jump]] on each lap.<ref>[http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9439.html 3000 m Steeplechase – Is it for me?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605084133/http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/trackfield/newsid=9439.html |date=5 June 2011 }}. [[IAAF]]. Retrieved on 9 April 2010.</ref> Despite the long history of men's steeplechase in track and field, the women's steeplechase only gained World Championship status in 2005, with its first Olympic appearance in 2008.