DECATHLON DISRESPECT.

DECATHLON DISRESPECT.
In a world where Hyrox has jumped to the forefront of fame, there’s an Olympic event that deserves far more attention but has recently been unfairly overlooked.

The Decathlon.

A relatively new introduction to the Olympic roster, the proto-version of the track and field event was introduced around 706 BCE: discuss, javelin, long jump, sprint and wrestling.

It would take 2617 years before the Modern Olympics held their first Decathlon event, in Stockholm 1912. Inaugurally won by the inimitable American Jim Thorpe – famously wearing mismatched, random shoes after someone stole his pair before the event began – legend has it that the Swedish King referred to him as the “world’s greatest athlete.”
This summons the question: why don’t we glorify decathletes in the same way we do, say, 100m sprinters?
People tapped into sport of any kind will likely have at least a handful of sprinters they can name. Ask them to reel off a list of decathletes and they’ll likely struggle to do so, except for perhaps icons of the past, or Bruce Jenner.
Given that these individuals perform ten events across two days, spanning discus, shotput, javelin, pole vault, long jump, high jump, 110m hurdles, 100m, 400m and 1500m… their performance is undeniable.

Jack Of All Trades

No longer the crown jewel in the Olympics, justifications for the reduction in appreciation are frustrating. The main one is that the event is simply too long. In our short attention span world, we want to see a start and a finish in a satisfying time and then go on with our day. Having to follow individuals across two days, covering ten events, is a commitment – according to World Record holder Kevin Mayer. 

In addition to the duration is the scoring system… according to naysayers. Each individual event has a complex formula attached which spits out a corresponding score. Winners usually end up around 9,000 points, which is hard to explain to people in a short time frame. That said, points systems haven’t hindered the popularity of disciplines like gymnastics, for example.

Spread Too Thin?

And then comes the final point: whilst it’s arguably more impressive for an individual to be brilliant at ten events, they very rarely achieve times/distances that would place them in medal contention for the respective events themselves. Kevin Mayer, holds the world record for a 1500m decathlon time of 4min 36 seconds. Compare that to the individual 1500m record of 3min 28 (Jakob Ingebrigtsen) and there’s a sizeable gap.

But the 1500m is the final event that concludes two days of gruelling competition. Imagine putting your body through all of that over 48 hours… incredible.
The fanfare, however, doesn’t align with the level of performance required. Just last year, top British decathlete Harry Kendall said the discipline was “continuously sidelined,” and that the decathlon was a “complete afterthought” after being omitted from the UK Athletics Championships schedule.
An afterthought, perhaps. But something with less consideration is the women’s decathlon.

 

Something’s Missing

Though there are events across the globe where women compete in decathlon, in the Olympics their version is the heptathlon. Pole vault, discus and the 1500m are all omitted from the heptathlon.

It’s easy to overlook how near-parity has only been achieved in recent years. It was 1984 before women could run an Olympic marathon; 2000 before women’s pole vault began; and 2008 before women’s steeplechase was included.
Understandably, there has been much discussion around this in recent years. 
Decathlete and icosathlon (20 events) world record holder, Lauren Kuntz, claims the omission of female decathlons stems from “historical sexism” within athletics, continuing "whenever someone tells me I can't do something because of my gender my only response is, 'sit back and watch me'." 
Outside of this, mirroring Mayer’s point above, Lauren also attributes the neglect of turning the heptathlon into the decathlon to the fact it doesn’t fit the much-lauded “short race, clear winner, celebrate and move on” model that benefits modern attention spans.
That said, there are proponents of the change. A multi-year campaign continues to build steam, spearheaded by leading decathlete Jordan Gray, to include the women’s decathlon in the Olympics.

Why not?

The decision to maintain heptathlon over the decathlon seems, upon our research, to stem from a reluctance by the athletes and coaches themselves. The key point is the fear of higher risk of injury, due to scheduling conflicts if the events ran simultaneously. This, says Les Gramantik, Olympic decathlon coach, would lead to a “terrible sequence.” He told The Guardian in 2018, “leave it alone. I know I will not coach women for decathlon.” Strong words.

The sentiment is echoed by the coach of Heptathlon gold medalist Jessica Ennis-Hill, Toni Minichiello, who believes “Ennis-Hill would have left combined events if the decathlon was introduced.”

An interesting dilemma. Of course women can compete in the decathlon. If, as many believe, it’s the event that illustrates the best athlete in the world, it seems unfair to not have an equal opportunity for women to claim the same title. But, with the majority of participants themselves preferring to maintain the heptathlon rather than the decathlon, nothing is set to change anytime soon.

Ultimately, the decathlon deserves more attention as a remarkable feat of performance. It may well be a “niche sport within a niche sport,” but in July of this year, let’s make a little more effort to respect the colossal effort it takes to excel across 10 separate events.

Decathlon analyst Gabby Pieraccini has called the decathlon a “niche sport within a niche sport.” This is undoubtedly true. But, in this coming Olympics, it certainly deserves more of our attention as a true feat of remarkable performance. 

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