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Combined events
at the Olympic Games
Combined events; at the Olympic Games
	Men competing in the 1500 m of the 1948 Olympic decathlon
Overview
Sport	Athletics
Gender	Men and women
Years held	Men's decathlon: 1912 – 2024 ; Women's heptathlon: 1984 – 2024; Women's pentathlon: 1964 – 1980
Olympic record
Men	9018 pts Damian Warner (2020)
Women	7291 pts Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1988)
Reigning champion
Men	Markus Rooth (NOR)
Women	Nafissatou Thiam (BEL)

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 (100 metres, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 metres, 110 metres hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and 1500 metres) and a women's heptathlon (100 metres hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 metres, long jump, javelin throw, and 800 metres).

The first men's events came at the 1904 Summer Olympics: a triathlon had long jump, shot put, and 100-yard dash events, while an all-around championship saw athletes compete over ten events, forming the basis for the decathlon.^[1] No combined events were held at the subsequent games, but the 1912 Summer Olympics saw the introduction of the modern decathlon event and also a men's pentathlon (which lasted for three games). The first women's event came in 1964 in the form of the women's pentathlon. This was amended to include two more events, becoming the heptathlon at the 1984 Summer Olympics, reflecting the development of women's sport.

The Olympic record in the decathlon is 9018 points, set by Canadian athlete Damian Warner in 2021. Jackie Joyner-Kersee's score of 7291 points to win in 1988 is both the current Olympic and world record for the heptathlon – this remains the only occasion that record has been broken at the Olympics. The men's decathlon world record has had a strong link with the competition, with the Olympic gold medalist breaking the world record in 1928, 1932, 1936, 1952, 1972, 1976, and 1984.^[2]

Five men have won two Olympic combined event titles. Bob Mathias, Daley Thompson and Ashton Eaton have all won back-to-back decathlon titles, Jim Thorpe won both the decathlon and pentathlon titles in 1912, and Eero Lehtonen won two Olympic pentathlon titles. Nafissatou Thiam is the most successful athlete, having won three Olympic heptathlon titles, she is along side Jackie Joyner-Kersee the only one with three Olympic combined events medals.

In 1912, Thorpe was designated the "World's Greatest Athlete" by Gustav V of Sweden and this title is traditionally given to the reigning Olympic decathlon champion in the media.^[3]^[4] Thorpe's two gold medals were stripped in 1913 on the grounds that he had broken amateurism rules (having taken expense money for playing baseball), but the International Olympic Committee restored him as the champion in 1982, 30 years after his death, admitting that the protest against Thorpe’s eligibility was not brought within the required 30 days (other medalists were not demoted).^[5]

The 1906 Intercalated Games, now not considered an official Olympic event, featured an event based on the Ancient Olympic pentathlon, combining four track and field events with a wrestling match.

Medal summary

Men's decathlon

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Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1912 Stockholm details	Jim Thorpe United States	Hugo Wieslander Sweden Charles Lomberg Sweden	Gösta Holmér Sweden
1920 Antwerp details	Helge Løvland Norway	Brutus Hamilton United States	Bertil Ohlson Sweden
1924 Paris details	Harold Osborn United States	Emerson Norton United States	Aleksander Klumberg Estonia
1928 Amsterdam details	Paavo Yrjölä Finland	Akilles Järvinen Finland	Ken Doherty United States
1932 Los Angeles details	Jim Bausch United States	Akilles Järvinen Finland	Wolrad Eberle Germany
1936 Berlin details	Glenn Morris United States	Bob Clark United States	Jack Parker United States
1948 London details	Bob Mathias United States	Ignace Heinrich France	Floyd Simmons United States
1952 Helsinki details	Bob Mathias United States	Milt Campbell United States	Floyd Simmons United States
1956 Melbourne details	Milt Campbell United States	Rafer Johnson United States	Vasili Kuznetsov Soviet Union
1960 Rome details	Rafer Johnson United States	Yang Chuan-kwang Formosa	Vasili Kuznetsov Soviet Union
1964 Tokyo details	Willi Holdorf United Team of Germany	Rein Aun Soviet Union	Hans-Joachim Walde United Team of Germany
1968 Mexico City details	Bill Toomey United States	Hans-Joachim Walde West Germany	Kurt Bendlin West Germany
1972 Munich details	Mykola Avilov Soviet Union	Leonid Lytvynenko Soviet Union	Ryszard Katus Poland
1976 Montreal details	Bruce Jenner United States^[a]	Guido Kratschmer West Germany	Mykola Avilov Soviet Union
1980 Moscow details	Daley Thompson Great Britain	Yuriy Kutsenko Soviet Union	Sergei Zhelanov Soviet Union
1984 Los Angeles details	Daley Thompson Great Britain	Jürgen Hingsen West Germany	Siegfried Wentz West Germany
1988 Seoul details	Christian Schenk East Germany	Torsten Voss East Germany	Dave Steen Canada
1992 Barcelona details	Robert Změlík Czechoslovakia	Antonio Peñalver Spain	Dave Johnson United States
1996 Atlanta details	Dan O'Brien United States	Frank Busemann Germany	Tomáš Dvořák Czech Republic
2000 Sydney details	Erki Nool Estonia	Roman Šebrle Czech Republic	Chris Huffins United States
2004 Athens details	Roman Šebrle Czech Republic	Bryan Clay United States	Dmitriy Karpov Kazakhstan
2008 Beijing details	Bryan Clay United States	Andrei Krauchanka Belarus	Leonel Suárez Cuba
2012 London details	Ashton Eaton United States	Trey Hardee United States	Leonel Suárez Cuba
2016 Rio De Janeiro details	Ashton Eaton United States	Kevin Mayer France	Damian Warner Canada
2020 Tokyo details	Damian Warner Canada	Kevin Mayer France	Ashley Moloney Australia
2024 Paris details	Markus Rooth Norway	Leo Neugebauer Germany	Lindon Victor Grenada

