Field event rules: jumps and throws

1Where exactly is the mark?

A shot lands, rolls and stops; a long jumper lands, sits back and leaves a hand print behind her heels. Which mark counts, and where is the tape held? Field events are decided by centimetres, so their rules say exactly what is measured, from where, and what turns a trial into a failure. This lesson covers the field-event rules of the World Athletics Competition and Technical Rules, 2026 edition, the rules a field judge must apply.

2Rules for every field event

• Where there are more than eight athletes in the horizontal jumps and the throws, each has three trials, and the best eight have three more. (Competition regulations may vary this.)
• Each trial must start within the time allowed, usually 1 minute when more than three athletes remain; a yellow flag is raised for the last 15 s.
• Distances are recorded to the nearest 0.01 m below the distance measured, if it is not a whole centimetre.
• An athlete's best valid trial counts. If two athletes tie in a horizontal event, the second-best trial decides, then the third.

3Vertical jumps

• The high jumper must take off from one foot.
• A trial is a failure if the bar falls because of the athlete's jump, or if the athlete touches the landing area or the ground beyond the plane of the uprights before clearing the bar.
• Three consecutive failures, at any heights, eliminate the athlete. An athlete may pass a height and try at the next.
• Ties: the athlete with fewer jumps at the height last cleared places higher; if still equal, the one with fewer failures in the whole competition. A tie for first place goes to a jump-off unless the regulations allow a shared win.

4Horizontal jumps

A long jump is a failure if the front of the take-off foot or shoe breaks the vertical plane of the take-off line (judged by video, or with a plasticine indicator board); if the athlete takes off outside either end of the board; if they touch the ground outside the landing area before landing; or if, on landing or leaving, they touch the ground outside the sand closer to the board than their nearest mark. The jump is measured from the nearest break in the sand made by any part of the body to the take-off line, at right angles to it. In the triple jump the hop lands on the take-off foot, the step on the other foot, and the jump follows; touching the ground with the "sleeping" leg is not a failure.

5Throws

In the circle the thrower starts from a stationary position. The trial is a failure if, after starting, the thrower touches the top of the rim or the ground outside (in the shot, the top of the stop board), if the implement first lands on or outside a sector line, or if the thrower leaves the circle before the implement lands or leaves other than from the back half. The javelin must be thrown over the shoulder, and its metal head must strike the ground before any other part. Throws are measured from the nearest mark made by the implement to the inside of the circle, on a line to its centre (for the javelin, to the inside of the arc).