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.
A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά and ἄθλος. A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.
Francis Morgan Ayodélé Thompson,, better known as Daley Thompson, is an English former decathlete. He won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and broke the world record for the event four times. He was unbeaten in competition for nine years.
Dean Macey is an English athlete from Canvey Island. He is best known for competing in the decathlon, which he did from 1995 to 2008, winning the Commonwealth Games decathlon, two World Championship medals, as well as twice finishing fourth in the Olympic Games. Retiring from decathlon due to injury, he competed in the bobsleigh between 2008 and 2010.
Simon Roderick Poelman is a former New Zealand decathlete, who has been described as New Zealand's best ever all-round athlete. In the decathlon, his personal best of 8359 points is still a New Zealand national record. This was set at the national athletics championships in Christchurch 1987. As well as being the national decathlon champion seven times. He was also the New Zealand senior men's national champion in several individual events including the 100m (once), 110m hurdles, long jump (twice), pole vault, and shot put (once).
Larbi Bourrada is an Algerian decathlon athlete. He is the four-time African champion and the African record holder in the event. He has also competed in the pole vault, winning the All-Africa Games title in 2011 and two silver medals at the African Championships. In 2012 his doping sample at a competition came back positive for the banned steroid Stanozolol, and he was given a two-year ban from athletics.
Daniel "Dan" Awde is a British 400 metres runner and former decathlete who has twice competed at the Summer Olympic Games.
Willem Coertzen is a retired South African track and field athlete who competed in the decathlon. He was the silver medallist in the event at the African Championships in Athletics in 2008. He is the current South African national record holder in the event with his score of 8343.
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 the two-time and reigning Pan American champion from the 2015 and 2019 Games. Warner holds the Pan Am Games record and the Canadian record for the decathlon and the fourth-highest decathlon score in history. Warner also holds the Olympic Games Record for the Decathlon at 9018 points. Competing in the heptathlon, he is the 2022 World Indoor champion.
Derek Drouin is a Canadian track and field athlete who competes in the high jump. He won gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and was the 2015 World Champion. He also won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2015 Pan American Games, and won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships. Drouin was originally awarded the bronze at the 2012 Olympics which was retroactively changed to silver when the original gold medalist Ivan Ukhov was stripped of his medal for doping violations.
Kurt Felix is a Grenadian athlete who competes in the decathlon. He was the NCAA 2012 Division I Decathlon Champion and was named the Mountain West Men's Outdoor Track and Field Student-Athlete of the Year. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Olympics and won the bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. On 24–25 July 2017, Kurt participated in the 21st Stadtwerke Ratingen Mehrkampf-meeting which was part of the IAAF Combined Events Challenge. He placed second at the meet with a score of 8509 points and set a meeting record in the Javelin Throw with a distance of 72.80m.
Kevin Mayer is a French athlete specialising in decathlon and indoor heptathlon. He is two-time world champion, two-time Olympic silver medalist and the world record holder in the decathlon since 2018. He is also a world and three-time European champion in heptathlon.
Ashley Bryant is a British athlete, specialising in the decathlon. He is a member of Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow Athletic Club and is coached by Aston Moore. Bryant has represented Great Britain at the IAAF World Athletics Championships and England at the Commonwealth Games, a silver medallist in the latter.
Adolphus "Dolly" Jones[nb] is a Kittitian and Nevisian track and field athlete and soccer player.
The 2014 IAAF Combined Events Challenge was a series of combined events for decathletes and heptathletes consisting of five stand alone challenge events, a series of continental combined events championships, and the combined events portions of a series of international athletics championships and multi-sports games. The challenge is organised under the auspices of the world governing body of athletics, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
Jake Stein is a former Australian rules footballer who last played for Gold Coast in the Australian Football League (AFL) and a former track and field athlete specialising in the decathlon. He previously played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants.
Zach Ziemek is an American athlete competing in the decathlon. Ziemek won the bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene with a personal best score of 8676. In 2021 he finished 6th at the Tokyo Olympics. He represented his country at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, where he finished 15th. Ziemek finished 7th in the decathlon at the 2016 Olympics.
Tejaswin Shankar is an Indian athlete who competes in the decathlon event. He holds the high jump national record of 2.29 metres set in April 2018.
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.
