The pentathlon or women's pentathlon is a combined track and field event in which each woman competes in five separate events over one day (formerly two days). The distance or time for each event is converted to points via scoring tables, with the overall ranking determined by total points.[1] Since 1949 the events have been sprint hurdling, high jump, shot put, long jump, and a flat race.[2] The sprint hurdles distance was 80 m outdoors until 1969 and thereafter 100 m; in indoor pentathlon the distance is 60 m. The flat race was 200 m until 1976 and thereafter 800 m.[3] In elite-level outdoor competition, the pentathlon was superseded in 1981 by the heptathlon, which has seven events, with both 200 m and 800 m, as well as the javelin throw.[4] Pentathlon is still contested at school and masters[5] level and indoors.

Nadiya Tkachenko competing in the shot put event at the 1980 Olympic pentathlon, where she won the gold medal

History

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Nataliya Dobrynska celebrating her pentathlon win at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships

The word pentathlon is derived from the Greek pente (five) and athlon (contest). The ancient Olympic pentathlon comprised a sprint, the javelin and discus throws, long jump, and wrestling. The modern pentathlon is a multi-sport event. In men's track and field, pentathlon competitions were held in the 20th century, but the ten-event decathlon became the standard multi-event contest.

The International Women's Sports Federation was established in 1921 and the first reported pentathlon was in the 1922 Women's Olympiad in Monte Carlo.[2] The events were: 60 m, 300 m, high jump, two-hand javelin, and two-hand shot.[2] In the late 1920s, the events were: shot and long jump on the first day, and 100 m, high jump, and javelin on the second day.[2] The first world record recognised by the IAAF was set at the 1934 Women's World Games by Gisela Mauermayer.[2]

From 1949 the events were: shot, high jump, and 200 m on the first day; 80 m hurdles and long jump on the second.[2] The scoring tables were changed in 1954, and again in 1971.[2] In 1961, the order of the events was changed to: 80 m hurdles, shot, and high jump on the first day; long jump and 200 m on the second, in 1971 the 80 m hurdles were changed to 100 m hurdles.[2] From 1977 all were contested in a single day.[2] Pentathlon was contested at the European Athletics Championships from 1950 to 1978, and at the Olympics from 1964 until 1980.[2] The IAAF has not ratified world records in outdoor pentathlon since replacing it in 1981 with the heptathlon.[6][7]

Indoors

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The pentathlon is still held indoors, where the heptathlon cannot be held as arenas are too small for the javelin throw. It was added to the IAAF World Indoor Championships as an unofficial event in 1993 and officially in 1995. The indoor pentathlon is held over a one-day period. Each athlete completes one event at the same time, then there is a 30-minute break until the next event. The current world record is 5055 points by Nafissatou Thiam at the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships.[6]

Events
60 metres hurdles
High jump
Shot put
Long jump
800 metres

All-time top 25

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(60 m hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump, 800m)

  • Correct as of March 2023.[8]
Rank Score Athlete Date Place Ref
1 5055   Nafissatou Thiam (BEL) 3 March 2023 Istanbul [9]
2 5014   Adrianna Sułek (POL) 3 March 2023 Istanbul [9]
3 5013   Nataliya Dobrynska (UKR) 9 March 2012 Istanbul
4 5004 A   Anna Hall (USA) 16 February 2023 Albuquerque [10]
5 5000   Katarina Johnson-Thompson (GBR) 6 March 2015 Prague
6 4991   Irina Belova (RUS) 15 February 1992 Berlin
7 4965   Jessica Ennis (GBR) 9 March 2012 Istanbul
8 4948   Carolina Klüft (SWE) 4 March 2005 Madrid
9 4929   Noor Vidts (BEL) 18 March 2022 Belgrade [11]
10 4927   Kelly Sotherton (GBR) 2 March 2007 Birmingham
11 4896   Ekaterina Bolshova (RUS) 7 February 2012 Moscow
12 4881   Brianne Theisen-Eaton (CAN) 18 March 2016 Portland
13 4877   Tia Hellebaut (BEL) 11 February 2007 Ghent
14 4866   Svetlana Moskalets (RUS) 3 February 1995 Chelyabinsk
15 4850   Natallia Sazanovich (BLR) 9 March 2001 Lisbon
16 4830   Nadine Broersen (NED) 7 March 2014 Sopot
17 4808   Urszula Włodarczyk (POL) 27 February 1998 Valencia
18 4805 A   Sharon Day-Monroe (USA) 21 February 2014 Albuquerque
19 4802   Austra Skujytė (LTU) 9 March 2012 Istanbul
20 4801   Larisa Turchinskaya (RUS) 11 March 1994 Paris
  Karin Ruckstuhl (NED) 2 March 1997 Birmingham
22 4792   Olga Kurban (RUS) 7 February 2012 Moscow
23 4784   Anna Bogdanova (RUS) 4 February 2009 Penza
24 4780   Sabine Braun (GER) 7 March 1997 Paris
25 4775   Rita Ináncsi (HUN) 11 March 1994 Paris

