One of the classic Olympic sports returns for the 2024 Summer Olympics: athletics starts on Thursday, August 1, and there are 48 gold medals up for grabs between the various events.
US: Peacock | NBC
UK: iPlayer | BBC (free with license fee) | Discovery Plus
AU: Stan Sports | 9Now (free)
Watch abroad with a VPN
If you want to watch the 2024 Olympic athletics in the UK or Australia, you'll be glad to know that you can do so for FREE on iPlayer and 9Now respectively. If you're abroad when the games are going on, you can watch the 2024 Olympics from anywhere by using a VPN.
Olympic athletics has been contested ever since the first modern Olympics in 1896, based on similar activities which were conducted in the ancient Olympics that the modern ones are based on.
Athletics consists of field events of jumps and throws, track events of runs and relays, and road events for longer-distance travel. New for the 2024 Olympic athletics is the Marathon walk mixed relay, which replaces the men's 50km race walk contested last year. Other than that, the same events are being competed, with both men's and women's versions for almost all (the only exception is the hurdles sprint, at 100m for women and 110m for men).
If you're a fan of track and field events, then, here's how to watch the Olympic athletics at the 2024 Olympics.
How to watch the Olympic athletics in the US
The best way to watch the Olympic athletics events will be with the streaming service Peacock, as that's looking set to be a fantastic way to catch all the 2024 Olympic events.
Peacock costs $5.99 per month for its ad-enabled tier or $11.99 monthly for its ad-free plan. You can also opt for annual plans which cost the equivalent of roughly 10 months' subscription.
You'll be able to use Peacock to watch live streams from all the various Olympic events. The streamer is introducing a few features for the Paris games, like the ability to set alerts for events you want to watch, and a way to watch four different events at once.
Some Olympic coverage will also air on the NBC channel but it's not clear what, and it'll likely be a highlights reel jumping between the various sports instead of sticking to one.
How to watch the Olympic athletics in the UK
If you want to watch the Olympic athletics in the UK for free, you'll have to turn to the BBC's two options, because the national broadcaster has rights to show the 2024 Olympics in the UK.
The first of these two options is by tuning into the TV channels BBC One and BBC Two, with the Beeb alternating between both to show certain sports, and this option will work on your TV or by using iPlayer to watch the live channels online.
Your second option is solely online: it's the BBC's Olympic Extra live stream which will show some of the sports not being broadcast on the channels.
Both of these options are free to license fee payers, but if the last Olympics is anything to go on, both streams will jump between various events sporadically. So if you want to see the entirety of the athletics heats, you might be disappointed by its showing.
Your better option, then, is Discovery Plus, which costs £3.99 per month if you sign up before the Olympics are over (£6.99 normally). Discovery Plus is hosting live streams of every Olympic event: that's over 3,800 in total, and it'll let you watch as much of the athletics as you'd like.
How to watch the Olympic athletics in Australia
The official broadcaster of the 2024 Olympic games in Australia is Channel Nine, and that means the best way to watch the Olympic athletics will be through 9Now.
9Now is Channel Nine's free streaming service and it's expected to show live streams of all the Olympic events, so you'll be able to tune into whichever athletics competition you want to watch.
It's possible that some coverage of Olympic events will be shown by the Nine TV channel, but with so many different athletics games going on at once, it's unlikely you'll catch much of your chosen event this way.
How to watch the Olympic athletics everywhere else
If you're going to be away from your normal TV setup but still want to watch the Olympic athletics, you might run into some problems. Thankfully, you can solve this exact issue with a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
A VPN lets you change your IP address to that of the area of what you want to watch, meaning you can tune in to your favorite sport, TV show or other content even if you're not there. Our favorite is NordVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
- Download the app at NordVPN
- Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
- Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!
Olympic athletics schedule
Here's when each Olympic event takes place, so you can skip straight to your favorite track or field competition.
Thursday, August 1
- Men's 20km race walk
- Women's 20km race walk
Friday, August 2
- Men's 100m decathlon
- Men's hammer throw group A qualification
- Women's high jump qualification
- Women's 100m preliminary round
- Men's decathlon long jump
- Men's 1,500m round 1
- Men's hammer throw group B qualification
- Women's 100m round 1
- Men's decathlon shot put
- Men's decathlon high jump
- Women's 5,000m round 1
- Women's triple jump qualification
- Women's discus throw group A qualification
- 4x400m relay mixed round 1
- Women's 800m round 1
- Men's shot put qualification
- Women's discus throw group B qualification
- Men's decathlon 400m
- Men's 10,000m final
Saturday, August 3
- Men's decathlon hurdles 110m
- Men's pole vault qualification
- Men's 100m preliminary round
- Men's decathlon group A discus throw
- Women's 800m repechage round
- Men's 100m round 1
- Men's decathlon group B discus throw
- Men's decathlon pole vault
- Men's decathlon group A javelin throw
- Men's 1,500m repechage round
- Men's shot put final
- Women's 100m semi-final
- Men's decathlon group B javelin throw
- Women's triple jump final
- 4x400m relay mixed final
- Women's 100m final
- Men's decathlon 1,500m
Sunday, August 4
- Women's 3,000m steeplechase round 1
- Women's hammer throw group A qualification
- Womne's 200m round 1
- Men's long jump qualification
