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60 m. The flat race was 200 m until 1976 and thereafter 800 m. In elite-level outdoor competition, the pentathlon was superseded in 1981 by the heptathlon, which has seven events, with both 200 m and 800 m, as well as the javelin throw.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 at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Daegu Stadium on 29 and 30 August.
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.
The women's heptathlon competition at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar was held on 8–9 December 2006 at the Khalifa International Stadium.
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.
Ana Camila Donatella Pirelli Cubas is a Paraguayan track and field athlete who competes in the heptathlon. She is the Paraguayan record holder in the event with a personal best score of 5733 points. Pirelli holds more than a dozen national records in events as varied as the 100 metres hurdles, shot put and the indoor women's pentathlon. Pirelli was the heptathlon silver medallist at the 2013 South American Championships in Athletics. She won the gold medal at the 2013 Bolivarian Games and the 2014 South American Games, breaking games records at both competitions. Pirelli is tied to Paraguay Marathon Club and competes in Paraguay's national competitions under the Federación Paraguaya de Atletismo.
Janieve Russell is a Jamaican track and field athlete who competes mainly in the 400 metres hurdles and the 400 metres sprint. She won an Olympic bronze medal in the 4 × 400 m relay in Tokyo 2021, where she also finished fourth in the 400m hurdles final in a personal best of 53.08 secs. She is a four-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, winning the 400m hurdles title in 2018 and 2022, and the 4 × 400 m relay in 2014 and 2018. She has also won two relay silvers at the World Championships and a relay gold at the World Indoor Championships.
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.
Nadine Visser is a Dutch track and field athlete who competed in the combined events until 2017 and specialises in short hurdling since 2018.
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.
Emma Oosterwegel is a Dutch track and field athlete competing in the combined events. She won the bronze medal in the heptathlon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The women's heptathlon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene on 17 and 18 July 2022.
