The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten 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.
Curtis Beach is an American decathlete who competed for Duke University. He formerly held high school records in the decathlon using three different implement standards: high school, international junior and international senior. His performances in the high jump, 400 meters, and 1,500 meters were superior to those of U.S. Olympic gold medalist Bryan Clay in the 2008 Olympic Games. At the 2011 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship, as a freshman, Beach finished second overall in the decathlon. His 3:59.13 finish in the 1500 meter shattered the previous collegiate record and is the second-fastest 1500 meter in world history for a decathlon, just missing Robert Baker's mark from 1980.
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.
James Edward "Trey" Hardee III is a retired American track and field athlete who specialized in the combined events. He is a former NCAA Champion, a two-time World Outdoor Champion, a member of the United States 2008 Olympic team, and the silver medalist in the decathlon at the London 2012 Olympics. He was Inducted into the Texas Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2018.
Robert Jacob "Jake" Arnold is a decathlete from the United States. He represented the United States in the decathlon at the 2007 and 2009 World Championships ranking 13th and 24th respectively. He became the first athlete to win back-to-back NCAA decathlon titles in over twenty years after winning the event in both 2006 and 2007.
Sten Anders Ekberg is a former decathlon athlete who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics for Sweden and was a Swedish decathlete National Record holder. Sten Ekberg won the Swedish Championship in both decathlon and heptathlon. Ekberg currently resides in the United States where he works as a chiropractor at his office Wellness For Life in Cumming, Georgia.
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.
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.
James Gunnar Nixon is an American track and field athlete who competes in the decathlon. He broke the American high school record for the event in 2011, and was the World Junior Champion in 2012. He won his first national title indoors in 2013, and was runner-up at the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. His personal record for the decathlon is 8313 points at the 2013 IAAF World 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.
Adolphus "Dolly" Jones is a Kittitian and Nevisian track and field athlete and soccer player.
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.
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.
Mathias Brugger is a German track and field athlete who competes in the decathlon. He was a bronze medallist in the indoor heptathlon at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships. His decathlon personal best is 8009 points, set in 2015.
Lindon Victor is a Grenadian athlete who competes in the decathlon. He is the 2023 World bronze medalist and a two-time Commonwealth Games champion (2018–2022).
Petros Kyprianou is the current Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at the University of Illinois and the former head coach of the University of Georgia Bulldogs men's and women's track and field teams. Kyprianou was voted the United States Track & Field/CC Coaches Association 2018 Indoor & Outdoor National Coach of the Year following two historic first NCAA team titles for the University of Georgia track and field. Additionally, Kyprianou was the 2017 Outdoor National Women's Coach of the year following a very close NCAA runner up finish to Oregon. The Bulldogs have amassed 12 top 4 NCAA finishes the last five seasons.
Tim Ehrhardt is an American athlete specializing in decathlon and pole vault.
Garrett Scantling is an American decathlete. He finished fourth at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in the decathlon, after winning the US Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon.
Anna Hall is an American athlete specializing in the combined events. She won the silver medal in the heptathlon at the 2023 World Championships and the bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships. Hall is the North American indoor record holder for the pentathlon.
