World's Greatest Athlete

Combined events at the Olympic Games
Men competing in the 1500 m of the 1948 Olympic decathlon
Overview
Sport	Athletics
Gender	Men and women
Years held	Men's decathlon: 1956 – 2016 Women's heptathlon: 1984 – 2016 Women's pentathlon: 1964 – 1980
Olympic record
Men	8893 pts Roman Šebrle (2004)
Women	7291 pts Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1988)
Reigning champion
Men	Ashton Eaton (USA)
Women	Nafissatou Thiam (BEL)

Combined events at the Summer Olympics have been contested in several formats at the multi-sport event. There are two combined track and field events in the current Olympic athletics programme: a men's decathlon and a women's heptathlon.

The first men's events came at the 1904 Summer Olympics: a triathlon had long jump, shot put, and 100-yard dash events, while an all-around championship saw athletes compete over ten events, forming the basis for the decathlon. No combined events were held at the subsequent games, but the 1912 Summer Olympics saw the introduction of the modern decathlon event and also a men's pentathlon (which lasted for three games). The first women's event came in 1964 in the form of the women's pentathlon. This was amended to include two more events, becoming the heptathlon at the 1984 Summer Olympics, reflecting the development of women's sport.

The Olympic record in the decathlon is 8893 points, set by Czech athlete Roman Šebrle in 2004. Jackie Joyner-Kersee's score of 7291 points to win in 1988 is both the current Olympic and world record for the heptathlon – this remains the only occasion that record has been broken at the Olympics. The men's decathlon world record has had a strong link with the competition, with the Olympic gold medalist breaking the world record in 1928, 1932, 1936, 1952, 1972, 1976, and 1984.

Five men have won two Olympic combined event titles. Bob Mathias, Daley Thompson and Ashton Eaton have all won back-to-back decathlon titles, Jim Thorpe won both the decathlon and pentathlon titles in 1912, and Eero Lehtonen won two Olympic pentathlon titles. Jackie Joyner-Kersee is the most successful athlete, having won two Olympic heptathlon titles and, with her further silver medal, is the only combined events competitor to have won three Olympic medals.