athletics vs contest

athletics and contest both are nouns.

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

As nouns, contest is a hypernym of athletics; that is, contest is a word with a broader meaning than athletics:

athletics: a contest between athletes
contest: an occasion on which a winner is selected from among two or more contestants

Other hypernyms of athletics include competition.

athletics (noun)	contest (noun)
an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition	a struggle between rivals
participation in sports events as an extracurricular activity	an occasion on which a winner is selected from among two or more contestants
a contest between athletes

athletics (verb)	contest (verb)
	to make the subject of dispute, contention, or litigation