The women’s outdoor heptathlon is a combined track and field event with seven disciplines, held over two days - 100 metres hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 metres, long jump, javelin throw and 800 metres.
The article, originally published on Decathlon 2000 and now updated, considers a “season ‐long” decathlon record by adding an athlete’s best event results from across several months to pinpoint the year they were likely in peak form,
How many ways can we say, “ Roman Šebrle of the Czech Republic is the world’s greatest performer ever in the century ‐old tradition of the decathlon? I can think of at least five: Šebrle’s uniqueness, longevity, consistency,
In the early days the decathlon was sometimes completed in a single day, but sometimes also spread over three days. The timing situation in each particular case can be worked out from the relevant given dates. Throughout, the ensuing statistics
The piece explores a hypothetical decathlon record based on an athlete’s best performances over an entire season - rather than in the traditional two-day format.
The discipline and training applied by decathletes have always been regarded by me as the ultimate in athletic dedication. Whilst it is of course always a huge honour for any decathlete to achieve the ultimate status of World Champion, I cannot help but regard all those who dedicate themselves to this most gruelling of athletic disciplines as Champions - unknown person