History
RUNNING DISCIPLINES
Running competitions have been one of the basic sports competitions at the Olympic Games since their very beginning. In these Virtual Games you can race on 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10000m, 21k and of course there will also be a Marathon.
800m long track
800m run, or "Half a mile", has been a part of the Olympic Games since their rediscovery in 1896 and athletes complete this race at a very fast pace. The best men and women in this discipline regularly push the running time to less than 2 minutes.
Here is an overview of current world records on this track:
World record men - David Rudisha, Kenya, 0:01:40.91
World record women - Jarmila Kratochvílová, Czech republic, 0:01:53.28
1500m long track
This race has also been occurring at the Olympic Games since 1896, and athletes have to run the athletic oval almost four times during this race. During this run, there is already room for a certain level of tactics, so it is with no exception that there is often decided about the winner in the last meters of the race.
Here is an overview of current world records on this track:
World record men - Hicham El Guerrouj, Morocco, 0:03:26.00
World record women - Genzebe Dibaba, Ethiopia, 0:03:50.07
5000m long track
The 5000m race first appeared at the 1912 Olympic Games, and since then the world-class runners has been achieving running times around 13 minutes for men and 15 minutes for women.
Here is an overview of current world records on this track:
World record men - Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopia, 0:12:37.35
World record women - Tirunesh Dibaba, Ethiopia, 0:14:11.15
10000m long track
Have you ever tried to go around the athletic oval 25 times? This is exactly how many times it must be handled by athletes who compete on the longest track ever, which is run at an athletic stadium. This distance first appeared at the Olympic Games in 1912, and the fastest men in the world keep achieving finish times under 27 minutes. The best women are then only a little slower and usually manage the track within 30 minutes.
Here is an overview of current world records on this track:
World record men - Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopia, 0:26:17.53
World record women - Almaz Ayana, Ethiopia, 0:29:17.45
21k long track
Almost half the length of the marathon does not take place at the Olympic Games. However, the track is a great compromise for runners who desire an endurance challenge, but do not yet feel ready for the famous Marathon.
Here is an overview of current world records on this track:
World record men - Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor, Kenya, 0:58:01
World record women - Brigid Kosgei, Kenya, 1:04:28
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres. It has been appearing at the Olympic Games since 1896, when it even took place on the original route from Marathon to Athens, to which a well-known legend is attached. At the Olympic Games, the men's marathon is traditionally run on the last day of the competition and it is the last event of the athletic schedule of this sporting holiday.
Here is an overview of current world records on this track:
World record men - Eliud Kipchoge, Kenya, 2:01:39
World record women - Brigid Kosgei, Kenya, 2:14:04
RACE WALKING
If you prefer to walk or you are just not able to run at this moment, try a walking race. Race walking competitions have been part of the Olympic Games since 1908, and at these Virtual Games you can try the 20k long Olympic distance, or the shorter 10k variant. So combine it with a summer trip and start racing!
10k long track
You can no longer find a 10k long track at the Olympic Games today, but it was not always this way. Professional race walkers could compete for Olympic medals on this track a total of seven times, the last time was in 1996.
Here is an overview of current world records on this track:
World record men - Paquillo Fernández, Spain, 0:37:53.09
World record women - Nadežda Rjaškina, Russia, 0:41:56.23
20k long track
Olympic race walkers have been competing at the 20 km long track at the Olympic Games regularly since 1956.
Here is an overview of current world records on this track:
World record men - Júsuke Suzuki, Japan, 1:16:36
World record women - Liou Chung, China, 1:24:38
CYCLING
Do you include cycling in your running training or do you not run at all and cycling is the sport number one for you? Either way, the cycling race is suitable for everyone's training, and summer is the best time to step on it. Go for the 25k long track or try to cycle twice as much. The 50k race will thoroughly test your strength.
Cycling disciplines have been appearing at the Olympic Games since 1896, although only road and track cycling were included in the program in that time. Since then, the list of competition disciplines has grown a bit and today olympic athletes also race on mountain bikes and BMX. The length of the tracks usually varies in these competitions, so it is not that easy to determine the best cycling performance. Just to give you an idea, in order to become the olympic champion at the last Summer Olympics in Rio, Nino Schurter had to complete the 34.52k long cross-country track in 1:33:28.
SWIMMING DISCIPLINES
Pool refreshment will definitely come in handy in the middle of summer, so why not give it a racing atmosphere? In order for the race to be a real challenge for you, we have chosen as the competition disciplines the longest ones that athletes swim in the Olympic pools - 800m and 1500m. It is best to use one of the sports watches to measure your performance. But if you don't have a watch that can do that, it doesn't matter. We will rely on your honesty for this discipline and it will not be necessary to upload a photo of the activity as evidence. We
believe that we all want to enjoy the race and that fair play is a matter of course among all the athletes.
800m Freestyle
Swimming disciplines have appeared at the Olympic Games since 1896, but it was not until 1968 that 800m course became a part of them. For women, it is also the longest course on which they can compete in the indoor pools at the Olympics, the only one that is longer than that is the 10k long marathon that is being swum outside in an open water.
Here is an overview of current world records on this track:
World record men - Zhang Lin, China, 0:07:32.12
World record women - Katie Ledecky, USA, 0:08:13.86
1500m Freestyle
1500m is the longest pool distance on which men have been competing in the Olympic Games since 1904. Swimmer can choose whatever swimming style they want but they mostly choose the crawl since that is the fastest one.
Here is an overview of current world records on this track:
World record men - Sun Jang, China, 0:14:31.02
World record women - Katie Ledecky, USA, 0:15:36,53
TRIATHLON
The lengths of the individual disciplines vary in this multisport race, but at the Olympics it is given. It starts with a 1.5k swim, followed by a 40k long bike ride ending with a 10k run. You will be able to try out this exact olympic distance during this Summer Virtual Games. But it is ok if you don't feel like completing such a long race. There is also a half, so-called sprint, distance for you to choose and you will have exactly 24 hours to complete both variants. So you can try what it's like to come right out of the water, sit on the bike and then go smoothly for a run, but it's not a condition. As with swimming itself, we are betting on fair play with this competition, so there is no need to upload a photo of the activity as evidence for the swimming part. You can freely spread all three disciplines into the whole day, as it suits you, and still enjoy the uniqueness of one of the latest Olympic sports since the triathlon first appeared at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
World records are difficult to set in the Olympic triathlon, because the lengths of individual disciplines vary slightly from time to time. For example, at the 2012 London Olympics, triathletes had to cycle a total of 43k, while four years later at the Rio Olympics, the length of the track did not even reach the official level, measuring only 38.5k. However, the performance of the 2012 Olympic Games by Alistair Brownlee from Great Britain is
generally considered to be the best Olympic result in the Olympic triathlon. Eight years ago in London, he managed to complete the so-called standard distance in time 1:46:25 (17:04 swimming, 59:08 cycling, 29:08 running). The best Olympic result among women is considered to be the performance performed by Jackie Gallagher from Australia at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. She completed the Olympic track in 1:50:51 (21:36 swimming, 54:16 cycling, 33:32 running).