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.
The pentathlon or women's pentathlon is a combined track and field event in which each woman competes in five separate events over one day. The distance or time for each event is converted to points via scoring tables, with the overall ranking determined by total points. Since 1949 the events have been sprint hurdling, high jump, shot put, long jump, and a flat race. The sprint hurdles distance was 80 m outdoors until 1969 and thereafter 100 m; in indoor pentathlon the distance is 60 m. The flat race was 200 m until 1976 and thereafter 800 m. In elite-level outdoor competition, the pentathlon was superseded in 1981 by the heptathlon, which has seven events, with both 200 m and 800 m, as well as the javelin throw. Pentathlon is still contested at school and masters level and indoors.
Ida Marcussen is a Norwegian heptathlete. She represents IK Våg, having changed clubs from Kristiansands IF in 2006.
Carolin Schäfer is a German athlete who specialises in the heptathlon. She won the silver medal in the event at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics. Schäfer took bronze at the 2018 European Athletics Championships.
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.
Nafissatou "Nafi" Thiam is a Belgian athlete specialising in multi-event competition. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, winning the heptathlon event at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Thiam is the only Belgian athlete, male or female, to successfully defend an Olympic title and only the second woman after Jackie Joyner-Kersee to win back-to-back Olympic titles in the event.
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.
Ana Camila Donatella Pirelli Cubas is a Paraguayan track and field athlete who competes in the heptathlon. She is the Paraguayan record holder in the event with a personal best score of 5733 points. Pirelli holds more than a dozen national records in events as varied as the 100 metres hurdles, shot put and the indoor women's pentathlon. Pirelli was the heptathlon silver medallist at the 2013 South American Championships in Athletics. She won the gold medal at the 2013 Bolivarian Games and the 2014 South American Games, breaking games records at both competitions. Pirelli is tied to Paraguay Marathon Club and competes in Paraguay's national competitions under the Federación Paraguaya de Atletismo.
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.
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.
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.
Francesca Doveri is an Italian female retired heptathlete, which participated at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics.
Solène Ndama is a French athlete competing in the 100 metres hurdles, heptathlon and pentathlon.
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.
Chari Wanda Hawkins is an American track and field athlete who competes in combined events. She became the 2022 US National Pentathlon Champion with a gold medal performance at the USATF Indoor Championships in Spokane, Washington. She represented the US in the heptathlon at the 2019 World Championships in Doha finishing 12th overall, & at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest finishing 8th overall.
The Finnish Indoor Athletics Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organised by the Finnish Amateur Athletic Association, which serves as the Finnish national championship for the sport. First held in 1962, the competition was open to non-Finnish athletes and several foreign athletes were crowned as Finnish champions. The championship titles were restricted to Finnish nationals from 1987 onwards, with foreign competitors reduced to guest status only.
Claudia Conte Martínez is a Spanish heptathlete. She won a silver medal at the 2021 European U23 Championships.
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.
Paulina Ligarska is a Polish athlete competing in combined events. She represented her country at the 2022 World Championships finishing tenth.
