Decathlon is made up of ten events.
Decathlon is an event for men.
The events take place over two days.
There are five events on each day
The word decathlon comes from two ancient Greek words meaning 'ten' and 'feats'. A feat means an extraordinary achievement.
At the ancient Greek Olympics, there was a pentathlon event of five sports: long jump, discus, javelin, sprint and wrestling.
Decathlon is an event for men. The first decathlon of the modern Olympics was run as a three day event at the 1912 Olympic Games.
There is a women’s event, the Heptathlon, seven sports over two days. Many athletes hope that the rules will change in time for the 2024 Olympics so that women can compete in decathlon.
High jump ©Getty
The athletes are called decathletes, and the winner is generally known as the best athlete in the world because that man has shown excellence in such a variety of sports.
On the first day, the decathletes start with a one hundred metre sprint.
Shot put ©Getty
Hurdles ©Getty
On the second day, the decathletes complete a 110 metre hurdles race, followed by a discus throw.
The next event is the pole vault and then the javelin throw.
The last event of the decathlon is a 1500 metre run.
Runners cross the finish line. ©Jupiter images
It’s a good idea to get your information from more than one source!
Watch a video about decathlon
https://olympics.com/en/video/sport-guide-inside-decathlon