Easy Athletics?

I made a horrifying discovery today.  In searching for the owner of the track that's next door to my dorm, I had to ask a few people if they knew of any track and field teams or clubs around here that I could train with.  At first I just said "running" but then I alluded to the track and they supplied me with the word I was looking for.  In German the word for track and field is Leichtathletik.  Directly translated this means "easy athletics"...  Easy athletics??  And that makes me a Leichtathletin... an "easy [female] athlete". What a terrible slander of the most ancient and sacred of all athletic competitions!  I tried not to show how offended I was, but obviously Austrians don't take T&F as seriously as some ;)