- Women's hammer throw group B qualification
- Men's hurdles 110m round 1
- Women's hurdles 400m round 1
- Men's 400m round 1
- Women's high jump final
- Men's 100m semi-final
- Men's hammer throw final
- Women's 800m semi-final
- Men's 1,500m semi-final
- Men's 100m final
Monday, August 5
- Men's hurdles 400m round 1
- Men's discus throw group A qualification
- Women's pole vault qualification
- Women's hurdles 400m repechage round
- Men's 400m repechage round
- Men's discus throw group B qualification
- Women's 400m round 1
- Women's 200m repechage round
- Men's pole vault final
- Men's 3,000m steeplechase round 1
- Men's 200m round 1
- Women's discus throw final
- Women's 200m semi-final
- Women's 5,000m final
- Women's 800m final
Tuesday, August 6
- Women's 1,500m round 1
- Men's javelin throw group A qualification
- Men's hurdles 110m repechage round
- Women's long jump qualification
- Women's 400m repechage round
- Men'sjavelin throw group B qualification - Gp B
- Men's hurdles 400m repechage round
- Men's 200m repechage round
- Men's 400m semi-final
- Women's hammer throw final
- Women's hurdles 400m semi-final
- Men's long jump final
- Men's 1,500m final
- Women's 3,000m steeplechase final
- Women's 200m final
Wednesday, August 7
- Marathon race walk relay mixed
- Men's high jump qualification
- Women's hurdles 100m round 1
- Women's javelin throw group A qualification
- Men's 5,000m round 1
- Women's javelin throw group B qualification
- Men's 800m round 1
- Women's 1,500m repechage round
- Women's pole vault final
- Men's hurdles 110m semi-final
- Men's triple jump qualification
- Men's hurdles 400m semi-final
- Men's 200m semi-final
- Men's discus throw final
- Women's 400m semi-final
- Men's 400m final
- Men's 3,000m steeplechase final
Thursday, August 8
- Women's heptathlon hurdles 100m
- Women's shot put qualification
- Women's hurdles 100m repechage round
- Women's heptathlon high jump
- Women's 4x100m relay round 1
- Men's 4x100m relay round 1
- Men's 800m repechage round
- Women's 1,500m semi-final
- Women's heptathlon shot put
- Women's long jump final
- Men's javelin throw final
- Men's 200m final
- Women's heptathlon 200m
- Women's hurdles 400m final
- Men's hurdles 110m final
Friday, August 9
- Women's heptathlon long jump
- Women's 4x400m relay round 1
- Men's 4x400m relay round 1
- Women's heptathlon javeln throw group A
- Men's 800m semi-final
- Women's hurdles 100m semi-final
- Women's heptathlon javelin throw group B
- Women's 4x100m relay final
- Women's shot put final
- Men's 4x100m relay final
- Women's 400m final
- Men's triple jump final
- Women's heptathlon 800m
- Women's 10,000m final
- Men's hurdle 400m final
Saturday, August 10
- Men's marathon
- Men's high jump final
- Men's 800m final
- Women's javelin throw final
- Women's hurdles 100m final
- Men's 5,000m final
- Women's 1,500m final
- Men's 4x400m relay final
- Women's 4x400m relay final
Sunday, August 11
- Women's marathon
All you need to know about the Olympic athletics
When does the Olympic athletics begin?
The first two events of the Olympic athletics begins on Thursday, August 1, with the men's and women's 20km race walks.
From then on, new events begin each day until Sunday, August 11, which is the last day and it has only one event (the women's marathon).
What are the Olympic athletics events?
The first two events of the Olympic athletics begins on Thursday, August 1, with the men's and women's 20km race walks.
From then on, new events begin each day until Sunday, August 11, which is the last day and it has only one event (the women's marathon).
Where does the Olympic athletics events take place?
Most of the Olympic athletics events take place at the Stade de France, in the Saint-Denis region of Paris. This will host the track and field events, which consists of most of the athletics.
The race walk will start at Pont d'Iéna, the bridge across the Seine which leads to the Eiffel Tower.
The Marathon will begin at the Hotel de Ville on the north bank of the Seine, and will travel south-west to the Chateu de Versailles, before looping back north-east to the Esplanade des Invalides in central Paris.
What are the Olympic athletics events?
With 48 medals up for grabs, there are loads of Olympic athletics events, split between men's and women's with a few mixed ones mixed in there. Let's take a look at the full list here:
Men's track
- 100 meters
- 4x100 meters relay
- 110 meters hurdles
- 200 meters
- 400 meters
- 4x400 meters relay
- 400 meters hurdles
- 800 meters
- 1,500 meters
- 3,000 meters steeplechase
- 5,000 meteres
- 10,000 meters
Men's road
- Marathon
- 20km race walk
Men's field
- High jump
- Pole vault
- Long jump
- Triple jump
- Shot put
- Discus throw
- Hammer throw
- Javelin throw
- Decathlon
Women's track
- 100 meters
- 4x100 meters relay
- 100 meters hurdles
- 200 meters
- 400 meters
- 4x400 meters relay
- 400 meters hurdles
- 800 meters
- 1,500 meters
- 3,000 meters steeplechase
- 5,000 meteres
- 10,000 meters
Women's road
- Marathon
- 20km race walk
Women's field
- High jump
- Pole vault
- Long jump
- Triple jump
- Shot put
- Discus throw
- Hammer throw
- Javelin throw
- Heptathlon
Mixed events
- 4x400 meters relay
- Marathon race walking mixed relay
If you're wondering what the difference between the men's and women's events are, there are two.
Firstly, the shorter hurdles are slightly longer in the men's event than the women's one. The former is 110m, the latter is 100m.
The second is that the men have a ten-event decathlon which combines track and field events, while the women have a seven-event heptathlon. The helptathlon involves 100 meter hurdle, high jump, shot put, 200 meter race, long jump, javelin throw and 800 meter race. The decathlon is 100 meter race, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 meter race, 110 meter hurdle, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw and finally 1,500 meter race.
How to watch other Olympic sports
If you want specific information on other Olympic sports, here are guides we have to the other activities which will be shown as part of the Paris Olympic games:
