by Larry EderOkay, the folks at www.Spikesmag.com got themselves some some serious coffee and went working! Check out their list! Quite fun! Here are reasons 1-20!
![To mark 100 years of the IAAF, SPIKES has come up with 100 reasons to celebrate the world’s number one sport. So in no particular order, here’s the first 20…
1. The original sportThe IAAF is 100 this week. But athletics is more than 4000-years-old. Way before the invention of ships, sanitation or bombs; ancient Egyptians were competing in running and the high jump.
2. The world's greatest raceThe men's 100m final has thrown up many of the defining moments in the history of sport. No other sporting competition captures the imagination like the primal 100 metre dash to the finish.
3. UpsetsNo champion, record holder or hot favourite is ever safe in the world of athletics. And major championships can be too hard to call. Remember the Daegu 2011 cover star curse?
4. Higher and higherIs there anything more exciting than watching a pole vault or high jump field narrow down to just a few elite combatants, as they cope with enormous pressure to better their opponents? No.
5. Tactical geniusIt's a joy to behold when a top-class middle distance athlete picks their moment to strike, and bang! They're away.
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6. The safety pin industryLet's hear it for athletics, keeping the world's safety pin industry afloat for a hundred years.
7. Barriers to entryOne of the great things about athletics is that anyone can do it. Throw, run, jump, both; you can practice in your back garden, in the street or at your local park. All you often need is a pair of trainers, unless...
8. The world's greatest showWhen the IOC proclaims its Olympic motto Citius, Altius, Fortius’ (Faster, Higher, Stronger) no other sport quite fits the bill. Winning athletes really do go faster, higher, stronger (and longer), than anyone else in the world.
9. Top bodiesFrom the perfectly sculpted biceps of Ashton Eaton to the six-pack of Jess Ennis and the legs of Anna Chicherova. Athletics is the place to go for some of the finest specimens in sport.
10. #epicfailWhen you fail in athletics, you can really, really fail.
11. Pre-race ritualsHere's to making the most of the five-second window of opportunity for athletes to stamp their personality on the big screens. Bolt, Blake, Manzano and Jenneke are world leaders in this discipline.
12. MavericksWe're blessed to have current athletes like DeeDee 'Glitter Face Warrior' Trotter and Alysia 'flower in her hair' Montaño. The barefoot Zola Budd's of this world will always have a special place in the heart of athletics.
13. The ComebackAt 38-year-old Felix Sanchez did it in London, winning his second Olympic gold eight years after the first. Track and Field history is littered with athletes who looked spent before making a Rockey-esque return to form.
14. Let's danceAthletes have had an excellent few years on the dancing and celebration front. From Usain's iconic lightning Bolt to 'the Mobot' and, of course, Ezekiel Kemboi; we salute you.
15. World recordsThere is a primal joy about watching someone break a world record. The record breakers not only beat the world's best that day, they beat everyone in history.
16. Head-to-headThere's nothing better than watching two great titans of the sport go toe-to-toe. Coe-Ovett, Carl Lewis-Ben Johnson, Michael Johnson-Donovan Bailey; sometimes we don't even have to pretend they hate each other.
17. All under one roofYou can watch a triple jump, a leaping 400m hurdler, a big hammer and a high jump; all at the same time. And without leaving your seat…
18. UnorthodoxShaved legs? Check. Aerodynamic lycra body suit? Check. Go faster spikes? Check. Sunglasses? Eh? Athletes are only allowed to wear sunglasses at night because the sun never sets on the athletics empire.
19. FilmsFrom Chariots of Fire to Running Brave and even Run, Fatboy, Run. Hollywood would be a poorer place without the underrated track and field genre.
20. Fight the flabThe World Health Organisation estimate that around 1.4bn people are overweight or obese. You won't find them at your local athletics track. If more people tried track and field, the world would be a slimmer place.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdqxz22Ity1rhgd4yo1_r1_400.jpg)
To mark 100 years of the IAAF, SPIKES has come up with 100 reasons to celebrate the world’s number one sport. So in no particular order, here’s the first 20…
1. The original sport
The IAAF is 100 this week. But athletics is more than 4000-years-old. Way before the invention of ships, sanitation or bombs; ancient Egyptians were competing in running and the high jump.
2. The world’s greatest race
The men’s 100m final has thrown up many of the defining moments in the history of sport. No other sporting competition captures the imagination like the primal 100 metre dash to the finish.
3. Upsets
No champion, record holder or hot favourite is ever safe in the world of athletics. And major championships can be too hard to call. Remember the Daegu 2011 cover star curse?
4. Higher and higher
Is there anything more exciting than watching a pole vault or high jump field narrow down to just a few elite comba
tants, as they cope with enormous pressure to better their opponents? No.
5. Tactical genius
It’s a joy to behold when a top-class middle distance athlete picks their moment to strike, and bang! They’re away.
