Track and field competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics officially began on Friday, with competition running through August 10. (To be clear, that's specifically track and field and not athletics in general, which began Thursday with the 20-kilometer race walk events and will end August 11 with the women's marathon.)

The first medal event on the track is the men's 10,000 final Friday, but there are plenty of qualification rounds Friday, including the Sha'Carri Richardson in the women's 100 meters, the women's triple jump and the Ryan Crouser in the men's shot put.

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Funny thing about the track at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, which is just north of Paris: It's purple! Which could come as a bit of a surprise, but it's also pretty cool. And actually, a lot more than just the literal track at Stade de France is purple.

So as track and field competition gets underway, here are nine photos of the super purple track.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: 9 photos of the super purple Olympic track at Stade de France at the Paris Games