List of international athletics championships and games

In the sport of athletics, major international competitions between nations can be distinguished into four types:

Multi-sport events, commonly referred to as Games, where athletics events form part of a wider sporting programme
World championships, the primary competitions where all nations may compete
Continental or regional championships, competitions between nations of a specific continent or region
Championships where the invited nations or athletes have a shared language, religion, ethnicity, occupation or political allegiance

Competitions

#	Event	1st edition	Kind of competition	May participate
1	Olympic Games	1896	World games	Worldwide
2	World Championships	1983	World championships	Worldwide
3	World Indoor Championships	1985	World indoor championships	Worldwide
4	Universiade	1959	University games	Worldwide (college athletes)
5	Military World Games	1995	Military games	Worldwide (military athletes)
5a	World Military Track & Field Championship	1941	Military championships	Worldwide (military athletes)
6	Asian Games	1951	Continental games	Asia
7	Asian Indoor Games	2005	Continental indoor games	Asia
8	Pan American Games	1951	Continental games	Americas
9	All-Africa Games	1965	Continental games	Africa
10	European Championships	1934	Continental championships	Europe
11	European Indoor Championships	1966	Continental indoor championships	Europe
12	South American Championships	1919	Continental championships	South America
13	Asian Championships	1973	Continental championships	Asia
14	African Championships	1979	Continental championships	Africa
15	Ocenian Championships	1990	Continental championships	Oceania
16	Mediterranean Games	1951	Regional games	20px All nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea
17	Pan Arab Games	1953	Regional games	Arab World nations
18	Commonwealth Games	1930	Regional games	Commonwealth of Nations
19	Central American and Caribbean Games	1926	Regional games	Central American and Caribbean nations
20	East Asian Games	1983	Regional games	East Asian nations
21	South Asian Games	1953	Regional games	South Asian nations
22	Southeast Asian Games	1959	Regional games	Southeast Asian nations
23	Island Games	1985	Regional games	European islands and other small territories
24	Games of the Small States of Europe	1985	Regional games	Small states of Europe
25	Maccabiah Games	1950	Ethnoreligious games	Jewish athletes
26	Lusophony Games	2006	Language games	Portuguese speaking nations
27	Jeux de la Francophonie	1989	Language games	French-speaking nations
28	Central American and Caribbean Championships	1967	Regional championships	Central American and Caribbean nations
29	North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships	2007	Regional championships	North American, Central American and Caribbean nations
30	Ibero-American Championships	1983	Regional championships	Ibero-American countries
31	Pacific Conference Games	1969	Invitational championships	Five Pacific-coast countries (later invitational)
32	FAJR Indoor Championships	1992	Regional championships	Asia