In 1912...
While presenting the inaugural gold medal in the Olympic decathlon to American Jim Thorpe, King Gustav V of Sweden proclaimed, “Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world!”
Decathlon
The men’s decathlon consists of ten events contested across two days. The results from each of the ten events is assigned a score and the ten scores are summed up to determine the overall winner.
The modern decathlon first appeared at the Olympic games in 1912 and consists of the following events:
Day 1
- 100 metres
- Long jump
- Shot put
- High jump
- 400 metres
Day 2
- 110 metres hurdles
- Discus throw
- Pole vault
- Javelin throw
- 1500 metres
The current decathlon world record holder is Kevin Mayer of France, who scored 9,126 points in 2018.
Heptathlon
The women’s heptathlon features seven events contested over two days. The combined performance is determined by adding up the points of the individual events.
The heptathlon has been contested since 1981 and consists of the following events:
Day 1
- 100 metres hurdles
- High jump
- Shot put
- 200 metres
Day 2
- Long jump
- Javelin throw
- 800 metres
The current heptathlon world record holder is Jackie Joyner-Kersee of the United States, who scored 7,291 points in 1988.