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Track and Field
History of Track and Field
Track-and-field athletics in the United States dates from the 1860s. The Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America, the nation’s first national athletic group, held the first collegiate races in 1873, and in 1888 the Amateur Athletic Union (which governed the sport for nearly a century) held its first championships.
As track and field developed as a modern sport, a major issue for all athletes was their status as amateurs. For many years track and field was considered a purely amateur sport and athletes could not accept training money or cash prizes.
If charged with professionalism, athletes could be banned from competition for life. In 1913, American Jim Thorpe was stripped of his 1912 Olympic victories in the decathlon and pentathlon and banned from further competition after it was learned he had played semiprofessional baseball. (In 1982, the International Olympic Committee [IOC] posthumously restored both Thorpe’s amateur status and his two Olympic medals.)
Beginning in the 1920s, track and field’s scope widened. The first NCAA national championships were held for men in 1921, and women’s track and field became part of the Olympic Games in 1928. In 1952, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) sent its first Olympic team ever to the Summer Games in Helsinki, Finland, where the squad captured several track-and-field medals. Over the next 30 years, the U.S. and Soviet teams battled in one of the sport’s longest and most competitive rivalries. Women’s track struggled for widespread acceptance until the 1970s, when track and field as a whole enjoyed a boom in popularity. During that time, the U.S.-based International Track Association (ITA) organized a professional track circuit. The venture, although popular among fans, went bankrupt after several years. Few athletes wanted to participate in ITA competitions because athletes were actually receiving larger illegal payments for appearing at amateur meets than legitimate professionals were making on the new circuit. Many athletes also turned away from ITA competition because it disqualified them from participating in future Olympic Games. The Athletics Congress now regulates the sport in the United States; the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) sanctions international competition. Track and field has been the centerpiece of the Summer Olympic Games since their revival in 1896. International professional running, initiated in the 1970s, has had limited success.
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Head Coach for the Girls: Larry E. Gant
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210-382-6635
Assistant Coaches: Coach Janice Cuccia
Head Coach for the Boys: Donny Littlefield
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210-865-1078
Assistant Coaches: Coach Carrol
Sports Coordinator: Janice Cuccia
Trainer: Jacob Reyna
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School Contact Number: 210-226-5103 FAX: 210-224-8792
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2013 Track Schedule
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