While the running lanes get a lot of attention, the infield of a track facility is where field events unfold — a collection of jumping and throwing disciplines each with its own techniques, equipment, and scoring rules. This guide introduces the core field events and explains how winners are actually determined in each one.

Two Families of Field Events

Field events generally split into two broad categories: jumping events, which measure either horizontal distance or vertical height, and throwing events, which measure how far an implement travels after being released. Both categories are governed under the technical rules maintained by World Athletics, the sport's international governing body, which specify everything from the dimensions of the equipment to how a valid attempt is defined.

The Jumping Events

Long Jump

In the long jump, competitors sprint down a runway and leap from a takeoff board into a sand-filled pit, with distance measured from the edge of the board to the nearest mark made in the sand. A jump is only valid if the athlete's foot does not cross the leading edge of the takeoff board before launching; stepping past it results in a foul, and that attempt does not count toward the athlete's record for the competition.

Triple Jump

The triple jump follows a similar runway-and-pit format but requires athletes to perform a three-part sequence: a hop (landing on the same foot that took off), a step (landing on the opposite foot), and a jump (landing in the pit, typically on both feet or in a forward motion). As with the long jump, the athlete must take off from behind the designated board without fouling, and the total distance is measured from the board to the landing mark.

High Jump

In the high jump, athletes approach a crossbar from a short runway and attempt to clear it without knocking it off its supports, landing on a cushioned mat. Unlike the horizontal jumps, there is no measured distance per attempt — instead, the bar is raised incrementally, and athletes attempt to clear each new height. A jumper who dislodges the bar, or who fails to clear it in any other way, records a failed attempt at that height.

Pole Vault

The pole vault shares the same basic bar-clearing structure as the high jump, but athletes use a flexible pole to propel themselves over a much higher crossbar, planting the pole in a fixed box at the base of the runway before swinging upward and over the bar. Technique, pole selection, and timing all play major roles, since the pole itself must bend and release energy correctly for the vaulter to clear the height.

How Jumping Attempts and Fouls Work

Across all four jumping events, competitors are typically given a set number of attempts, often three in a qualifying or early round, with the top performers advancing to additional attempts in a final round. Common foul situations include:

In the horizontal jumps (long jump and triple jump), the winner is the athlete who records the single longest valid distance across all of their attempts — it does not matter which attempt produced that mark, only that it was the best one. In the vertical jumps (high jump and pole vault), the winner is generally the athlete who clears the greatest height; if multiple athletes clear the same final height, countback rules involving the number of attempts used at each height, and the total number of failures across the competition, are used to determine final placing.

The Throwing Events

Shot Put

Shot put involves pushing (rather than throwing in the conventional sense) a heavy spherical ball from the shoulder, released from within a marked circle. The implement must land within a defined sector for the attempt to count, and athletes are not permitted to leave the front of the throwing circle until the shot has landed and officials have marked the distance.

Discus Throw

The discus is a flat, disc-shaped implement thrown after the athlete builds rotational momentum by spinning within a throwing circle. As with the shot put, the discus must land within the marked sector, and the athlete must remain within the circle until the implement lands.

Javelin Throw

The javelin is a long, spear-like implement thrown after a running approach, rather than from a stationary circle. For a throw to count, the javelin's metal tip must strike the ground before any other part of the implement, and the athlete must release it from behind a marked throwing line (an arc) without stepping over it.

Hammer Throw

Despite its name, the hammer is a metal ball attached to a grip by a steel wire, thrown from a circle similar to the shot put and discus. Athletes build momentum through several controlled rotations before releasing the implement, which must land within the marked sector, with the same circle-boundary rules applying as in the other throwing events.

How Throwing Winners Are Determined

Like the horizontal jumps, throwing events are decided by whichever valid attempt travels the farthest, measured from the inside edge of the throwing circle or line to the nearest mark made by the implement within the legal sector. Throws that land outside the marked sector, or attempts where the athlete fouls by stepping outside the circle or past the line, do not count. Competitors typically receive a fixed number of attempts, with the leading throwers often earning extra attempts in a final round, and only the best legal mark from all of an athlete's attempts determines their final result.

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