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 ἑπτά and ἄθλος. A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.
Ghada Shouaa is a retired Syrian heptathlete. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, she won her country's first and only Olympic gold medal. She was also a World and Asian heptathlon champion. She is considered one of the best Asian and Arab female athletes of all time. She was a Syrian flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Shelia Burrell is an American athletics coach and former heptathlete who is the head coach of the San Diego State Aztecs women's cross country and women's track & field teams at San Diego State University (SDSU). She was a two-time representative of the United States at the Summer Olympics, competing in 2000 and 2004.
Ida Marcussen is a Norwegian heptathlete. She represents IK Våg, having changed clubs from Kristiansands IF in 2006.
Dafne Schippers is a Dutch retired track and field athlete who competed in sprinting and the combined events. She holds the European record in the 200 metres with a time of 21.63 seconds, making her the sixth-fastest woman of all time at this distance. She also holds the Dutch records in the 100 metres and long jump, and shares the Dutch records in the 60 metres indoor and 4 × 100 metres relay.
The Stadtwerke Ratingen Mehrkampf-Meeting is an annual track and field meeting for decathlon and heptathlon held in Ratingen, Germany. Established in 1997, it is part of the World Athletics Combined Events Tour and takes place in May.
Nadine Broersen is a Dutch track and field athlete, specializing in the heptathlon and high jump. She was the 2014 World Indoor pentathlon champion. Broersen competes for the track and field club AV Sprint in Breda.
Nafissatou "Nafi" Thiam is a Belgian athlete specialising in multi-event competition. She is the first athlete with three multi-event gold medals at the Olympic Games, winning the heptathlon at the 2016 Rio, 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics. Her three individual Olympic golds in a row for a woman equals the record of Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland in the hammer and Faith Kipyegon in the 1500 metres Thiam is also the only Belgian athlete to successfully defend an Olympic title.
Morgan Lake is a British high jumper. She won the silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and placed fourth at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Lake finished sixth in the 2017 World Championships in Athletics and fourth in the 2018 World Indoor Championships.
Kai Kazmirek is a German track and field athlete who competes in the decathlon. He holds a personal best of 8580 points for the event achieved in Rio 2016, as well as an indoor heptathlon best of 6173 points. He is a member of LG Rhein-Wied athletics club.
Yorgelis Rodríguez García is a Cuban track and field athlete specialising in the heptathlon. She represented her country at the 2013 World Championships finishing twelfth overall. Earlier she won several medals at the World Junior and Youth Championships, including the gold at the 2012 World Junior Championships.
Nadine Visser is a Dutch track and field athlete who competed in the combined events until 2017 and specialises in short hurdling since 2018.
Anouk Vetter is a Dutch track and field athlete who competes in the combined events.
Verena Mayr is an Austrian athlete competing in the combined events. She won the bronze medal in the heptathlon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships. In 2017, Mayr took a silver in the heptathlon at the European Under-23 Championships and a gold at the Summer Universiade.
Dominik Distelberger is a retired Austrian athlete who competed in the decathlon. He represented his country at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro finishing 19th, as well as the 2017 World Championships in London finishing 17th.
Holly Mills is an English long jumper and heptathlete. She finished fourth both in the pentathlon at the 2022 World Indoor Championships and in the heptathlon at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Mills won bronze medals for the heptathlon at the 2021 European Under-23 Championships and for the long jump at the 2019 European U20 Championships.
The women's heptathlon at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 5–6 August.
Noor Vidts is a Belgian athlete competing in the combined events. She won the gold medal in the pentathlon at the 2022 and 2024 World Indoor Championships. Vidts won the bronze medal in the heptathlon at the 2024 Paris Olympics, having placed fourth in the event at the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021. She earned silver and bronze for the pentathlon at the 2021 and 2023 European Indoor Championships respectively.
Emma Oosterwegel is a Dutch track and field athlete competing in the combined events. She won the bronze medal in the heptathlon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
