776 BC
First Olympic Games recorded first record of multi-sport event

776 BC
First champion Coroebus is crowned

708 BC
Ancient pentathlon established in Greece

146 BC
Romans conquer Greece but continue to hold games for a further 500 years

393
Roman emperor Theodosius I, suppresses organised sport meetings calling them pagan gatherings

12th century
Gaming or jousting tournaments become popular with the English nobility, paving the way for modern track and field events

1837
First organised track and field meet occurs at Eton College, England

1868
New York Athletic Club hold first meeting in the USA

1895
First international meeting held in New York City

1912
International Amateur Athletics Federation formed to govern competitions

1930
First British Empire Games (Commonwealth Games) held in Hamilton, Canada

1950
Commonwealth Games resume in New Zealand after a 12-year absence because of World War II

1964
Women's pentathlon born

1968
High jump technique revolutionised when Dick Fosbury performed the Fosbury Flop for the first time

1975
IAAF introduces automatic bans for athletes found using banned substances

1984
Women's pentathlon changes to heptathlon