information:classification, structural:expansion
Olympics, Paralympics and world championships

The major global track and field competitions are both held under the scope of athletics. Track and field contests make up the majority of events on the Olympic and Paralympic athletics programmes, which occur every four years. Track and field events have held a prominent position at the Summer Olympics since its inception in 1896, and the events are typically held in the main stadium of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Events such as the 100 metres receive some of the highest levels of media coverage of any Olympic or Paralympic sporting event.

The other two major international competition for track and field are organised by the IAAF. The IAAF had selected the Olympic competition as its world championship event in 1913, but a separate world championships for athletics alone was first held in 1983 – the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. The championships comprised track and field competitions plus the marathon and racewalking competitions. Initially, this worked on a quadrennial basis but, after 1991, it changed to a biennial format. In terms of indoor track and field, the IAAF World Indoor Championships has been held every two years since 1985 and this is the only world championships that consists of solely track and field events.