International Track & Field is a 3D update of Konami

Konami

is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...

's Track & Field series, in which up to four players compete in eleven different Olympic events. The game was released for the PlayStation and the arcades

Arcade game

An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...

 in 1996. The arcade version was released only in Japan as Hyper Athlete. In 2008 the game was released on PlayStation Network. All six events from the first game, 1983's Track & Field, are included; but tellingly, only three events (swimming, pole vault and triple jump) are taken from the less accomplished sequel, Hyper Sports

Hyper Sports

Hyper Sports is a video game published in 1984. It is the sequel to Konami's Track & Field and features seven all-new Olympic events. Like its predecessor, Hyper Sports featured two run buttons and one action button per player....

. International Track & Field uses the three-button control system of its predecessors (two RUN buttons and one ACTION button per player) and the eleven disciplines can be attempted in any order. The available events are:

1. 100m Sprint
   100 metres
   The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...
   
   
2. Long Jump
   Long jump
   The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
   
   
3. Shot Put
   Shot put
   The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
   
   
4. 100m Free style
   Freestyle swimming
   Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...
   
   
5. 110m Hurdle
6. High Jump
   High jump
   The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
   
   
7. Hammer
   Hammer throw
   The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown...
   
   
8. Triple Jump
   Triple jump
   The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...
   
   
9. Javelin
   Javelin throw
   The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...
   
   
10. Pole Vault
    Pole vault
    Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...
    
    
11. Discus
    Discus throw
    The discus throw is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus...
    
    

Reception

IGN

IGN

IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

 gave the game 7 out 10 praising the graphics as "awesome". The Electric Playground

The Electric Playground

The Electric Playground is a daily news television show on the cable TV network G4 that covers movies, TV shows, comic books, collectibles and gadgets...

 gave the game 9 out 10.

The Otter Technique

Due to the button bashing nature of the game, speed was of the essence in order to achieve a high score in the game. Due to the shape of the Playstation controller, the Otter Technique developed in an ergonomic fashion as the player started to adjust controller positioning during the game. To perform the technique the player must hold the pad slightly diagonally with the left hand holding the controller just above the action buttons to the right of the cable. The left thumb would be placed over one of the run buttons, while the fingers formed a fulcrum

Fulcrum

Fulcrum is the support about which a lever pivots. It may also refer to:* Fulcrum , part of a percussionist's grip* MiG-29 Fulcrum, a Soviet fighter aircraftIn fiction:...

or balance point below the pad. The right hand would loosely grip the right hand side handle, with the right thumb placed over the second run button. As the player begins the 'run' the left hand remains still, while the right hand moves up and down.

As it does so, the balance point of the left fingers enables the pad to rock up and down at an electric pace, all the while allowing the run buttons to be pressed exactly one after the other repeatedly and at high speed. This effectively doubles pressing speed as each movement of the right hand will result in the static left thumb pressing the second button.