Notes

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Below is a list of scores equal or superior to 4775 pts:

Annulled marks

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World record progression

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Athlete Country Points Event results Place Date
Sabine John   East Germany 4768 8.16 s, 1.74 m, 14.76 m, 6.61 m, 2:15.63 Moscow, Soviet Union 15 February 1985
Irina Belova   Russia 4991 8.22 s, 1.93 m, 13.25 m, 6.67 m, 2:10.26 Berlin, Germany 15 February 1992
Nataliya Dobrynska   Ukraine 5013 8.38 s, 1.84 m, 16.51 m, 6.57 m, 2:11.15 Istanbul, Turkey 9 March 2012
Adrianna Sułek   Poland 5014 8.21 s, 1.89 m, 13.89 m, 6.62 m, 2:07.17 Istanbul, Turkey 3 March 2023
Nafissatou Thiam   Belgium 5055 8.23 s, 1.92 m, 15.54 m, 6.59 m, 2:13.60 Istanbul, Turkey 3 March 2023

World records (WR) compared to Pentathlon Bests (PB)

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Event Type Athlete Record Score Difference in points scored Ref
60 m hurdles
WR Devynne Charlton 7.65 s 1212
PB Jessica Ennis 7.91 s 1150 −62 [12]
High jump
WR Kajsa Bergqvist 2.08 m 1345
PB Tia Hellebaut 1.99 m 1224 −121
Shot put
WR Helena Fibingerová 22.50 m 1369
PB Eva Wilms 20.27 m 1217 −152
Long jump
WR Heike Drechsler 7.37 m 1299
PB Katarina Johnson-Thompson 6.89 m 1135 −164 [13]
800 m
WR Jolanda Čeplak 1:55.82 min:s 1182
PB Ester Goossens 2:04.42 min:s 1048 −134
Total World record 6407
Pentathlon bests 5774 −633

Olympic medalists

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Games Gold Silver Bronze
1964 Tokyo
details
Irina Press
  Soviet Union
Mary Rand
  Great Britain
Galina Bystrova
  Soviet Union
1968 Mexico City
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Ingrid Becker
  West Germany
Liese Prokop
  Austria
Annamária Tóth
  Hungary
1972 Munich
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Mary Peters
  Great Britain
Heide Rosendahl
  West Germany
Burglinde Pollak
  East Germany
1976 Montreal
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Siegrun Siegl
  East Germany
Christine Laser
  East Germany
Burglinde Pollak
  East Germany
1980 Moscow
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Nadiya Tkachenko
  Soviet Union
Olga Rukavishnikova
  Soviet Union
Olga Kuragina
  Soviet Union

