Starting in 1954, artificial surfaces using a
combination of rubber and asphalt began to appear. An artificial warm-up track was constructed for the
1956 Summer Olympics in
Melbourne, Australia. During the 1960s many of these tracks were constructed; examples still exist today. In the mid-1960s
Tartan tracks were developed, surfaced with a product by
3M. The name
Tartan is a trademark, but it is sometimes used as a
genericized trademark. This process was the first to commercialize a
polyurethane surface for running tracks, though it was originally conceived for horse racing. Many Tartan tracks were installed worldwide, including at many of the top universities in the United States. An all-weather surface has become standard ever since. Another Tartan track was installed on a temporary basis for the 1968
United States Olympic Trials held at altitude at
Echo Summit,
California, before being moved to
South Tahoe Middle School, where it survived for almost 40 years. There are other techniques that distribute small chunks of rubber then adhere them in place with various polyurethane or
latex substances.
World Athletics, the governing body for international track and field competitions, publishes very specific regulations for the conduct of Global Championship or International level track meets under their jurisdiction. Since the early 1980s, the manufacturer of the surfaces selected for most championship meets has been the
Italian company,
Mondo, again the
trademarked brand name becoming used as a genericized trademark. Mondo's track surface is called
Mondotrack. The surface differs from the particles stuck in adhesion techniques, in that they are more of a rubber carpet, cut to size then tightly seamed together (in the linear direction along the lane lines). This form of construction gives a more consistent bounce (or energy return) and traction. Because of the tight fit specifications required for manufacture, construction surrounding these sites also has to be of a higher standard, making a Mondotrack one of the most expensive systems to use. Examples of Mondotracks were used for the
1996 Summer Olympics (since removed from the
Centennial Olympic Stadium) in
Atlanta,
Georgia, United States;
2004 Summer Olympics in
Athens,
Greece;
2008 Summer Olympics in
Beijing, China;
2012 Summer Olympics in
London, United Kingdom and the
2016 Summer Olympics in
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. Another player in the marketplace is the formerly
BASF-owned company Conica, based in Switzerland, now part of the Serafin Group (Munich, Germany), which can boast the
2009 World Championships in Athletics in
Berlin, Germany (where
Usain Bolt improved his
100 metres and
200 metres world records), along with other record hosting venues like
Stadio Olimpico in
Rome, Italy. == Measurement of a track ==