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 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad and officially branded as Moscow 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russia. The games were the first to be staged in an Eastern Bloc country, as well as the first Olympic Games and only Summer Olympics to be held in a Slavic language-speaking country. They were also the only Summer Olympic Games to be held in a self-proclaimed communist country until the 2008 Summer Olympics held in China. These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC Presidency of Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin before he was succeeded by Juan Antonio Samaranch shortly afterward.
At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, 37 events were contested in athletics. There were a total number of 1005 participating athletes from 80 countries.
Caitlyn Marie Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, is an American media personality and retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete.
The men's decathlon competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens was held at the Olympic Stadium on 23–24 August.
Kip Janvrin is an American former decathlete. Janvrin is a native of Panora, Iowa and is now the Co-Head Track & Field Coach at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri.
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.
Rick Wanamaker is an American track and basketball athlete who won the decathlon in the 1971 Pan American Games, and blocked a shot against Lew Alcindor in the 1969 NCAA national basketball semi-finals.
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 decathlon event at the 1948 Olympic Games took place between August 5 and August 6. The 17-year-old Bob Mathias of the United States won with a points total of 7139.
Olympic Decathlon is a sports video game written by Timothy W. Smith for the TRS-80 and published in 1980 by Microsoft. In the game, the player competes in ten track and field events. The gold medalist for decathlon in the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics, Caitlyn Jenner, is a character. It was ported to the Apple II in 1981. The 1982 version for the IBM PC was renamed Microsoft Decathlon.
The Men's decathlon competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, was held at the Olympic Stadium on 8–9 August.
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 competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on November 29–30.
Viktor Gruzenkin is a retired Soviet decathlete. His personal record in the decathlon is 8356 points, set in Kiev in 1984. On February 17–18, 1979 he set the world record in the Indoor Heptathlon at 5934 points, which he held for over a year, surpassing the record of Guido Kratschmer who had recently won the silver medal in the 1976 Olympics behind Bruce Jenner.
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.
L. D. Weldon was an American track and field coach. He trained decathletes, including two Olympic medal winners, 40 years apart.
Fred Dixon is an American athlete. He competed in the men's decathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympics. While Dixon had hopes of a medal, he was injured during his flight of the 110 metres hurdles. Dixon struggled to continue but after a no height in the pole vault, he finished in 23rd place.
The men's decathlon event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 4 and 5 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. 23 athletes competed.
