The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα and ἄθλος. Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not by the position achieved. The decathlon is contested mainly by male athletes, while female athletes typically compete in the heptathlon.
A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente (five) and -athlon (competition). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games. Five events were contested over one day for the Ancient Olympic pentathlon, starting with the long jump, javelin throwing, and discus throwing, followed by the stadion and wrestling. Pentathletes were considered to be among the most skilled athletes, and their training was often part of military service—each of the five events in the pentathlon was thought to be useful in war or battle.
A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta (seven) and ἄθλος. A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.
Paavo Ilmari Yrjölä, also known as the Bear of Hämeenkyrö, was a Finnish track and field athlete who won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1928 Summer Olympics. He also competed in shot put and high jump at the same Games, and in decathlon in 1924 and 1932, but less successfully.
The men's decathlon competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens was held at the Olympic Stadium on 23–24 August.
Akilles "Aki" Eero Johannes Järvinen was a Finnish decathlete. He competed at the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympics and won two silver medals, in 1928 and 1932; he served as the Finnish flag bearer at all three games. He also won a European silver medal in the 400 m hurdles in 1934.
The United States was the host nation for the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. 474 competitors, 400 men and 74 women, took part in 122 events in 17 sports.
The men's decathlon was a track and field athletics event held as part of the athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held from Saturday, July 13, 1912, to Monday, July 15, 1912. It was the first time the decathlon, which had been introduced in 1911, was held at the Olympics; a different ten-event competition, the all-around, had been contested in St. Louis in 1904. Twenty-nine decathletes from twelve nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.
The men's pentathlon was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. It was the first time the event was held. Twenty-six athletes from 11 nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.
The scoring tables for the decathlon have undergone continual evolution since their inception about a century ago, with several changes to both the character of the equations and the indices on which the equations are based.
These are the official results of the Men's Decathlon competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. There were a total number of 36 participating athletes, with eight competitors who didn't finish the competition.
These are the official results of the Men's Decathlon competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. There were a total number of 39 participating athletes, with five competitors who didn't finish the competition.
These are the official results of the men's decathlon competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. There were a total number of 26 participating athletes, with the competition starting on August 8, 1984, and ending on August 9, 1984.
The Olympic medal table is a method of sorting the medal placements of countries in the modern-day Olympics and Paralympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not officially recognize a ranking of participating countries at the Olympic Games. Nevertheless, the IOC does publish medal tallies for information purposes, showing the total number of Olympic medals earned by athletes representing each country's respective National Olympic Committee. The convention used by the IOC is to sort by the number of gold medals the athletes from a country have earned. In the event of a tie in the number of gold medals, the number of silver medals is taken into consideration, and then the number of bronze medals. If two countries have an equal number of gold, silver, and bronze medals, they are ordered in the table alphabetically by their IOC country code.
The men's vault or "long horse vaulting" event was part of the gymnastics programme at the 1932 Summer Olympics. It was contested for the fifth time after 1896, 1904, 1924, and 1928. The competition was held on Wednesday, August 10, 1932. Ten gymnasts from four nations competed. Each nation was limited to three gymnasts. The event was won by Savino Guglielmetti of Italy, the nation's first medal in the event. Americans Al Jochim and Ed Carmichael took silver and bronze, respectively.
Over time, several scoring systems for Sailing were used during the Summer Olympics. Many of these systems were also used by other regatta's in their times. In order to understand how the medals in the Olympics were handed out one must have a look at the scoring system of that specific olympic sailing regatta.
The first world record in the decathlon was recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1922.
The Men's decathlon competition at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, was held at the Olympic Stadium on 29–30 July.
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.
James Austin Menaul was an American athlete who came fifth in the 1912 Olympic pentathlon.
