A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά and ἄθλος. A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.
Yelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva is a Russian former pole vaulter. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, a three-time World Champion, the current world record holder in the event, and is widely considered the greatest female pole-vaulter of all time. Isinbayeva was banned from the 2016 Rio Olympics after revelations of an extensive state-sponsored doping programme in Russia, thus dashing her hopes of a grand retirement winning the Olympic gold medal. She retired from athletics in August 2016 after being elected to serve an 8-year term on the IOC's Athletes' Commission.
Susanna Elisabeth "Sanna" Kallur is a Swedish former athlete competing mainly in sprint hurdles. She has won several international medals, including the gold medal in the 100 m hurdles at the 2006 European Athletics Championships. Kallur previously held the world indoor record for the 60 metres hurdles for 16 years (2008-2024).
Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill is a retired British track and field athlete from England, specialising in the heptathlon and 100 metres hurdles. As a competitor in heptathlon, she is the 2012 Olympic champion, a three-time world champion, and the 2010 European champion. She is also the 2010 World Indoor pentathlon champion. A member of the City of Sheffield & Dearne athletic club, she is a former British national record holder for the heptathlon. She is also a former British record holder in the 100 metres hurdles, the high jump and the indoor pentathlon.
The IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field competition organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
Vera Ivanovna Popkova was a Soviet track and field athlete who competed in the sprints. She had personal bests of 11.3 seconds for the 100 metres and 23.0 seconds for the 200 metres. Over her career, she won eight individual national titles in the sprints.
The European Cup is a former athletics competition for European teams that was replaced by the European Team Championships starting in 2009 and was organized by European Athletics Association. The European Cup saw most of the major nations of Europe compete. Originally known as the Bruno Zauli Cup, it first took place in 1965 in Stuttgart (men) and Kassel (women), Germany. Initially, the competition was a bi-annual event ; however, from 1993, it took place once every year.
Antonietta Di Martino is a retired Italian high jumper. She currently holds the Italian national women's high jump record at 2.03 metres for outdoor events and 2.04 metres for indoor events. She also currently holds the women's all-time highest jump-differential, meaning she has jumped the highest more than her own height.
Jennifer Brenda "Jenny" Meadows is a retired British athlete. Her main event was the 800 metres, although she previously competed also over the 400 metres. She won the bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships, and a silver at the 2010 World Indoor Championships. At the European Athletics Championships, Meadows took silver outdoors in 2010 and gold indoors in 2011. She also had some international success as part of the Great Britain women's 4 x 400 metres relay squad.
Aleksandra Andreyevna Fedoriva is a Russian track and field athlete who competes mainly in sprinting events.
The first European Athletics Team Championships took place on 20 and 21 June 2009. The track and field athletics tournament run by European Athletics was the successor of the old European Cup competition which was held annually until 2008. The Championships saw a number of new rules introduced, which were criticised by some athletes and observers.
The Sainsbury's International Match, formerly known as the Aviva International Match, was an annual indoor track and field athletics meeting which takes place in late January in Glasgow, Scotland. The televised competition is the first major indoor event in the United Kingdom's athletics calendar. It was held at the Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena from 1988 to 2012. It moved to the Commonwealth Sports Arena from 2013 onwards.
Yuliya Mikhailovna Zaripova is a Russian former disgraced middle-distance runner who specialised in the 3000 metres steeplechase event.
The 2003 European Athletics Indoor Cup was held on 15 February 2003 at the Arena Leipzig in Leipzig, Germany. It was the inaugural edition of the indoor track and field meeting for international teams, which featured the eight top performing nations from the 2002 European Cup. The event was held before a sell-out crowd of 3069 people and athletes gave a positive reaction to the competition, with 60 metres winner Jason Gardener remarking that "The public, the organisation and the facilities are very good here". This reception led to Leipzig being awarded the hosting rights to the 2004 European Athletics Indoor Cup by the European Athletic Association. Spain won the men's section of the team competition, while Russia took the top women's honours.
The 2004 European Athletics Indoor Cup was held on 14 February 2004 at the Arena Leipzig in Leipzig, Germany. It was the second edition of the indoor track and field meeting for international teams, which featured the eight top performing nations from the 2003 European Cup. It was the second consecutive year that the event was held at the venue, following on from a successful hosting of the 2003 European Athletics Indoor Cup.
The 2006 European Athletics Indoor Cup was held on 5 March 2006 at the Stade Couvert Régional in Liévin, France. It was the third edition of the indoor track and field meeting for international teams, which featured the six top performing nations from the 2005 European Cup and the top two from the European Cup First League. Great Britain's women's team withdrew due to the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, while the Italian women also withdrew as the dates coincided with their indoor national championships. The event was held a week prior to the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Moscow.
Mariya Aleksandrovna Lasitskene is a Russian athlete who specialises in the high jump. She is the 2020 Olympic champion and three-time world champion. With her victory in Tokyo, Lasitskene became the fourth female high jumper in history to win gold at both the Olympic Games and the World Championships.
Dafne Schippers is a Dutch retired track and field athlete who competed in sprinting and the combined events. She holds the European record in the 200 metres with a time of 21.63 seconds, making her the sixth-fastest woman of all time at this distance. She also holds the Dutch records in the 100 metres and long jump, and shares the Dutch records in the 60 metres indoor and 4 × 100 metres relay.
Dmitriy Sergeyev Tarabin is a Russian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. His personal best for the event is 88.84 m. He was the winner of the javelin at Summer Universiade and the Russian Championships in 2013. Tarabin previously competed for Moldova and remains the country's national record holder.
Svetlana Sergeevna Biryukova is a Russian track and field athlete who specialises in the long jump. Her personal best for the event is 6.98 m, set indoors in 2014.
