Heptathlon


A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and ἄθλος. A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.
There are two heptathlons – the women's heptathlon and the men's – composed of different events. The men's heptathlon is older and is held indoors, while the women's is held outdoors and was introduced in the 1980s, first appearing in the Olympics in 1984.

Women's heptathlon

Women's heptathlon is the combined event for women contested in the athletics programme of the Olympics and at the IAAF World Championships. The IAAF Combined Events Challenge determines a yearly women's heptathlon champion. The women's outdoor heptathlon consists of the following events, with the first four contested on the first day, and the remaining three on day two:
The heptathlon has been contested by female athletes since the early 1980s, when it replaced the pentathlon as the primary women's combined event contest. It was first contested at the Olympic level in the 1984 Summer Olympics. In recent years some women's decathlon competitions have been conducted, consisting of the same events as the men's competition in a slightly different order, and the IAAF has begun keeping records for it, but the heptathlon remains the championship-level combined event for women. Nafissatou Thiam, representing Belgium, is the 2016 Olympic Gold Medallist, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, representing Great Britain, is the current World Champion.
There is also a Tetradecathlon, which is a double heptathlon, consisting of 14 events, seven events per day.

Points system

The heptathlon scoring system was devised by Dr Karl Ulbrich, a Viennese mathematician. The formulae are constructed so that, for each event, a designated "standard" performance scores 1000 points. Each event also has a minimum recordable performance level, corresponding to zero points. The formulae are devised so that successive constant increments in performance correspond to gradually increasing increments in points awarded.
The events are split into three groups, and the scores are calculated according to the three formulae:
P is for points, T is for time in seconds, M is for height or length in centimeters and D is length in meters. a, b and c have different values for each of the events, as follows:
Eventabc
200 metres4.9908742.51.81
800 metres0.111932541.88
100 metres hurdles9.2307626.71.835
High jump1.8452375.01.348
Long jump0.1888072101.41
Shot put56.02111.501.05
Javelin throw15.98033.801.04

Benchmarks

The following table shows the benchmark levels needed to earn 1000, 900, 800 and 700 points in each event.
Event1000 pts900 pts800 pts700 ptsUnit
100 m hurdles13.8514.5615.3216.12Seconds
High jump1.821.741.661.57Metres
Shot put17.0715.5814.0912.58Metres
200 m23.8024.8625.9727.14Seconds
Long jump6.486.175.845.50Metres
Javelin throw57.1852.0446.8741.68Metres
800 m2:07.632:14.522:21.772:29.47Minutes

Women's world records compared with heptathlon bests

Men's heptathlon

The other version is an indoor competition, normally contested by men only. It is the men's combined event in the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics. The men's indoor heptathlon consists of the following events, with the first four contested on the first day, and remaining three on day two:
The scoring is similar for both versions. In each event, the athlete scores points for his/her performance in each event according to scoring tables issued by the International Association of Athletics Federations. The athlete accumulating the highest number of points wins the competition.

Benchmarks

The following table shows the minimum benchmark levels required to earn 1000 points in each event.
Event1000ptsUnits
60 m6.68Seconds
Long jump7.76Metres
Shot put18.40Metres
High jump2.21Metres
60 m hurdles7.69Seconds
Pole vault5.29Metres
1000 m149.00Seconds

Men's world records compared with heptathlon bests

All-time top 25 heptathletes

Women

RankScoreAthleteVenueDateRef
17291Seoul23–24 September 1988-
27032Osaka25–26 August 2007-
37013Götzis27–28 May 2017
47007Bryansk10–11 June 1989-
56985Götzis30–31 May 1992-
66981Doha2–3 October 2019
76955London3–4 August 2012-
86946Potsdam5–6 May 1984-
96942Götzis25–26 May 1996-
106935Moscow18–19 June 1983-
116889Arles4–5 June 2005-
126859Kiev20–21 June 1984-
136858Seoul23–24 September 1988-
146847Barcelona1–2 August 1992-
156836Götzis27–28 May 2017
166832Osaka25–26 August 2007-
176831Götzis29–30 July 2000-
186815Götzis27–28 May 2017
196808Götzis30–31 May 2015-
206803Talence15–16 September 1984-
216778Barcelona30–31 July 2010-
226765Tula22–23 July 2000-
236750Beijing11–12 September 1993-
246742Götzis26–27 May 2018
256741Talence10–11 September 1994-

Below is a list of all other scores equal or superior to 6875 pts:
The following athletes have had their performances annulled due to doping offense:
RankScoreAthleteDateLocationRef
166459–10 March 2012Istanbul
264794–5 March 2017Belgrade
3647613–14 March 1993Toronto
464386–7 March 2004Budapest
5642425–26 February 2000Ghent
6641828–29 February 1992Genoa
7641528 February–1 March 1998Valencia
864127–8 February 2003Moscow
963746–7 March 1999Maebashi
1063722–3 March 2013Gothenburg
1163718–9 March 2008Valencia
1263627-8 March 2009Turin
13636115-16 March 2003Birmingham
1463537-8 March 2015Prague
1563432–3 March 2018Birmingham
1663037-8 March 2014Sopot
17630012-13 March 2010Penza
1862936-7 March 1999Maebashi
1962912-3 February 2002Tallinn
20627913-14 March 1993Toronto
2062797-8 March 2015Prague
22627327-28 February 2015Boston
2362652–3 March 2018Birmingham
2462597-8 March 2014Sopot
25625430-31 January 2010Zaporizhia

Below is a list of all other scores equal or superior to 6319 pts:

