Pentathlon

Not to be confused with modern pentathlon or women's pentathlon.

The pentathlon (as opposed to the modern pentathlon) was an athletic event in the Olympic Games and other Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. The name derives from Greek words for "five competitions." The five events were stadion (a short foot race), wrestling, which were also held as separate events, and the long jump, javelin throw, and discus throw, which were not held as separate events then. Pentathletes were considered to be among the most skilled athletes, and their training was often part of military service—each of the five events was thought to be useful in battle.

Ancient Olympics

The winner of the stadion was considered the champion of the entire Games, and was often the only name remembered in connection with a particular Games, especially during the earliest period. If the same man won the long jump, discus throw, and javelin throw, there was no need to hold the stadion and wrestling events, although they would still be held separately. Wrestling was held in a sand pit, at the Olympic Games outside the Temple of Zeus, while the other events were all held in the stadion (or stadium) from which the name of the race was taken. Wrestling and the discus throw had essentially the same rules as their modern versions (although the actual technique used by the athletes might have been a bit different), but the others had slight differences. The javelin throw used a leather strap, called an amentum, rather than having the athlete grip the shaft of the javelin itself. The stadion was a sprint of approximately 200 yards (or about 180 meters), longer than the modern 100 meter sprint, but shorter than all other ancient running events.

The long jump is perhaps the most unusual, compared to the modern version. A long jumper used weights called halteres to propel himself farther out of standing, and his jump probably consisted of five separate leaps, more like the modern triple jump; otherwise, distances of known jumps (which are often as far as 50 feet) would seem to be impossible.

Competitors in the javelin and discus throws were allowed five throws each, and only their longest throw would count. It is possible that the long jump was also attempted five times. In the classical games, it was traditional for all of these events to be performed naked.

Modern Olympics

In addition to the modern pentathlon, there has also been an athletics pentathlon event for men and women in the modern Olympic Games. The first competition for the men was at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm and the first for women was at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In 1984 the 7-event heptathlon replaced the pentathlon as the women's Olympic multi-event. Details of the men's pentathlon are found in the following Classic Pentathon section. The events for the women's Olympic pentathlon were, in order:

1. 80 meter hurdles / 100 meter hurdles (after 1976 Olympic Games)
2. Shot Put
3. High jump
4. Long jump
5. 200 meters / 800 meters (after 1976 Olympic Games)

The heptathlon added the javelin and 800 meters to the contest, and made it into a two-day event.

Classic Pentathlon

The Classic Penththlon was contested in Olympic Games from 1906 through 1924. In the 1912 Olympic Games, Jim Thorpe won both the Pentathlon and Decathlon titles, only to have them later taken away for professionalism. His titles were restored some 75 years later by the IOC.

In the United States, the Pentathlon was contested as a National AAU championship event until 1978. With the breakup of the AAU as a result of the Amateur Sports Act of 1978, Track & Field came under separate leadership. The new The Athletics Congress (TAC), now called USATF, chose to drop the Pentathlon, as well as several other multi-event contests, as national championship events. The last National AAU Pentathlon Championships was held in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1978. The events in the Classic Pentathlon are, in order:

1. Long Jump
2. Javelin
3. 200 meters
4. Discus
5. 1500 meters

Except for the final event, the events of the Classic Pentathon are essentially the same as the ancient Greek pentathlon, contested in the original Olympic Games. Instead of having a Greco-Roman type wrestling contest between the finalists, the Track & Field (Athletics) pentathlon contests the 1500 meters. It was thought that each of the primary event-types in Athletics were represented in the pentathlon - jumping (Long Jump), throwing a spear (Javelin), sprinting (200 meters), throwing a weight (Discus) and endurance running (1500 meters; metric mile).

A listing of all past U.S. national Pentathlon champions is found on the USATF web site under past national champions. The event was also popular as an event in Europe and the USSR. Most top pentathletes are also top decathletes.

Indoor Pentathlon

The International Association of Athletic Federations (I.A.A.F.), the world governing body for Athletics (Track & Field, Road Running) contests a World Championship Indoor Pentathlon for women, and an Indoor Heptathlon for men. Until 2000 men contested the Indoor Pentathlon. The events for the women's Indoor Pentathlon World Championships are, in order;

1. 60 meter hurdles
2. High Jump
3. Shot Put
4. Long Jump
5. 800 meters

High School/Secondary School Pentathlon

In the United States, the National High School Federation authorizes both outdoor and indoor multi-event competition. Boys may contest the pentathlon and decathlon, girls the pentathlon and heptathlon. Outdoor events for the Pentathlon include, in order: Boys

1. Long Jump
2. High Jump
3. 200 metres
4. Discus
5. 1600 metres

Girls

1. 100 hurdles/200 metres
2. High Jump
3. Shot Put
4. Long Jump
5. 800 metres

Secondary schools in other nations generally use the Classic Pentathlon events for boys. Indoor events are the same as listed in Indoor Pentathlon.

See also

• Military pentathlonnbvcjhdsfgjlhfejgh--216.162.21.72 (talk) 16:19, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

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