The Soviet Athletics Championships () was an annual outdoor

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

competition organised by the Soviet Athletics Federation, which served as the Soviet

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

for the sport. The early history of event traces back to two events organised by a Moscow-based skiing club: this was first held in 1920 for men only. Following the

Declaration of the Creation of the USSR The Declaration on the Creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is a historical document which, together with the Treaty on the Creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, formed the constitutional basis for the creation of t ...

, the next two editions in 1923 and 1924 increased in size and were held as an All-Union sports festival. A marked increase came in 1928 when 1281 athletes competed, drawing from five

Union Republics In the Soviet Union, a Union Republic () or unofficially a Republic of the USSR was a Federated state, constituent federated political entity with a List of forms of government, system of government called a Soviet republic (system of governm ...

, 12 regions of the Russian SDSSR and 11 foreign delegations. The event was held consistently every year from 1943 onwards. The athletics competition was incorporated into the quadrennial

Spartakiad of Peoples of the USSR The Spartakiad of Peoples of the USSR (, Spartakiada narodov SSSR; ; ) were mass multi-event competitions in the Soviet Union in 1956–1991, descendants of the 1928 All-Union Spartakiad that took place in Moscow. The competitions were designed t ...

during the latter event's lifespan from 1956 to 1991 (with the exception of 1986).Soviet Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 26 August 2016. The event programme typically was close to that featured in the Olympic Games athletics competition, though the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

, road

racewalking Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asses ...

, and

combined track and field events Combined track and field events are competitions in which athletes participate in a number of track and field events, earning points for their performance in each event, which adds to a total points score. Outdoors, the most common combined events ...

were usually held at separate championships. It was common for there to be both an individual Soviet Championships and a national athletics championship for clubs.Лёгкая атлетика. Справочник / Составитель Р. В. Орлов. – М.: "Физкультура и спорт", 1983. – 392 с. The last Soviet Athletics Championships was hosted in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

in 1991 and it ceased thereafter due to the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

. A final shared championships was held in 1992 between the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

, after which point the newly independent nations hosted their own national championship events.

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References

{{defunct athletics competitions Athletics competitions in the Soviet Union National athletics competitions Recurring sporting events established in 1920 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1991 1991 disestablishments in the Soviet Union 1920 establishments in Russia Defunct athletics competitions

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

Editions

See also

References