The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and the most recent Games were held in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is responsible for organising the Games and for overseeing the host city's preparations. The tradition of awarding medals began in 1904; in each Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals for second place, and bronze medals for third place. The Winter Olympic Games were created out of the success of the Summer Olympic Games, which are regarded as the largest and most prestigious multi-sport international event in the world.
The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus caused by the outbreak of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics held since the 1936 Games in Berlin. The 1940 Olympic Games had been scheduled for Tokyo and then for Helsinki, while the 1944 Olympic Games had been provisionally planned for London. This was the second time London hosted the Olympic Games, having previously hosted them in 1908, forty years earlier. The Olympics would return again to London 64 years later in 2012, making London the first city to host the games thrice, and the only such city until Paris and Los Angeles host their third games in 2024 and 2028, respectively. The 1948 Olympic Games were also the first of two summer Games held under the IOC presidency of Sigfrid Edström.
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.
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.
Norway competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's twenty-fourth appearance at the Summer Olympics, except for the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, due to the country's support of the United States boycott. With the absence of women's football and handball teams, Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Games since the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. A total of 53 athletes, 36 men and 17 women, competed only in 12 different sports. There was only a single competitor in badminton, swimming, taekwondo, weightlifting, and wrestling.
Austria competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece from 13 to 29 August 2004. 74 competitors, 54 men and 20 women, took part in 56 events in 18 sports.
Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. British athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games. 310 competitors, 181 men and 129 women, took part in 179 events in 23 sports. These were the first Summer Olympics in which the team of selected athletes was officially known as Team GB in a highly successful attempt to unify all the competing athletes across all the sports and events and boost team morale. Going into the games following their exceptionally poor performance in Atlanta widespread expectations of the team were low.
Bryan Ezra Tsumoru Clay is an American decathlete who was the 2008 Summer Olympic champion for the decathlon and was also World champion in 2005.
Peru competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. 28 competitors, 16 men and 12 women, took part in 21 events in 8 sports.
Haiti competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. These Games were held from 4 May to 27 July 1924. The country's participation in Paris marked its second appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in 1900.
Mexico was the host nation for the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. 275 competitors, 233 men and 42 women, took part in 146 events in 20 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.
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.
Belarus competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's fifth appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era. The Belarus Olympic Committee sent a total of 166 athletes to the Games, 90 men and 76 women, to compete in 20 sports.
Lennart Per-Olav Hedmark is a retired Swedish track and field athlete who competed in the decathlon. He represented his country at the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics with the best result of eighth place in 1976.
The men's 110 metres hurdles competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico was held at the University Olympic Stadium on October 16–17. Thirty-three athletes from 24 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Willie Davenport of the United States, the nation's eighth of nine consecutive victories and the 14th overall gold medal in the event for the Americans. Eddy Ottoz's bronze was Italy's first medal in the event.
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.
Pierce LePage is a Canadian track athlete who competes in the decathlon. He is the 2023 World champion, and the first Canadian to win the decathlon title at the World Athletics Championships. LePage is also the 2022 World silver medalist, 2018 Commonwealth silver medallist, and 2019 Pan American bronze medallist. LePage represented Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics, finishing in fifth place.
Athletics at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are scheduled to run on 1 to 11 August 2024, featuring a total of 48 medal events across three distinct sets: track and field, road running, and racewalking. Four venues are to be used: Pont d'Iéna for race walking, Hôtel de Ville and Les Invalides for the start and end points of the marathon races, and Stade de France for the track and field events.
