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.
Francis Morgan Ayodélé Thompson,, known as Daley Thompson, is a British 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.
Karl Martin Lauer was a West German sprinter who won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics.
Chris Huffins is an athlete from the United States who competed in the field of Decathlon. He was the Director and Head Coach of the Men's and Women's Track and Field and Cross Country programs at the University of California from 2002 to 2007. He married Monique Parker in 1997 with whom he had one son Zachary. He earned a degree from the University of California in Political Economies of Industrial Societies in 2007. Huffins is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He is currently married to Tamika Huffins with whom he had another son, Jaxon.
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.
Patrick (Pat) "Simms" Simmons is a Canadian curler. Simmons played on the 2014 and 2015 Canadian champion rink, the latter year as skip. As a skip, he has also represented Saskatchewan in four straight Briers from 2005 to 2008 and again in 2011. He has also represented Alberta twice at the Brier.
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.
Yunior Díaz Zayas is a Cuban track and field athlete who specialises in the decathlon and long jump. He represented Cuba at the 2008 Summer Olympics and also at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. He won the silver medal at the 2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics.
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.
Lennart Per-Olav Hedmark is a retired Swedish track and field athlete who competed in the decathlon. He represented his country at the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics with the best result of eighth place in 1976.
Philip Roy Mulkey is an American track and field athlete, primarily known for the multi-event decathlon. Mulkey was the second place American behind Rafer Johnson at the 1960 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships which served as Olympic Trials. He failed to finish the 1960 Olympic competition, dropping out after the discus throw. Mulkey had been a competitor at the 1952 Olympic Trials finishing 17th as a high schooler from Purdy, Missouri and the 1956 Olympic Trials finishing 7th representing the University of Wyoming.
Damian David George Warner is a Canadian track and field athlete specializing in decathlon. He is the 2020 Olympic champion and a three-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 title to the Pan Am Games record and the Canadian record for the decathlon, and the fourth-highest decathlon score in history.
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.
Jake Stein is an Australian rules footballer with the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL) and a former track and field athlete specialising in the decathlon.
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.
Pierce LePage is a Canadian track athlete who competes in the decathlon. LePage won the silver medal in the decathlon at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, was the winner of the 2017 Canadian Track and Field Championships, winner of the 2019 DecaStar, bronze medal winner at the 2019 Pan American Games and fifth-place finisher at the 2019 World Championships.
The 2019 IAAF Combined Events Challenge was the 22nd edition of the global series of combined track and field event meetings organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It featured decathlon for men and heptathlon for women. A total of eleven meetings were in the 2019 series, starting at the Multistars meet on 27 April and finishing at the 2019 World Athletics Championships on 4 October.
