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.
Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in both the heptathlon and long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals at four different Olympic Games. Joyner-Kersee was also a four-time gold medalist at the world championships. Since 1988, she has held the world record for heptathlon.
The women's heptathlon competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens was held at the Olympic Stadium on 20–21 August.
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60 m. The flat race was 200 m until 1976 and thereafter 800 m. In elite-level outdoor competition, the pentathlon was superseded in 1981 by the heptathlon, which has seven events, with both 200 m and 800 m, as well as the javelin throw.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.
The 18th edition of the annual Hypo-Meeting took place on May 30 and May 31, 1992 in Götzis, Austria. The track and field competition featured a men's decathlon and a women's heptathlon. It was the highest level combined events meet prior to the start of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
The 17th edition of the annual Hypo-Meeting took place on 15 and 16 June 1991 in Götzis, Austria. The track and field competition featured a men's decathlon and a women's heptathlon. The meeting was the most major combined events competition prior to the 1991 IAAF World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
The 16th edition of the annual Hypo-Meeting took place on June 16 and June 17, 1990 in Götzis, Austria. The track and field competition featured a decathlon (men) and a heptathlon (women) event.
The 13th edition of the annual Hypo-Meeting took place on May 23 and May 24, 1987 in Götzis, Austria. The track and field competition featured a decathlon (men) and a heptathlon (women) event.
The 14th annual Hypo-Meeting took place on 18 and 19 June 1988 in Götzis, Austria. The track and field competition featured a decathlon (men) and a heptathlon (women) event.
The 12th edition of the annual Hypo-Meeting took place on May 24 and May 25, 1986 in Götzis, Austria. The track and field competition featured a men's decathlon and a women's heptathlon event.
The following table shows the men's heptathlon world record progression starting in 1970 and ratified by IAAF from 1986.
The Women's heptathlon competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium on 3–4 August.
Sharon Day-Monroe is an American heptathlete, pentathlete and high jumper. She is the 2011, 2013, and 2014 national heptathlon champion.
Combined track and field events are competitions in which athletes participate in a number of track and field events, earning points for their performance in each event, which adds to a total points score. Outdoors, the most common combined events are the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon. Due to stadium limitations, indoor combined events competition have a reduced number of events, resulting in the men's heptathlon and the women's pentathlon. Athletes are allocated points based on an international-standard points scoring system, such as the decathlon scoring table. Other longer combined events do exist, such as the icosathlon for men and the tetradecathlon for women. Indoors, both men and women compete in the tetradecathlon, with slightly different events to the women's outdoor version.
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.
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.
The tetradecathlon, also called double heptathlon, is an ultra combined events of track and field competition consisting of 14 events. The word "tetradecathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "decathlon", from Greek Τετράδέκα and ἄθλος.
Liesl Albert 
Andrea Findeis 
Nadezhda Vinogradova 
Silvia Barlag 
Jane Frederick