Thepentathlon orwomen's pentathlon is acombined 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 sprinthurdling,high jump,shot put,long jump, and a flat race.[2] The sprint hurdles distance was80 m outdoors until 1969 and thereafter100 m; inindoor pentathlon the distance is60 m. The flat race was200 m until 1976 and thereafter800 m.[3] In elite-level outdoor competition, the pentathlon was superseded in 1981 by theheptathlon, which has seven events, with both 200 m and 800 m, as well as thejavelin throw.[4] Pentathlon is still contested at school andmasters[5] level and indoors.
The wordpentathlon is derived from theGreekpente (five) andathlon (contest). Theancient Olympic pentathlon comprised a sprint, the javelin and discus throws, long jump, and wrestling. Themodern pentathlon is a multi-sport event. In men's track and field, pentathlon competitions were held in the 20th century, but the ten-eventdecathlon became the standard multi-event contest.
TheInternational Women's Sports Federation was established in 1921 and the first reported pentathlon was in the1922 Women's Olympiad inMonte 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 theIAAF was set at the1934 Women's World Games byGisela 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 theEuropean Athletics Championships from1950 to1978, andat the Olympics from1964 until1980.[2] The IAAF has not ratifiedworld records in outdoor pentathlon since replacing it in 1981 with the heptathlon.[6][7]
The pentathlon is still held indoors, where the heptathlon cannot be held as arenas are too small for thejavelin throw. It was added to theIAAF World Indoor Championships as an unofficial eventin 1993 and officiallyin 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 byNafissatou Thiam at the2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships.[6]
| Events |
|---|
| 60 metres hurdles |
| High jump |
| Shot put |
| Long jump |
| 800 metres |
(60 m hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump, 800m)
Below is a list of scores equal or superior to 4781 pts:
| 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 |
| Event | Type | Athlete | Record | Score | Difference in points scored | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 m hurdles | ||||||
| WR | Devynne Charlton | 7.65s | 1212 | |||
| PB | Jessica Ennis | 7.91 s | 1150 | −62 | [15] | |
| High jump | ||||||
| WR | Kajsa Bergqvist | 2.08m | 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 | [16] | |
| 800 m | ||||||
| WR | Jolanda Čeplak | 1:55.82min:s | 1182 | |||
| PB | Ester Goossens | 2:04.42 min:s | 1048 | −134 | ||
| Total | World record | 6407 | ||||
| Pentathlon bests | 5774 | −633 | ||||
| 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 | 4,760A |  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 |
| 2024 | 4,773 | Noor Vidts (BEL) | Glasgow |
| 2025 | 4,922 |  Saga Vanninen (FIN) | Apeldoorn |
As well as indoor events at all levels, outdoor pentathlon is still common inhigh school athletics. It is simply a smaller version of thedecathlon or a heptathlon. For girls, it is100 m high hurdles, long jump, shot put, high jump, and an800 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.
| Track |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Field |
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| Combined | |||||||||||||
| Road |
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| Other | |||||||||||||
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