The Zatopek in Melbourne on Thursday night might carry tradition but the 10,000-metre track race that it lends its name could be cut from the Olympics under sweeping changes authorised by the IOC in Europe this week.

Five key events, remarkably including the 200-metre sprint, and the shot put, are in jeopardy after the IOC pushed for the athletics program to be tightened to allow other sports to be added to the Olympics schedule.

Silence please: Jamaica's Usain Bolt crosses the finish line to win gold. Credit:Getty Images

The events regarded most at risk under a athletics shake-up are, in order: the 10,000 metres, one of the men's race walks - most likely the 20-kilometre event - the 200, shot put and triple jump.

Respected athletics administrator Brian Roe, a senior international technical official at the Olympics and world championships, said he was at a meeting of influential thinkers in the sport when the options were put and those five events were all presented as the most obvious choices if there were to be changes.