A two-day women's multi-event athletics competition combining seven track and field disciplines scored on a points table.
Origin and rules
The heptathlon replaced the women’s pentathlon on the Olympic programme at Los Angeles 1984. Athletes contest seven events over two days, accumulating points according to a standard scoring table. Points are awarded based on performance benchmarks per event.
How it plays
Day one features the 100-metre hurdles, high jump, shot put, and 200 metres. Day two features the long jump, javelin, and 800 metres. The athlete with the highest total points at the end of the second day wins.
Competition
The Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships are the marquee events. Jackie Joyner-Kersee of the United States holds the world record at 7291 points, set in 1988. Carolina Kluft, Jessica Ennis-Hill, and Nafissatou Thiam are major champions.
Find more sports by letter
Heptathlon starts with H and ends with N. Browse other sports along the same letter.
Sports that contain a letter from "Heptathlon":