Racing

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Two men engaging in a sprint finish at the end of a 5-kilometre road running competition

The Men's lightweight coxless four rowing race at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London

The start of the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix auto race

Two women in a tight sprint finish at the end of the Australia World Cup cycling race

Horse racing at Arlington Park

Cross-country skiers racing at the Demino Ski Marathon, March 2015

Short-track speed skaters racing through a curve

Start of the 4 × 100 meters relay swimming race during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing

In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goal.

A race may be run continuously to finish or may be made up of several segments called heats, stages or legs. A heat is usually run over the same course at different times. A stage is a shorter section of a much longer course or a time trial.

Early records of races are evident on pottery from ancient Greece, which depicted running men vying for first place. A chariot race is described in Homer's Iliad.