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.
The pentathlon or women's pentathlon is a combined track and field event in which each woman competes in five separate events over one day. The distance or time for each event is converted to points via scoring tables, with the overall ranking determined by total points. Since 1949 the events have been sprint hurdling, high jump, shot put, long jump, and a flat race. The sprint hurdles distance was 80 m outdoors until 1969 and thereafter 100 m; in indoor pentathlon the distance is 60 m. The flat race was 200 m until 1976 and thereafter 800 m. In elite-level outdoor competition, the pentathlon was superseded in 1981 by the heptathlon, which has seven events, with both 200 m and 800 m, as well as the javelin throw. Pentathlon is still contested at school and masters level and indoors.
The women's heptathlon event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics took place from August 25–26, 2007 at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan. The competition is notable for having the highest number of competitors (39) in the World Championships history. The winning margin was 200 points.
The 34th edition of the annual Hypo-Meeting took place on May 31 and June 1, 2008 in Götzis, Austria. The track and field competition, featuring a decathlon (men) and a heptathlon (women) event was part of the 2008 IAAF World Combined Events Challenge.
The 29th edition of the annual Hypo-Meeting took place on 31 May and 1 June 2003 in Götzis, Austria. The track and field competition, featuring a decathlon (men) and a heptathlon (women) event, was part of the 2003 IAAF World Combined Events Challenge.
The 26th edition of the annual Hypo-Meeting took place on June 3 and June 4, 2000 in Götzis, Austria. The track and field competition, featuring a decathlon (men) and a heptathlon (women) event, was part of the 2000 IAAF World Combined Events Challenge.
The 25th edition of the annual Hypo-Meeting took place on May 29 and May 30, 1999 in Götzis, Austria. The track and field competition, featuring a decathlon (men) and a heptathlon (women) event, was part of the 1999 IAAF World Combined Events Challenge. Tomáš Dvořák set a new meet record with a total number of 8738 points in the men's decathlon.
Odile Ahouanwanou is a Beninese heptathlete, who also specialises in the 100 metres hurdles; she holds Beninese records in both events. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2015 African Games and two African Championships in Athletics, and won a silver medal in the heptathlon at the 2015 African Games.
Morgan Lake is a British high jumper. She won the silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and placed fourth at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Lake finished sixth in the 2017 World Championships in Athletics and fourth in the 2018 World Indoor Championships.
The women's heptathlon at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Luzhniki Stadium Moskva RUSSIA on 12–13 August. The winning margin was 56 points.
Combined events at the Summer Olympics have been contested in several formats at the multi-sport event. There are two combined track and field events in the current Olympic athletics programme: a men's decathlon and a women's heptathlon.
The women's heptathlon at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics was held at the Hayward Field on 22 and 23 July.
The women's heptathlon competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was won by Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium on 12–13 August.
The women's heptathlon at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 22 and 23 August.
The women's heptathlon at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 5–6 August.
The 45th edition of the annual Hypo-Meeting took place on May 25 and May 26, 2019 in Götzis, Vorarlberg (Austria). The track and field competition, featuring a men's decathlon and a women's heptathlon event is part of the 2019 IAAF Combined Events Challenge.
The men's decathlon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships was held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha from 2 to 4 October.
The women's heptathlon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene on 17 and 18 July 2022. The winning margin was 80 points.
The women's heptathlon at the 2023 World Athletics Championships was held at the National Athletics Centre Budapest on 19 and 20 August 2023. The winning margin was 20 points, the narrowest yet in the history of the heptathlon at the World Athletics Championships.
