The Melbourne Track Classic is an annual outdoor track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 meeting which takes place in early March at the Olympic Park Stadium

Olympic Park Stadium

Olympic Park Stadium was a multi-purpose outdoor stadium located on Olympic Boulevard in inner Melbourne. The stadium was built as an athletics training venue for the 1956 Olympics, a short distance from the MCG, which served as the Olympic Stadium...

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The competition was inaugurated in the late 1980s at the Olympic Stadium and gained a place on the IAAF Grand Prix

IAAF Grand Prix

The IAAF Grand Prix was an annual global circuit of fourteen one day athletics competitions as part of the IAAF World Athletics Tour organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations...

 circuit in its formative years. It has remained on the major international outdoor track and field circuit, featuring as the opening race of the year on the IAAF World Athletics Tour

IAAF World Athletics Tour

The IAAF World Athletics Tour was an annual global circuit of one day athletics competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations...

 from 2005 to 2009. It is currently the first race of the IAAF World Challenge

IAAF World Challenge

The IAAF World Challenge is an annual global circuit of fourteen one day athletics competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations...

 series. The event is also the foremost meet of the Athletics Grand Prix Series

Athletics Grand Prix Series

The Australian Athletics Tour, formerly the Athletics Grand Prix Series is a series of annual Australian track and field competitions which is held from February to April...

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The Melbourne Track Classic has featured many high level performances including continental Oceanian records by Tim Forsyth

Tim Forsyth

Tim Forsyth is a retired Australian three-time Olympic high jumper.His first success on the international scene came in 1990 with a silver medal at the World Junior Championships. In 1992 the 19-year-old Forsyth won an Olympic bronze medal, equalling his current personal best height of 2.34m...

 in the men's high jump

High jump

The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....

, Scott Martin

Scott Martin

Scott Martin is an Australian shot putter and discus throw competitor. He rose to prominence in a National Australia Bank advertisement promoting the 2006 Commonwealth Games; in the ad, Martin was shown taking part in a ballet class to improve his discus technique...

 in the shot put

Shot put

The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....

, Lisa Corrigan in the mile run and Bronwyn Thompson

Bronwyn Thompson

Bronwyn Thompson is a long jumper from Australia. She holds the Commonwealth and Australian record for the long jump and has been ranked as high as number two in the world. Her greatest achievements include winning gold in the long jump at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and placing fourth at the 2004...

 in the women's long jump

Long jump

The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...

. National records have also been set at the meeting by New Zealand

New Zealand records in athletics

The following are the national records in athletics in New Zealand maintained by New Zealand's national athletics federation: Athletics New Zealand ....

 and Australia

Australian records in athletics

The following are the national records in athletics in Australia maintained by Australia's Athletics Federation: Athletics Australia .-Men:-Women:-Men:-Women:+ = en route to a longer distanceA = affected by altitudeht = hand timing...

's athletes.

Men

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Ref
100 m 100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...
5000 m 5000 metres The 5000 metres is a popular running distance also known as 5 km or 5K in American English. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics. "5000 metres" refers to racing on a track and "5K" usually refers to a roadrace or cross country event...	13:08.43	Bernard Lagat Bernard Lagat Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat is an American middle and long distance champion athlete.Lagat was born in Kapsabet, Kenya...		3 March 2011
Shot put Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....

Women

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Ref
200 m 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...
1500 m 1500 metres The 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...
Shot put Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....

External links

• Official website from Athletics Australia
• Event profile from IAAF World Challenge