Decathlon

The decathlon is an athletic competition in track and field that combines 10 different contests. (Hence the numerical prefix of deca) Decathlon events are held over two consecutive days and the winner is decided by the combined performance of all the games. Contest winners are decided based on a point system not by a winner's position. A decathlon is a contest for male athletes, whereas the Heptathlon is the female equivalent. Decathlon events in order are determined by two different days: The first day of the decathlon includes the 100-meter run, long jump, shot put, high jump, and 400 meters run. The second day sees the 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500 meters run. The first day concentrates on power and speed whereas the second day determines technique and endurance.

Decathlon Background

Decathlon sports come from the ancient Pentathlon games, which were a staple of the ancient Greek Olympics. Pentathlons saw five contests including long jump, discus throw, javelin, sprint and wrestling. The origins of the decathlon sport date back as far as 708 B.C. and the games remained popular for many centuries. In modern times, precisely 1964, the decathlon was revised in scoring tables and regulations by the International Amateur Athletic Federation. Interestingly, various cultures think of the Decathlon winner differently. America only seems to applaud the Olympic winner, whereas the Greeks and Germans romanticize the Decathlon performer as a king among athletes.

Decathlon Scoring

The “decathlete” does not have to excel at any of the ten events to be a champion but he must range from at least adequate in his weaker events to better in others. His focus is not to perfect one sport but to improve his general track and field techniques, gain strength without losing speed and acquire great stamina. Remember that a Decathlon competition could last between 4 to 12 hours a day. The Olympic Decathlon is the only event with an arbitrary scoring system, allowing performance records to be broken as new scoring tables are adopted.

The 1992 summer Olympics decathlon athletes saw the famous team of Dan O'Brien and Dave Johnson. Decathlon performances that are still remembered today include Bob Mathias, the youngest winner ever at 17 years of age, the 1976 Olympics Decathlon winner Bruce Jenner, and the 1956 Olympic decathlon champion Milt Campbell.

If you are interested in Decathlon training then you may think about pursuing Decathlon training camps (also called Decathlon sports camps) which offer drills for athletes to get in shape specifically for this sport. There are also instructional video which offer pictures and footage of a Decathlon performance to emphasize proper technique. The Decathlon is a reward challenge times ten.