Home > List > Track and Field > Heptathlon

The track and field event of the heptathlon is comprised of seven events. The name comes from the Greek word hepta which means seven and athlon which means contest. The women's heptathlon is an event at the Summer Olympic Games.

The participants in the heptathlon are called a heptathletes. There is a women’s and men’s heptathlon, which comprise a different set of seven events. The men’s heptathlon is usually conducted indoors, while the women’s heptathlon is done outdoors. The first four events are completed on the first day and the remaining three are done on the second day.

The women’s heptathlon was introduced in the 1980s, first appearing in the Olympics in 1984. The event consists of the 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m sprint, long jump, javelin throw, and 800m run.

The men’s heptathlon consists of these events: 60m sprint, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60m hurdles, pole vault, and 1000 meters.

Both versions have more or less the same scoring system. Each participant receives a score based on their performance in each event, with the winner the athlete with the highest total score at the end of the competition.

---

---

Similar Sports

• Decathlon — a men's track and field event comprising 10 events.
• Athletics Pentathlon — a no longer held event comprising long jump, javelin, 200-meter run, discus, and 1500-meter run.
• Tetradecathlon — a double heptathlon consisting of 14 events, including the 7 traditional heptathlon events with 7 additional track and field events.

Related Pages

• More track and field events
• Track and Field at the Olympics
• List of Multi-Sport Sports — sports involving two or more sports.
• Complete list of sports
• The Encyclopedia of Sports