World Indoor Championships medalists

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Games Gold Silver Bronze
1995 Barcelona
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  Svetlana Moskalets (RUS)   Kym Carter (USA)   Irina Tyukhay (RUS)
1997 Paris
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  Sabine Braun (GER)   Mona Steigauf (GER)   Kym Carter (USA)
1999 Maebashi
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  LeShundra Nathan (USA)   Irina Belova (RUS)   Urszula Włodarczyk (POL)
2001 Lisbon
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  Natallia Sazanovich (BLR)   Yelena Prokhorova (RUS)   Karin Ertl (GER)
2003 Birmingham
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  Carolina Klüft (SWE)   Natallia Sazanovich (BLR)   Marie Collonvillé (FRA)
2004 Budapest
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  Naide Gomes (POR)   Nataliya Dobrynska (UKR)   Austra Skujytė (LTU)
2006 Moscow
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  Lyudmyla Blonska (UKR)   Karin Ruckstuhl (NED)   Olga Levenkova (UKR)
2008 Valencia
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  Tia Hellebaut (BEL)   Kelly Sotherton (GBR)   Anna Bogdanova (RUS)
2010 Doha
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  Jessica Ennis (GBR)   Nataliya Dobrynska (UKR)   Hyleas Fountain (USA)
2012 Istanbul
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  Nataliya Dobrynska (UKR)   Jessica Ennis (GBR)   Austra Skujytė (LTU)
2014 Sopot
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  Nadine Broersen (NED)   Brianne Theisen-Eaton (CAN)   Alina Fyodorova (UKR)
2016 Portland
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  Brianne Theisen-Eaton (CAN)   Alina Fyodorova (UKR)   Barbara Nwaba (USA)[14]
2018 Birmingham
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  Katarina Johnson-Thompson (GBR)   Ivona Dadic (AUT)   Yorgelis Rodríguez (CUB)
2022 Belgrade
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  Noor Vidts (BEL)   Adrianna Sułek (POL)   Kendell Williams (USA)
2024 Glasgow
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  Noor Vidts (BEL)   Saga Vanninen (FIN)   Sofie Dokter (NED)

Season's bests

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Year Score Athlete Place
2013 4,851   Ekaterina Bolshova (RUS) Volgograd
2014 4,830   Nadine Broersen (NED) Sopot
2015 5,000   Katarina Johnson-Thompson (GBR) Prague
2016 4,881   Brianne Theisen-Eaton (CAN) Portland
2017 4,870   Nafissatou Thiam (BEL) Belgrade
2018 4,760 A   Erica Bougard (USA) Albuquerque
2019 4,983   Katarina Johnson-Thompson (GBR) Glasgow
2020 4,629   Noor Vidts (BEL) Louvain-la-Neuve
2021 4,904   Nafissatou Thiam (BEL) Toruń
2022 4,929   Noor Vidts (BEL) Belgrade
2023 5,055   Nafissatou Thiam (BEL) Istanbul

Contemporary outdoor pentathlon

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As well as indoor events at all levels, outdoor pentathlon is still common in high school athletics. It is simply a smaller version of the decathlon or a heptathlon. For girls, it is 100 m high hurdles, long jump, shot put, high jump, and an 800 m run. The pentathlon is used because it is less stressful on the athletes than a full multi and because many high school meets only last one day, it allows the event to be contested in the time limit.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ USATF - Statistics - Calculators - Combined Events Scoring
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Matthews, Peter (2012). "Pentathlon". Historical Dictionary of Track and Field. Scarecrow Press. pp. 164–5. ISBN 9780810867819. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  3. ^ "PLAINLY, JANE HAS A PENCHANT FOR THE PENTATHLON". Sports Illustrated. 21 November 1977. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  4. ^ "THE AGONY AND ECSTASY OF THE TRIALS". Sports Illustrated. 30 June 1980. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Combined Events". usatfmasters.org. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  6. ^ a b "World Records". IAAF. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  7. ^ Nonna, Michael. "Women, Pentathlon > World Records Progression". Track and Field Statistics. Brinkster. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Pentathlon – women – senior – indoor". All-time top lists. IAAF. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Pentathlon Results" (PDF). European Athletics. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Hall goes No.2 all time with 5004-point pentathlon in Albuquerque". World Athletics. February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  11. ^ "Pentathlon Results". World Athletics. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  12. ^ "60 Metres Hurdles Results" (PDF). IAAF. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  13. ^ "Pentathlon Results" (PDF). EA. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  14. ^ "800 Metres Points | IAAF World Indoor Championships".
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