Athletics has been part of every Summer Olympics since 1896 and includes track and field events as well as racewalking. While events have varied over time, the modern program includes 24 events for men such as sprints, middle- and long-distance running, relays, hurdles, steeplechase, jumps, throws, and racewalks. Women's athletics began in 1928 and now includes 23 events that are similar to the men's program except for the 50km racewalk.

1. Athletics has been contested at every Summer Olympics since the birth
of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics. The
athletics program traces its earliest roots to events used in the ancient
Greek Olympics. The modern program includes track and
field events, road running events, and racewalking events. Cross
country running was also on the program in earlier editions but it was
dropped after the 1924 Summer Olympics.
Olympics: Athletics

2. Events
The events contested have varied widely. From 1900 to 1920, tug of
war was considered to be part of the Olympic athletics programme,
although the sports of tug of war and athletics are now considered distinct.
Men's events
No new events have been added to the men's athletics programme since the
1952 addition of the short racewalk. The roster of events has not changed since
then, with the exception of the omission of the long racewalk in 1976 (the IAAF
held a 50 km walk World Championships that year instead and as a result the
event was restored in 1980). The long racewalk is the only event currently held
for men but not included on the women's programme, with the exception of
women taking part in the heptathlon rather than the decathlon and the 100
metres hurdles rather than the 110 metres hurdles. A total of 52 different events
have been held in the men's competition. The current list comprises 24 events.
Many of the discontinued events were similar to modern ones but at different
lengths, especially in the steeplechasing, hurdling, and racewalking disciplines.
Team racing events have been eliminated after appearing in six early editions of
the Games.
Women’s events
Women's competition in athletics began at the 1928
Summer Olympics.