When players are classified as great athletes in their respective sports, they are often categorized in that manner based on undeniable athleticism and a freak-of- nature skill set. While those attributes are true, a more definitive definition of a great athlete can be seen firsthand in the decathlon competition.
It takes full mastery of running, jumping, hurdling and throwing to win the decathlon, a typically male-based competition that includes 10 events at the Summer Games.
Those events include 100 meters, 400 meters, 1500 meters, 110 meters, long jump, high jump, pole vault, discus throw, javelin throw and shotput.
Here’s a breakdown and order of the combined events that take place in the men’s decathlon.
What is a decathlon?
The decathlon is a competition between mainly men that consists of a total of 10 events. Women have the option to and have competed in the decathlon. However, there are no international competitions for women on the decathlon level. As a result, women typically compete in the heptathlon.
The first modernized version of the decathlon took place at the 1912 Summer Games in Stockholm.
The winner of the event is often described as the “World’s Greatest Athlete.” That moniker started in 1912 after Sweden’s Gustav declared that Olympic…
