Track and field today—it comprised a five-event competition of the long jump, javelin throw, discus throw, stadion footrace, and wrestling. Track and field events were also present at the Panhellenic Games in Greece around this period, and they spread to Rome in Italy around 200 BC. After the period of Classical antiquity (in which the sport was largely Greco-Roman influenced) new track and field events began developing in parts of Northern Europe in the Middle Ages. The stone put and weight throw competitions popular among Celtic societies in Ireland and Scotland were precursors to the modern shot put and hammer throw events. One
Track and field and public attendance in track and field competitions. Track and field athletes are banned from ingesting or using certain substances by governing bodies for the sport, from the national to the international level. The IAAF's constitution incorporates the World Anti-Doping Code among other anti-doping measures. Practices such as blood doping and the use of anabolic steroids, peptide hormones, stimulants, or diuretics can give athletes a physical competitive advantage in track and field. The use of such substances in track and field is opposed on both ethical and medical grounds. Given that the sport functions by measuring and comparing athletes' performances,