Track and field events was also present at the Panhellenic Games in Greece around this period , and they spread to Rome in Italy around 200 BC . After the period of Classical antiquity ( in which the sport was largely Greco @-@ Roman influenced ) new track and field events began developing in parts of Northern Europe in the Middle Ages . The stone put and weight throw competitions popular among Celtic societies in Ireland and Scotland was precursors to the modern shot put and hammer throw events . One of the last track and field events to develop was the pole vault , which stemmed from competitions such as the Fierljeppen contests in the Northern European Lowlands in the 18th century .