Athletes from Australia are making a mark for themselves in different categories. It would not be an exaggeration to state that Australia has produced some of the best athletes in the world. With high-end athletic facilities and well-structured sporting institutions, Australia has always worked towards propelling the growth of its athletes forward.
The competitiveness of Australians has played an important role in making a name for themselves in multiple arenas including sports. To understand how Australia is producing such great athletes and sportspersons, one needs to get some understanding of the athletic history associated with the country.
History of Athletics
Before diving deep into the history of the AGU, one needs to study a bit about world athletic history. According to historians, the earliest evidence pertaining to athletics can be traced back to 3800 BC in the ancient city of Memphis. After athletics got introduced in this part of the world, it started gaining recognition slowly and steadily. The number of athletes grew with time at a good pace.
We have come a long way from the ancient Olympics and now, athletics competitions are organised at different scales in almost every country in the world. While commerce has seeped into it in a big way, most athletes get associated with a particular sport because of their passion and interest in it. Athletics, of course, offer a great amount of exercise value as well.
How did It begin in Australia?
There is evidence suggesting how actively Aboriginals, the indigenous people belonging to Australia, participated in different athletic events. Most of the athletic activities they participated in revolved around the survival skills they had picked up and therefore, necessitated the use of equipment or tools like boomerang spears. A primitive form of soccer was discovered around this time.
With Australia getting colonised in the year 1788, European settlers introduced the natives to athletics competitions which were very similar to the ones we have today. If one goes by the records, the first major athletics competition in Australia was organised in Hyde Park in the year 1810. This is the same event wherein Dicky Dowling emerged as a winner in a sprint race that covered a distance of more than 50 yards.
This was the time when more and more professional athletes, referred to as pedestrians then, came to the foreground. There are many vibrant stories pertaining to that era including how people placed wagers on certain athletes and tried to make some money out of these tournaments.
From the mid-1800s, professional foot racing gained prominence in Victoria and New South Wales. There were also these ‘gift races’ which would be organised by the owners of mines. Workers would compete against each other and the one who wins the race would be rewarded with a gold nugget by the owner.
Conclusion
Several important events contributed to shaping the athletics history of Australia. Each of those events laid the foundation of the booming athletic and sports culture of Australia. If you want to know more about the athletic history of Australia, you should follow the website sportyjones.com on a regular basis. Apart from football updates and soccer news, the website should keep you abreast of other sports as well.