Women's pentathlon

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m. The flat race was 200 m until 1976 and thereafter 800 m.[3] In elite-level outdoor competition, the pentathlon was superseded in 1981 by the heptathlon, which has seven events, with both 200 m and 800 m, as well as the javelin throw.[4] Pentathlon is still contested at school and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.

This article is about the track and field event. For the multi-sport event, see Modern pentathlon.
Nadiya Tkachenko competing in the shot put event at the 1980 Olympic pentathlon, where she won the gold medal

History
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]

See also: List of European Athletics Championships medalists (women) § Pentathlon

Indoors

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

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

Notes

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

Annulled marks

World record progression
Athlete Country Points Event results Place Date
Sabine John East Germany47688.16 s, 1.74 m, 14.76 m, 6.61 m, 2:15.63Moscow, Soviet Union15 February 1985
Irina Belova Russia49918.22 s, 1.93 m, 13.25 m, 6.67 m, 2:10.26Berlin, Germany15 February 1992
Nataliya Dobrynska Ukraine50138.38 s, 1.84 m, 16.51 m, 6.57 m, 2:11.15Istanbul, Turkey9 March 2012
Adrianna Sułek Poland50148.21 s, 1.89 m, 13.89 m, 6.62 m, 2:07.17Istanbul, Turkey3 March 2023
Nafissatou Thiam Belgium50558.23 s, 1.92 m, 15.54 m, 6.59 m, 2:13.60Istanbul, Turkey3 March 2023

World records (WR) compared to Pentathlon Bests (PB)
Event Type Athlete Record Score Difference in points scored Ref
60 m hurdles
WR Susanna Kallur7.68 s1204
PB Jessica Ennis7.91 s1150−54[12]
High jump
WR Kajsa Bergqvist2.08 m1345
PB Tia Hellebaut1.99 m1224−121
Shot put
WR Helena Fibingerová22.50 m1369
PB Eva Wilms20.27 m1217−152
Long jump
WR Heike Drechsler7.37 m1299
PB Katarina Johnson-Thompson6.89 m1135−164[13]
800 m
WR Jolanda Čeplak1:55.82 min:s1182
PB Ester Goossens2:04.42 min:s1048−134
Total World record6399
Pentathlon bests5774−625

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

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

Season's bests
YearScoreAthletePlace
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

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

References
  1. USATF - Statistics - Calculators - Combined Events Scoring
  2. 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. "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. "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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