Dictionary:
hep·tath·lon (hĕp-tăth'lən, -lŏn')  |
[HEPT(A)- + (DEC)ATHLON.]
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| Wikipedia: Heptathlon |
A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta (seven) and athlon (contest). A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.
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There are two versions of the heptathlon. The first is an outdoor competition for women, and is the combined event for women contested in the Athletics program of the Olympics and in the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. The IAAF World 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 other version is an indoor competition, normally contested only by men. 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 (IAAF).[1] 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 primary women's combined event contest (the javelin throw and 800 m were added). 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, and the IAAF has begun keeping records for it. But the heptathlon remains the championship-level combined event for women.
| Event | a | b | c |
| 200 meters | 4.99087 | 42.5 | 1.81 |
| 800 meters | 0.11193 | 254 | 1.88 |
| 100 metres hurdles | 9.23076 | 26.7 | 1.835 |
| High Jump | 1.84523 | 75.0 | 1.348 |
| Long Jump | 0.188807 | 210 | 1.41 |
| Shot Put | 56.0211 | 1.50 | 1.05 |
| Javelin Throw | 15.9803 | 3.80 | 1.04 |
The scoring system was developed by Dr. Karl Ulbrich. The events are split into three parts, where the scores are counted according to the three formulae:
P is for points, T is for time in seconds, M is for height/length in centimeters and D is length in meters. a, b and c have different values for the each of the events. (see table)
The following table shows the minimum benchmark levels required to earn 1000 points in each event of the heptathlon:
| Event | Required for 1000pts | Units |
|---|---|---|
| 100m Hurdles | 13.85 | Seconds |
| High Jump | 1.82 | Meters |
| Shot Put | 17.07 | Meters |
| 200m | 23.80 | Seconds |
| Long Jump | 6.48 | Meters |
| Javelin Throw | 57.18 | Meters |
| 800m | 127.63 | Seconds |
| POINTS | ATHLETE | VENUE | DATE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7291 |  Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA) |
Seoul | 1988-09-24 |
| 7032 |  Carolina Klüft (SWE) |
Osaka | 2007-08-26 |
| 7007 |  Larisa Turchinskaya (URS) |
Bryansk | 1989-06-11 |
| 6985 |  Sabine Braun (GER) |
Götzis | 1992-05-31 |
| 6946 |  Sabine John (GDR) |
Potsdam | 1984-05-06 |
| 6942 |  Ghada Shouaa (SYR) |
Götzis | 1996-05-26 |
| 6935 | Ramona Neubert (GDR) |
Moscow | 1983-06-19 |
| 6889 |  Eunice Barber (FRA) |
Arles | 2005-06-05 |
| 6859 | Natalya Shubenkova (URS) |
Kiev | 1984-06-21 |
| 6858 | Anke Vater-Behmer (GDR) |
Seoul | 1988-09-24 |
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| Translations: Heptathlon |
Français (French)
n. - heptathlon
Deutsch (German)
n. - Siebenkampf
Português (Portuguese)
n. - heptatlo (m) (Desp.)
Русский (Russian)
семиборье (атлетическое соревнование)
Español (Spanish)
n. - heptatlón
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - sjukamp
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
七项全能
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 七項全能
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 스포츠 경기의 일종 (참가자들은 100미터 경주 등의 7가지 경기에 모두 참가 함)
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) المسابقه السباعيه 7( رياضات)
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - תחרות ב-7 מקצועות אתלטיקה לנשים באולימפיאדה, קרב שבע
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 | Joyner-Kersee, Jacqueline (American athlete) |
| decathlon (in sports) |
| pentathlon (in sports) |
 | How many events in the heptathlon event? Read answer... |
| When was the first heptathlon in history? Read answer... |
| How many events in a heptathlon? Read answer... |
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| A short background about the heptathlon? |
Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Heptathlon". Read more |
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| Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
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