A heptathlon is a sportive contest made up of seven events (from the Greek hepta (seven) and athlon (contest)). More specifically, the term heptathlon refers to an athletic (track and field) event consisting of seven events.

There are two versions of the heptathlon. The first is contested outdoors by women, and consists of the following events, with the first four contested on the first day, the remaining three on day two:

• 100 m hurdles
• long jump
• high jump
• 200 m
• shot put
• javelin throw
• 800 m

The other version is only contested during the indoor season, and normally only by men. It consists of the following events (first four on day one, remaining three on day two):

• 60 m
• long jump
• shot put
• high jump
• 60 m hurdles
• pole vault
• 1000 m

The scoring is similar for both versions. In each event, the athlete scores points according to the marks achieved. The athlete accumulating the highest number of points wins the competition.

The heptathlon has been contested by female athletes since the early 1980s, when it replaced the pentathlon as the women's multi-event contest.

World Record

The current heptathlon world record is:

Jackie Joyner-Kersee     7291 pts     Seoul  24 October 1988

Famous heptathletes

• Eunice Barber
• Sabine Braun
• Jackie Joyner Kersee
• Carolina Klüft
• Denise Lewis
• Ghada Shouaa

External link

• Heptathlon point calculator
• Heptathlon points formula