page_title: Sport in Cardiff
section_title: Athletics
hierarchical_section_title: Sport in Cardiff / Individual sports / Athletics
caption_attribution_description: London 2012 Olympic &amp; Paralympic Games Victory Parade, 10th September
context_page_description: Sport in Cardiff is dictated by, amongst other things, its position as the capital city of Wales, meaning that national home sporting fixtures are nearly always played in the city. All of Wales' multi-sports agencies and many of the country's sports governing bodies have their headquarters in Cardiff and the city's many top-quality venues have attracted world-famous sport events, sometimes unrelated to Cardiff or to Wales.
  The city hosts numerous international sporting events, be it independently or on behalf of Wales or the United Kingdom. Rugby fans around the world have long been familiar with the Cardiff Arms Park and its successor the Millennium Stadium, a visible presence from in and around the city. Early this century, hundreds of thousands of English football and rugby league supporters visited Cardiff during the six years it took to rebuild Wembley Stadium, as the FA Cup and Rugby League Challenge Cup finals were played at the Millennium Stadium. In 2009, Cardiff hosted the first Ashes cricket test, between England and Australia, to be held in Wales.
context_section_description: Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club (Cardiff AAC) (formed 1882 as Roath (Cardiff) Harriers) is based at the Cardiff International Sports Stadium, Leckwith. Roath Harriers shared Maindy Stadium with Birchgrove Harriers from its opening in 1951 and the two clubs amalgamated to form Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club in 1968. Cardiff AAC were British Athletics League champions in 1973, 1974 and 1975 and remain one of the top twelve clubs in Britain. The club is made up of five sections, each specialising in a separate sport: track and field; road running; cross country; mountain running; and road walking. Cardiff AAC athletes have won a total of 122 medals at major international championships: Olympic and Paralympic Games; World and European Championships; Commonwealth Games; and the World University Games.
  Former and current Cardiff AAC athletes include: Lynn Davies (Lynn the Leap) (1964 Olympic Games gold medalist); Colin Jackson (1993 and 1999 World Championship gold medalist and 1988 Olympic Games silver medalist); Tanni Grey-Thompson (winner of 11 Olympic gold medals); Nigel Walker; Jamie Baulch (1996 Olympic Games and 2002 Commonwealth Games silver medalist and 1998 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist); Christian Malcolm (1998 Commonwealth Games silver medalist), (2010 European Athletics Championships silver medalist); and Matt Elias (1998 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist and 2002 Commonwealth Games silver medalist).
  Cardiff Harlequins Running Club provide road running, cross country and mountain running sections. Harlequins have no track and field section.
  The Cardiff Half Marathon takes place in the city annually in October, attracting up to 11,000 participants and 20,000 spectators. The organiser's goal is to have 20,000 participants by 2012. The event was granted Championship status by Welsh Athletics for the first time in 2009. Cardiff is also one of the cities chosen by several charities for sponsored runs such as Sport Relief, British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK.
  Welsh Athletics (Athletau Cymru), the national governing body for athletics, has been based at the Cardiff International Sports Stadium since 2009, having been based at the Cardiff Athletics Stadium until the stadium was demolished in 2007.
caption: Christian Malcolm
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