Women's Olympic medalists

Women's World Championships medalists

Men's World Indoor Championships medalists

Season's bests

Women's heptathlon

Men's indoor heptathlon

National records

Men’s heptathlon

Women's heptathlon

ScoreCountry/TerritoryAthleteDatePlaceRef
7291Jackie Joyner-Kersee1988-09-24Seoul-
7032Carolina Klüft2007-08-26Osaka-
7013Nafissatou Thiam27–28 May 2017Götzis
7007Larisa Nikitina1989-06-11Bryansk-
6985Sabine Braun1992-05-31Götzis-
6981Katarina Johnson-Thompson2–3 October 2019Doha
6942Ghada Shouaa1996-05-26Götzis-
6889Eunice Barber2005-06-05Arles-
6832Lyudmyla Blonska2007-08-26Osaka-
6815Laura Ikauniece-Admidiņa27–28 May 2017Götzis
6808Brianne Theisen-Eaton30–31 May 2015Götzis
6750Ma Miaolan1993-09-12Beijing-
6695Jane Flemming1990-01-28Auckland-
6658Svetla Dimitrova1992-05-31Götzis-
6636Anouk Vetter5–6 August 2017London
6635Svetlana Buraga1993-08-18Stuttgart-
6619Liliana Nastase1992-08-02Barcelona-
6619Xénia Krizsán22–23 June 2019Talence
6616Małgorzata Nowak1985-08-31Kobe-
6604Remigija Nazaroviene1989-06-11Bryansk-
6594Yorgelis Rodríguez5–6 August 2017London
6591Verena Preiner29–30 June 2019Ratingen
6527Diane Guthrie-Gresham2–3 June 1995Knoxville-
6460Eliška Klučinová14–15 June 2014Kladno
6423Margaret Simpson28–29 May 2005Götzis-
6416Eunice Barber1996-09-15Talence-
6404Satu Ruotsalainen1991-08-27Tokyo-
6392Yasmina Azzizi1991-08-27Tokyo-
6371Vera Yurchenko1987-09-20Lviv-
6371Akela Jones10–11 June 2015Eugene
6357Géraldine Ruckstuhl20–21 July 2017Grosseto
6285Evelis Aguilar31 July–1 August 2018Barranquilla
6280Grit Šadeiko27–28 May 2017Götzis
6278Joanne Henry1992-03-01Auckland-
6235Aryiro Strataki27–28 May 2006Götzis
6230Naide Gomes2005-07-17Logroño-
6230Marthe Koala17–18 June 2017Kladno
6226Ida Marcusen2007-08-26Osaka-
6212Yekaterina Voronina18–19 September 2015Tashkent
6211Javur Jagadeeshappa Shobha17 March 2004New Delhi-
6188Vanessa Spinola2–3 July 2016São Bernardo do Campo
6185Gertrud Bacher9 May 1999Desenzano del Garda-
6153Uhunoma Osazuwa24–25 June 2016Durban
6131Odile Ahouanwanou17–18 June 2017Kladno
6124 Alysbeth Felix25–26 June 2016Cali
6103Lucia Slanicková17–18 June 2017Kladno
6093Kate O'Connor18–19 July 2019Borås
6074Tyra Gittens4–6 May 2018Knoxville
6050Makeba Alcide6–7 June 2013Eugene
6031Svetlana Gnezdilov12–13 August 2003Tel Aviv
5989Luisarys Toledo25–26 May 2019Lima
5962Yuki Nakata4–5 June 2004Tottori
5907Anna Camila Pirelli7–8 August 2019Lima
5905Carmen Ramos7–8 July 2018Soria
5817Anaelle Nyabeu Djapa24–25 May 2014Arona
5815Fiorella Chiappe4–5 March 2017Buenos Aires
5786Jessamyn Sauceda24–25 July 2015Toronto
5723Vanessa Jules23 May 2015Chula Vista
5686Nada Chroudi27–28 April 2018Florence
5611Lucija Cvitanović12–13 May 2016Orlando
5555Houda Mohamed Atef24–25 June 2016Durban
5443Maya Neal11–12 May 2017Columbia
5400Shianne Smith1–2 May 2015Aubagne
5386Emilia Nova24–25 August 2017Kuala Lumpur
5346Elma Muros-Posadas13–14 December 1998Bangkok
5338Kieshonna Brooks11–12 May 2018Knoxville
5221Adrine Monagi15–16 March 2017San Angelo
5247Norliyana Kamaruddin24–25 August 2017Kuala Lumpur
5020Melissa Arana11–12 April 2015Asunción
4954 Ana María Porras13–14 July 2018Guatemala City
4844Corlia Kruger24–25 April 2015Stellenbosch
4817Katy Sealy17–18 June 2016San Salvador
4817Chelsey Linton12–13 May 2017Wichita
4464Dee-Anne Rogers10–11 July 2013Kazan
4547W.V. Lakshika Sugandhi9–10 July 2016Diyagama
4352Julianne Dorothal26–27 March 2016St. George's
4197Arianna Hayde15–16 April 2017Willemstad
4013Manivanh Chanthavong24–25 August 2017Kuala Lumpur
3770Fatima Mazaher Sassani14–15 March 2015Muscat
3561Salsabeel Khaled Al-Sayyar14–15 March 2015Muscat
3484Heba Hamood Al-Asimi14–15 March 2015Muscat
3116Sanadia Forbes4–5 April 2015Basseterre
2665Karnella Anguezomo Mintsa17–18 April 2015Bourges