Decathlon

decathlon (dĭkăth`lŏn), in modern Olympic games, a contest for men held over two days and composed of 10 track-and-field events. It consists of the long jump; the high jump; the discus throw; the shot putt; the javelin throw; the 100-, 400-, and 1,500-meter races; the 110-meter hurdle race; and the pole vault. The decathlon became an Olympic event in 1912. The winner is popularly regarded as the "world's greatest athlete;" noted among these are the Americans Jim Thorpe, Bob Mathias, and Bruce Jenner and the British Daley Thompson. The ancient pentathlon, a five-event contest, resembled the modern decathlon.

The

heptathlon is the equivalent modern event for women, consisting of seven track-and-field events. Begun as an Olympic pentathlon in 1964, it was expanded in 1984 and now includes the long jump; the high jump; the shot put; the javelin throw; the 200- and 800-meter races; and the 100-meter hurdles. Like the decathlon, the heptathlon is held over two days. Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who dominated the heptathlon during the 1990s, is the best-known athlete in the event's relatively short history.

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decathlon

Composite athletic contest that consists of 10 different track-and-field competitions: the 100-, 400-, and 1,500-m runs, the 110-m high hurdles, the javelin and discus throws, shot put, pole vault, high jump, and long jump. Introduced as a three-day event at the 1912 Olympic Games, it later became a two-day event. Competitors are scored according to a table established by the International Amateur Athletic Federation. Decathletes are often regarded as the finest all-around athletes in the world.

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decathlon

an athletic contest for men in which each athlete competes in ten different events

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Decathlon 

a classic track-and-field event for men, consisting of ten track-and-field events. Competition in the decathlon lasts two days: the first day consists of the 100 m dash, the broad jump, the shot put, the high jump, and the 400 m dash; the second day consists of the 110 m hurdles, the discus throw, the pole vault, the javelin throw, and the 1,500 m run. The winner is determined by the sum of points earned in all ten events; the number of points awarded in each area of the program is determined by a special table.

In 1970, W. Toomey of the United States set a world record of 8,417 points on the basis of the 1962 scoring system: 100 m dash, 10.3 sec (986 points); long jump, 7.76 m (972). shot put, 14.38 m (751); high jump, 193 cm (796); 400 m dash, 47.1 sec (943); 110 m hurdles, 14.3 sec (926); the discus throw, 46.49 m (809); pole vault 427 cm (876); javelin throw, 65.74 m (830); and 1,500 m run, 4 min 39.4 sec (528). In 1958-59 the Soviet athlete V. Kuznetsov held the world record in the decathlon.

The Olympic Games first included the decathlon in 1912, and since then it has been a standard event in all important track-and-field meets.

IU. K. KOLESOV