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As a country, we’ve always been one that has loved athletics; a prime example of that is how many Olympic medals we’ve earned (almost 1,000 if you were wondering). Also, said that nearly seven million of us participate in some athletic-based activity at least twice a month.

However, not everyone has the same abilities, and no matter our level, we all need downtime too; that includes the professionals. We all need to have time to relax. Many of us like to watch the sport, as over 68 million people tuned into the Tokyo Olympics coverage on the BBC, while others prefer to take to other digital platforms to wind down.

Video gaming is one of the most popular ways that people like to enjoy their spare time in the UK. Research undertaken by Ofcom revealed that in 2020 around 62% of adults were found in the UK played some form of a digitally based game. In further research, it’s been found that 6.2 million of us prefer to play games on our mobile phones on a daily basis. It’s a great way to wind down after a session on the track, or to emulate your sporting heroes if you don’t quite have the ability to do it yourself.

Sport is one of the most popular genres when it comes to gaming, and there are so many titles out there for people to enjoy. From FIFA to WWE Mayhem, Formula 1 to Real Cricket, all sports are catered for when it comes to games on our smartphones. You can even find a range of sports titles amongst the online slots from Gala Bingo, including Top Trumps Football and Rainbow Riches Race Day, which utilise sports in a more generic context.

The same can be said of Golf Peaks, which, you guessed it, is based on the sport, but it’s a card-based puzzle title. There are well-known names from the world of athletics on consoles; there are the officially licensed titles of the Olympic games and Mario and Sonic’s take on the Olympiad. However, on Android devices, the names aren’t as recognisable, but there are plenty of games out there for athletes to enjoy, and we’re going to take a look at the best of them below.

Ragdoll Runners

This is a light-hearted, physics-based take on athletics, where you take independent control of your athlete’s legs in eight different events, from sprints to the long jump, hurdles and the triple jump. It’s a game of timing, with a button for each leg, so you need to concentrate on getting the best out of your athlete. Initially, you might not be the most graceful of athletes, but soon, you’ll be taking on and beating opponents of increasing difficulty to see your name in lights at the top of the leader board.

Summer Games Heroes

Summer Games Heroes is an excellent take on the summer games, with some fantastic graphics that wouldn’t look out of place on the Nintendo consoles. It’s a multi-disciplined game, but rather than sticking to the track and field events here; there’s also cycling and swimming to participate in. You can customise your character, adding an extra level of glitz to your performance, but best of all, this game is free, and there are no in-app purchases either.

Athletics2: Summer Sports Free

Out of all the titles, this is the closest to what we’d expect from a full-blown officially licensed Olympic title. The range of events here are astonishing for a mobile game, and graphically, it’s impressive too. There are more field events on Athletics2: Summer Sports than the other games on this list, and in another twist, there’s diving to go alongside the swimming events. Fancy the heptathlon or triathlon? No problem, it’s all here for you, and again, it’s free.

We hope you enjoyed our look at some of the best athletic games on Android, and enjoy some time on the digital track while you recuperate after aiming for your personal best.