Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's decathlon

Men's Decathlon at the Games of the XIX Olympiad
The exterior of the host stadium in Mexico City
Venue	Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Mexico City
Dates	18 & 19 October 1968
Competitors	33 from 20 nations
Winning score	8311
Medalists
Bill Toomey   United States Hans-Joachim Walde   West Germany Kurt Bendlin   West Germany
←  1964 1972  →

The men's decathlon competition featured as part of the athletics programme at the 1968 Summer Olympics and was held at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario in Mexico City on 18 and 19 October.

American Bill Toomey won the gold medal with an Olympic record score of 8193 points. Two West German athletes, Hans-Joachim Walde and Kurt Bendlin, took the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

A total of 33 competitors from 20 nations entered the decathlon with 19 athletes managing to finish all events at the competition. ^[1]

The ten-event track and field competition used hand timing in the track events and was scored using the 1962 scoring method. The youngest competitor was Don Vélez (aged 20) and the oldest was Valbjörn Þorláksson (aged 34). The sixth-placer Tom Waddell, representing the United States, later went on to found the Gay Olympics. ^[1]

Schedule

Date	Round
Friday, 18 October 1968	100 metres Long jump Shot put High jump 400 metres
Saturday, 19 October 1968	110 metres hurdles Discus throw Pole vault Javelin throw 1500 metres

Overall summary

Rank	Athlete	Overall points	100 m	LJ	SP	HJ	400 m	110 m H	DT	PV	JT	1500 m
	Bill Toomey  (USA)	8193	10.4	7.87	13.75	1.95	45.6 WDB	14.9	43.68	4.20	62.80	4:57.1
	Hans-Joachim Walde  (FRG)	8111	10.9	7.64	15.13	2.01	49.0	14.8	43.54	4.30	71.62	4:58.5
	Kurt Bendlin  (FRG)	8064	10.7	7.56	14.74	1.80	48.3	15.0	46.78	4.60	75.42	5:09.8
4	Mykola Avilov  (URS)	7909	10.9	7.64	13.41	2.07	49.9	14.5	46.64	4.10	60.12	5:00.8
5	Joachim Kirst  (GDR)	7861	10.5	7.61	16.43	1.98	50.2	15.6	46.89	4.15	57.02	5:20.1
6	Tom Waddell  (USA)	7719	11.3	7.47	14.45	2.01	51.2	15.3w	43.73	4.50	63.70	5:04.5
7	Rick Sloan  (USA)	7692	11.2	6.72	14.07	2.10	51.0	15.5	45.58	4.85	49.90	4:44.0
8	Steen Smidt-Jensen  (DEN)	7648	10.9	7.17	13.03	1.95	50.2	14.9	41.07	4.85	46.80	4:41.3
9	Ed de Noorlander  (NED)	7554	11.1	6.90	13.89	1.95	50.5	14.5w	41.70	4.20	50.22	4:37.8
10	Manfred Tiedtke  (GDR)	7551	10.9	7.46	15.77	1.95	50.0	14.7	40.31	4.30	51.84	5:33.4
11	Lennart Hedmark  (SWE)	7481	11.1	7.29	14.08	1.89	51.3	14.9	42.96	4.10	62.90	5:11.0
12	Walter Dießl  (AUT)	7465	10.7	7.42	14.32	1.83	51.6	14.7w	42.23	4.25	55.38	5:19.7
13	Clive Longe  (GBR)	7338	10.9	6.86	15.10	1.70	49.3	15.5	47.70	4.00	59.30	5:18.8
14	Wu Ah-Min  (ROC)	7209	11.3	7.40	12.08	1.80	52.2	14.8w	40.25	4.35	60.10	5:08.9
15	Spas Dzhurov  (BUL)	7173	10.9	7.40	13.99	1.89	50.2	15.1	40.90	3.60	47.04	5:15.5
16	Roger Lespagnard  (BEL)	7125	11.1	6.94	12.59	1.95	50.2	15.8	37.74	4.20	47.46	4:57.0
17	Urs Trautmann  (SUI)	7044	11.2	6.96	15.16	1.95	1:03.9	14.9	46.20	4.10	56.32	5:13.6
18	Franz Biedermann  (LIE)	6323	11.5	6.30	10.94	1.70	51.4	15.5	30.67	3.90	44.92	4:47.9
19	Don Vélez  (NCA)	5943	11.5	6.63	10.60	1.65	53.1	16.2	36.43	3.40	48.94	5:46.1
—	Jānis Lanka  (URS)	DNF (7227)	10.9	7.15	15.31	1.80	49.9	14.8w	49.90	3.80	59.76	DNF
—	Gert Herunter  (AUT)	DNF	10.5	6.75	13.93	1.83	49.7	15.0	40.38
—	Hansruedi Kunz  (SUI)	DNF	11.0	6.54	13.67	1.65	49.1	15.7w	40.18
—	Charlemagne Anyamah  (FRA)	DNF	11.2	6.03	14.00	1.80	50.9	15.3	39.88
—	Roberto Carmona Botella  (MEX)	DNF	10.9	6.92	14.37	1.70	50.5
—	Valbjörn Þorláksson  (ISL)	DNF	11.1	6.76	12.59	1.70	53.2
—	Herbert Wessel  (GDR)	DNF	10.8	7.39	13.70	1.86	53.4
—	Chen Chuan-Show  (ROC)	DNF	10.8	6.78	12.38	1.70	50.9
—	Rein Aun  (URS)	DNF	10.8	7.40	14.75	1.80	DNF
—	Ho Henh Phươc  (VIE)	DNF	11.9	6.16	11.93	1.70
—	Horst Mandl  (AUT)	DNF	11.2	7.04	13.34
—	Dominique Rakotorahalahy  (MAD)	DNF	11.5	6.62
—	Werner von Moltke  (FRG)	DNF	11.1	6.14
—	Werner Duttweiler  (SUI)	DNF	11.2	5.31

References

1. "Athletics at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games: Men's Decathlon". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2018.

External links

• Official 1968 Olympic Games Report (pg. 114). International Olympic Committee. Retrieved on 2013-07-02.