SSC
A decathlon consists of how many athletic events?
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Answer: Option B — 10
Detailed Solution
The decathlon is a combined athletics event made up of 10 track and field events, held over two consecutive days. The word comes from the Greek words "deka" (ten) and "athlos" (contest). It is mainly a men's event at the Olympics. Points are awarded in each event according to a scoring table, and the athlete with the highest total wins.
The ten events of the decathlon:
- Day 1: 100 metres, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400 metres.
- Day 2: 110 metres hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw and 1500 metres.
Because it tests speed, strength, jumping, throwing and endurance, the Olympic decathlon champion is traditionally called the "World's Greatest Athlete". This title is said to have started when King Gustaf V of Sweden called Jim Thorpe (USA), the 1912 Olympic champion, "the greatest athlete in the world".
Other combined events:
Heptathlon: 7 events, for women at the Olympics: 100 m hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200 m on day 1; long jump, javelin and 800 m on day 2. Swapna Barman won India's first heptathlon gold at the 2018 Asian Games.
Pentathlon: 5 events; an indoor event in athletics.
Modern Pentathlon: a separate Olympic sport created by Pierre de Coubertin, originally with fencing, swimming, horse riding, shooting and running. From 2028, riding is being replaced by an obstacle course.
Triathlon: swimming, cycling and running in one continuous race.
Famous decathletes:
- Daley Thompson (UK): Olympic champion in 1980 and 1984.
- Kevin Mayer (France): set the world record of 9,126 points in 2018.
- Ashton Eaton (USA): Olympic champion in 2012 and 2016.
Why not the other options?
- ✗7 events make up the heptathlon.
- ✗5 events make up the pentathlon.
- ✗12 is not the number of events in any standard combined event.
Quick tip
Remember: Decathlon = 10 events over 2 days (men); heptathlon = 7 (women); pentathlon = 5; Olympic decathlon champion = "World's Greatest Athlete"; Swapna Barman = heptathlon gold (2018 Asian Games).
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Sports — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Sports, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers sports GK: major tournaments and their venues, trophies and cups associated with each sport, sports terms, the number of players in a team, sports awards in India, Olympic and Asian Games facts, and famous sportspersons and their achievements. Common questions ask which sport a trophy belongs to (such as the Durand Cup for football or the Ranji Trophy for cricket), which term is used in which sport, and where a tournament was held. Records and results change after every season, so pair static facts such as team sizes and terms with recent results from current affairs. Practise the sports questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.