The Best Event in Track? A tier list

Written By: Ben Drury

Track and Field is a sport in which you can do whatever you want, no matter what you’re good at you can find an event that will cater to your skills. With this comes a plethora of events, some events people might not know about. When you have so many events and different people doing them, a new argument is born, which event is the best? I saw The Athlete Special a.k.a Spencer Brown (Running YouTube creator, who creates running videos on YouTube) do this a few weeks ago and I thought I would try it out. Today, I will be producing a three-tier list, putting every single Olympic track and field event (including the mile) in either the Olympic Tier (The Best), Silver Tier, or Bronze Tier. However, before I begin I want to say that these are my opinions and that a few factors are going into this. The first factor is how entertaining is the event, I want an event to keep me watching and focusing on it. The second factor is how much “skill” the event may take, this is not a diss on athletes who work hard on the event but it is more to say, what is the margin between people who work hard and try compared to those who don’t and just have the natural talent and skill. If it is a great event it takes both to be good, not one or the other. Finally, before I begin I just want to say, that this is not saying any event is bad but more which ones are better than the others. Let’s get into it. 

Olympic

100m Dash

This event takes no explanation, it is about who can run 100m the fastest, it’s short and entertaining and perfectly displays what track is, the furthering of human’s ability to run faster, jump higher and longer, and throw farther. In my opinion, Some of the best races ever have been 100m races that come down to the wire.

Heptathlon/ Decathlon

These events are just cool, in the heptathlon (for women in the Olympics) they have to do seven track events, including running, jumping, and throwing events, the decathlon (for men in the Olympics) is the same thing but ten events instead of seven. This event is so cool because athletes train for multiple disciplines instead of just specializing in one like others, and in doing this these heptathletes and decathletes do those events very well. Nowadays it is far more common for athletes to specialize in events but in my opinion I think athletes should do multiple events. 

Mile

This event is my personal favorite because I believe that it perfectly bridges the gap between middle-distance events such as the 400m and 800m and long-distance events such as the 3k-10k. It’s also really fun to watch because it’s a fast-paced distance race compared to the 800m which is a little below a sprint. In the top races nowadays the mile is all about who can hold onto a fast pace for the longest time and this makes it the best event to watch (depends on what you like) because there is never a dull moment and if you slow down for a second you’ll be left behind. 

200m

This event much like the 100m is the cream of the crop when it comes to track events. Unlike the 100m, runners in this event can reach an even higher top speed which brings a whole other level of entertainment. It is so entertaining because since it is longer then the 100m you can have athletes who may seem out of it after 100m, who can kick and win the race. 

5k

This event over the past few years has gone from possibly a silver-tier event to one of the best events. Now this event has become faster and even more of a mix between a tactical and fast race compared to the 10k which is almost fully tactical because of its length. Another thing I’ll add is that like the mile, this race has adopted the hold on or get left behind mentality and that makes the sport better. 

800m

The 800m is also a great and hard race, it’s so hard that it is considered mid-distance when for some this is a long distance. This race is hard because it is a sprint for two laps when some can’t do that for one. But unlike the other “sprinting” events there is more strategy and tactics, when will I kick? Am I going too fast? Because of these, it is a great race. 

4x100m

This event can explain itself, it’s four athletes running the best sprint event one after the other. It also stays very entertaining because almost every team on the world stage sends a fast team that can make a very entertaining race every time. All relays are almost always entertaining because you have four athletes running as a team compared to individual events which are individual. 

Shot Put

This event is another that is up here on the list because of entertainment. What is not entertaining about an event where people are trying to throw a cannonball as far as possible? My factors of entertainment and skill/talent ratio outweigh each other in this event it doesn’t take much to get into it but it takes talent and hard work to be great.

Long Jump

This event is also very entertaining to watch, much like the shotput, my factors outweigh each other because almost every one can jump, but to do it well you have to be good at it and that is hard, that is why it’s in the Olympic tier. 

400m Hurdles

This event is this high up the list because of how it is. This event is a combo of arguably the hardest event in track and field, the 400m and hurdles which is also hard to do. It’s very entertaining because of this mix of hard events this event does take talent to do well in because of the combo, which is why it is one of the best events. 

400m

This event is this high up because of how hard of an event it is as I mentioned before. It is this hard because, unlike the 800m which is almost a sprint for two laps, this event is a full-on sprint for one lap, as you get higher up in the sport it gets harder because you are doing more of a sprint compared to trying to run fast for a lap. Since it is this hard it makes it harder to be good at this event because of skill due to how hard it is. 

Pole Vault

Pole Vault is a very cool event and is cool to watch. You have people running and trying to plant a pole into the ground and trying to get over a bar that is 5-6 meters off the ground. This event is more skills-based but it is still a fun one to watch, which is the main reason why I put some of these races higher or lower on this race. 

Silver

1500m

This explanation is short as it should be, why is 109m shorter than a mile, you might as well run a whole mile. I also believe that the Olympics should ditch the 1500m and adopt the mile, the best race

10k

As I mentioned earlier, this event is almost fully tactical. Another thing that goes into this is that the race is 25 laps, 25 laps! That’s enough laps to get dizzy let alone possibly fall asleep while watching, which is not staying entertained. However, it isn’t bronze tier because it’s hard to run at the paces the best run at for a bit more than 6 miles.

Triple Jump

The triple jump is in the silver tier because nothing beats the long jump. But, don’t get me wrong this event is still a hard one to do because of the technique that goes into this event. This technique, once again separates skilled individuals from those who are talented and have a niche. It also isn’t higher up because some people might not know what the triple jump is, which makes it way less entertaining in my opinion and one harder to watch because of lessened popularity.

Discus

The discus is this low on this list because some people might only exclusively know discus as throwing a frisbee, which is not what it is. A discus is a weighted disc, hence the name, that people try and spin/throw as far as possible. This event is still fun to watch but no throwing event beats the shotput.

4x400m

The 4x400m relay is a great event standalone however it is hard in this day in age to find a good and fully entertaining race, where wire to wire every team is engaged and in it to win it. Don’t get me wrong I like this event but it is hard to find a good race, not a good team. 

100m/110m Hurdles

The 100m/110m Hurdles is a good event however I think it gets overlooked by most and for that, it is in the silver tier. It is this way because a lot of people are focused on watching the flat 100m and not on hurdles, which is unfortunate but true.

Bronze

Hammer Throw

The Hammer throw is an interesting event and I believe that the majority of track fans have no idea what it is. Well, it is a ball like a shot put on a metal string and athletes spin around and see who can throw it the farthest, really this event is just kind of hard to understand and not very entertaining behind the other throwing events.

Javelin

My reasoning for this event is the same as for the hammer throw. People’s knowledge of this event is just not there, people probably think that is just throwing a spear as far as possible, and that is pretty much what it is. For that, I think a lot of people don’t watch and for that, it is in the silver tier. 

3000m Steeplechase

The 3000m Steeplechase is a 3000m race with barriers (hurdles) placed for distance runners to jump and get over, there is also a water barrier which is a barrier that they jump over into a pool of water (I know kind of Interesting). But it is in this tier purely because it could be so much better than it is. I believe that it would be way better if the distance would be shorter which would make it a faster-paced race, which everyone likes. 

Once again these are my personal opinions and these are not disses on any event or athlete that participates in them, but just ranking the best amongst the rest. If you like articles like this or other fun topics make sure to subscribe to the newsletter.