The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 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.
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad and commonly known as Rome 1960, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awarded the administration of the 1908 Summer Olympics, but following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906, the city had no choice but to decline and pass the honour to London. The Soviet Union won the most gold and overall medals at the 1960 Games.
An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track and field and marathon runners but excluding e.g. swimmers, footballers or basketball players. However, in other contexts it is used to refer to all athletics participants of any sport. For the latter definition, the word sportsperson or the gendered sportsman or sportswoman are also used. A third definition is also sometimes used, meaning anyone who is physically fit regardless of whether or not they compete in a sport.
Lillian Copeland was an American track and field Olympic champion athlete, who excelled in discus, javelin throwing, and shot put, setting multiple world records. She has been called "the most successful female discus thrower in U.S. history". She also held multiple titles in shot put and javelin throwing. She won a silver medal in discus at the 1928 Summer Olympics, a gold medal in discus at the 1932 Summer Olympics, and gold medals in discus, javelin, and shot put at the 1935 Maccabiah Games in Mandatory Palestine.
Rafer Lewis Johnson was an American decathlete and film actor. He was the 1960 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon, having won silver in 1956. He had previously won a gold at the 1955 Pan American Games. Johnson was the U.S. team's flag bearer at the 1960 Olympics and lit the Olympic cauldron at the Los Angeles Games in 1984.
Michael Cameron "Mike" Smith is a Canadian decathlete from Kenora, Ontario.
Yang Chuan-kwang, or C.K. Yang, was a Taiwanese Olympian decathlete. Yang attended college at UCLA, where he trained and competed with teammate and Olympian Rafer Johnson and was coached by Elvin C. Drake.
The United States competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. It was the first Summer Olympics in which the athletes marched under the present 50-star flag. 292 competitors, 241 men and 51 women, took part in 147 events in 17 sports.
The Republic of China competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. 27 competitors, 24 men and 3 women, took part in 18 events in 6 sports. The nation won its first ever Olympic medal. The ROC was forced to use the name "Formosa". In the opening ceremony the athletes marched behind a sign reading "UNDER PROTEST".
The Men's Decathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Stadium Australia on Wednesday 27 September and Thursday 28 September 2000.
In track and field, wind assistance is the benefit that an athlete receives during a race or event as registered by a wind gauge. Wind is one of many forms of weather that can affect sport.
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.
William Delouis Watson, also known as Big Bill Watson, was an American track and field athlete. Watson was the Amateur Athletic Union (A.A.U.) decathlon champion in 1940 and 1943. He was the first African-American to win the U.S. decathlon championship and the first African-American to be selected as the captain of any athletic team at the University of Michigan, being selected as the captain of the Michigan track team in 1939. While at Michigan, Watson won 12 individual Big Ten Conference championships, including three consecutive championships (1937–1939) in the long jump, discus and shot put. He served as a police officer for the Detroit Police Department for 25 years from the early 1940s until his retirement in 1966. Watson was posthumously inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1982.
Ashton James Eaton is a retired American decathlete and two-time Olympic champion, who holds the world record in the indoor heptathlon event. Eaton was the second decathlete to break the 9,000-point barrier in the decathlon, with 9,039 points, a score he bettered on August 29, 2015, when he beat his own world record with a score of 9,045 points, and remains the only person to exceed 9000 points twice. His world record was broken by Frenchman Kevin Mayer on September 16, 2018, with a total of 9,126 points, who became the third man to pass the 9,000-point barrier.
The men's discus throw throwing event at the 1960 Summer Olympics took place on September 6 & September 7. Thirty-five athletes from 22 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Al Oerter of the United States, the nation's third consecutive and 10th overall victory in the men's discus throw. It was Oerter's second gold medal in the event; he would go on to win four. Oerter was the sixth man to win two medals in the event, and the third to win two gold medals. The United States earned its second consecutive and third overall medal sweep in the event, as Rink Babka took silver and Dick Cochran bronze.
The Men's decathlon competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, was held at the Olympic Stadium on 8–9 August.
Philip Roy Mulkey was an American track and field athlete, primarily known for the multi-event decathlon. Mulkey was the second place American behind Rafer Johnson at the 1960 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships which served as Olympic Trials. He failed to finish the 1960 Olympic competition, dropping out after the discus throw. Mulkey had been a competitor at the 1952 Olympic Trials finishing 17th as a high schooler from Purdy, Missouri and the 1956 Olympic Trials finishing 7th representing the University of Wyoming.
Damian David George Warner is a Canadian track and field athlete specializing in decathlon. He is the 2020 Olympic champion and a four-time world medallist. Warner also won the bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics and was the 2014 Commonwealth champion and a two-time Pan American champion from the 2015 and 2019 Games. Competing in the heptathlon, he is the 2022 World Indoor champion.
The men's decathlon at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 28 and 29 August.
The men's decathlon at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 11–12 August.