Multiple medalists

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Olympics	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1=	Bob Mathias	United States (USA)	1948–1952	2	0	0	2
1=	Daley Thompson	Great Britain (GBR)	1980–1984	2	0	0	2
1=	Ashton Eaton	United States (USA)	2008–2016	2	0	0	2
4=	Milt Campbell	United States (USA)	1952–1956	1	1	0	2
4=	Rafer Johnson	United States (USA)	1956–1960	1	1	0	2
4=	Roman Šebrle	Czech Republic (CZE)	2000–2004	1	1	0	2
4=	Bryan Clay	United States (USA)	2004–2008	1	1	0	2
8=	Mykola Avilov	Soviet Union (URS)	1972–1976	1	0	1	2
8=	Damian Warner	Canada (CAN)	2016–2020	1	0	1	2
10=	Akilles Järvinen	Finland (FIN)	1928–1932	0	2	0	2
10=	Kevin Mayer	France (FRA)	2016–2020	0	2	0	2
12	Hans-Joachim Walde	West Germany (FRG) United Team of Germany (EUA)	1964–1968	0	1	1	2
13=	Floyd Simmons	United States (USA)	1948–1952	0	0	2	2
13=	Vasili Kuznetsov	Soviet Union (URS)	1956–1960	0	0	2	2
13=	Leonel Suárez	Cuba (CUB)	2008–2012	0	0	2	2

Medals by country

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States (USA)	14	8	7	29
2=	Great Britain (GBR)	2	0	0	2
2=	Norway (NOR)	2	0	0	2
4	Soviet Union (URS)	1	3	4	8
5	Germany (GER)^[nb]	1	2	2	5
6	Finland (FIN)	1	2	0	3
7	Sweden (SWE)	1	1	2	4
8	Czech Republic (CZE)	1	1	1	3
9	East Germany (GDR)	1	1	0	2
10	Canada (CAN)	1	0	2	3
11	Estonia (EST)	1	0	1	2
12	Czechoslovakia (TCH)	1	0	0	1
13	West Germany (FRG)	0	3	2	5
14	France (FRA)	0	3	0	3
15=	Belarus (BLR)	0	1	0	1
15=	Republic of China (ROC)	0	1	0	1
15=	Spain (ESP)	0	1	0	1
18	Cuba (CUB)	0	0	2	2
19=	Kazakhstan (KAZ)	0	0	1	1
19=	Poland (POL)	0	0	1	1
19=	Australia (AUS)	0	0	1	1
19=	Grenada (GRN)	0	0	1	1

^nb The German total includes teams both competing as Germany and the United Team of Germany, but not East or West Germany.

Women's heptathlon

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Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1984 Los Angeles details	Glynis Nunn Australia	Jackie Joyner United States	Sabine Everts West Germany
1988 Seoul details	Jackie Joyner-Kersee United States	Sabine John East Germany	Anke Behmer East Germany
1992 Barcelona details	Jackie Joyner-Kersee United States	Irina Belova Unified Team	Sabine Braun Germany
1996 Atlanta details	Ghada Shouaa Syria	Natallia Sazanovich Belarus	Denise Lewis Great Britain
2000 Sydney details	Denise Lewis Great Britain	Yelena Prokhorova Russia	Natallia Sazanovich Belarus
2004 Athens details	Carolina Klüft Sweden	Austra Skujytė Lithuania	Kelly Sotherton Great Britain
2008 Beijing details	Nataliya Dobrynska Ukraine	Hyleas Fountain United States	Kelly Sotherton Great Britain
2012 London details	Jessica Ennis Great Britain	Lilli Schwarzkopf Germany	Austra Skujytė Lithuania
2016 Rio de Janeiro details	Nafissatou Thiam Belgium	Jessica Ennis-Hill Great Britain	Brianne Theisen-Eaton Canada
2020 Tokyo details	Nafissatou Thiam Belgium	Anouk Vetter Netherlands	Emma Oosterwegel Netherlands
2024 Paris details	Nafissatou Thiam Belgium	Katarina Johnson-Thompson Great Britain	Noor Vidts Belgium

Multiple medalists

Seven women have won multiple medals in Olympic heptathlon, while an eighth achieved this feat in the earlier Olympic Pentathlon. Of these, only Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Nafissatou Thiam have won three medals. Only Nafissatou Thiam won three titles.

