athletic contest vs athletics

athletic contest and athletics both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
athletic contest	Yes	No	No	No
athletics	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, athletic contest and athletics are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of athletic contest include athletic competition.

athletic contest (noun)	athletics (noun)
a contest between athletes	an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition
	participation in sports events as an extracurricular activity
	a contest between athletes