Rank	Athlete	Nation	Olympics	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Nafissatou Thiam	Belgium (BEL)	2016–2024	3	0	0	3
2	Jackie Joyner-Kersee	United States (USA)	1984–1992	2	1	0	3
3	Jessica Ennis	Great Britain (GBR)	2012–2016	1	1	0	2
4	Denise Lewis	Great Britain (GBR)	1996–2000	1	0	1	2
5=	Natallia Sazanovich	Belarus (BLR)	1996–2000	0	1	1	2
5=	Austra Skujytė	Lithuania (LTU)	2004–2012	0	1	1	2
7	Kelly Sotherton	Great Britain (GBR)	2004–2008	0	0	2	2

^[b]	Burglinde Pollak	East Germany (GDR)	1972–1976	0	0	2	2

^ Jenner is now known as Caitlyn due to gender transition in 2015.^[6]
^ Pentathlon medalist

Medals by country

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Belgium (BEL)	3	0	1	4
2	Great Britain (GBR)	2	2	3	7
3	United States (USA)	2	2	0	4
4=	Australia (AUS)	1	0	0	1
4=	Sweden (SWE)	1	0	0	1
4=	Syria (SYR)	1	0	0	1
4=	Ukraine (UKR)	1	0	0	1
8=	Russia (RUS)	0	1	1	2
8=	Belarus (BLR)	0	1	1	2
8=	East Germany (GDR)	0	1	1	2
8=	Germany (GER)	0	1	1	2
8=	Lithuania (LTU)	0	1	1	2
8=	Netherlands (NED)	0	1	1	2
14	Unified Team (EUN)	0	1	0	1
15=	Canada (CAN)	0	0	1	1
15=	West Germany (FRG)	0	0	1	1

Defunct events

Men's all-around

Consisted of 100 yards, shot put, high jump, 880 yd walk, hammer throw, pole vault, 120 yd hurdles, weight throw, long jump and mile run.

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1904 St. Louis details	Tom Kiely (GBR)	Adam Gunn (USA)	Truxtun Hare (USA)

Men's triathlon

Consisted of long jump, shot put, and 100 yards.

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1904 St. Louis details	Max Emmerich (USA)	John Grieb (USA)	William Merz (USA)

Men's pentathlon

Consisted of long jump, javelin throw, 200 metres, discus throw, and 1500 metres. Eero Lehtonen was the most successful athlete in the event's three-edition history, winning two of the three gold medals on offer and being the only person to reach the podium twice.

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1912 Stockholm details	Jim Thorpe United States	Ferdinand Bie Norway James Donahue United States	Frank Lukeman Canada
1920 Antwerp details	Eero Lehtonen Finland	Everett Bradley United States	Hugo Lahtinen Finland
1924 Paris details	Eero Lehtonen Finland	Elemér Somfay Hungary	Robert LeGendre United States

Women's pentathlon

Consisted of 100 metres hurdles, shot put, high jump, long jump, and 200 metres. In 1980, the 200 metres was replaced by the 800 metres. Burglinde Pollak, a bronze medalist in 1972 and 1976, was the only woman to win two Olympic pentathlon medals during its five-edition history.

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1964 Tokyo details	Irina Press Soviet Union	Mary Rand Great Britain	Galina Bystrova Soviet Union
1968 Mexico City details	Ingrid Becker West Germany	Liese Prokop Austria	Annamária Tóth Hungary
1972 Munich details	Mary Peters Great Britain	Heide Rosendahl West Germany	Burglinde Pollak East Germany
1976 Montreal details	Siegrun Siegl East Germany	Christine Laser East Germany	Burglinde Pollak East Germany
1980 Moscow details	Nadiya Tkachenko Soviet Union	Olga Rukavishnikova Soviet Union	Olga Kuragina Soviet Union

Intercalated Games

The 1906 Intercalated Games were held in Athens and at the time were officially recognised as part of the Olympic Games series, with the intention being to hold a games in Greece in two-year intervals between the internationally held Olympics. However, this plan never came to fruition and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later decided not to recognise these games as part of the official Olympic series. Some sports historians continue to treat the results of these games as part of the Olympic canon.^[7]

No strictly track and field combined event featured on the programme, as happened at the 1904 Summer Olympics, but the Greeks introduced a variation of the Ancient Olympic pentathlon. This contained four track and field events – standing long jump, ancient-style discus throw, javelin throw and a stadion race (192 m) – with the final event being Greco-Roman wrestling.^[8]

American Martin Sheridan was the initial favourite, having already won gold and silver medals in individual jump and throws events, but dropped out due to injury. Lawson Robertson and István Mudin each won two of the rounds (Robertson the long jump and stadion, Mudin the discus and wrestling), but it was Sweden's Hjalmar Mellander who won the gold medal with 24 points. The Swede never finished in the top two of a round, but he performed consistently, never below seventh place in the 27-man field. Mudin of Hungary took a close second place with 25 points.^[8] Third place was taken by another Swede, Eric Lemming, who later went on to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals in the javelin throw.^[9]