PASSAGE 2 – Questions 11-20
Ten Events, One Champion:
THE DECATHLON
Fay Webster takes a look at the world of athletics and finds out what it takes to be a true champion.
The Olympic Games have changed a lot since their origins in Ancient Greece. Today, athletes from countries all over the world take part and the Olympics are big business, watched by millions on television. Some things, though, have stayed the same. The athletes then could make a lot of money from winning, just like today's competitors. In the ancient Games, a great champion might have received as much as a year’s pay for winning a race.
Another thing that hasn't changed is the search for an all-round champion, somebody who can defeat their opponents at a number of different sporting events. In the ancient Olympics, athletes competed in the pentathlon. This consisted of the long jump, the discus, the javelin, a running race and wrestling. The first winner, in 708 BC, was Lampis of Sparta, who must have been a great athlete to beat so many others from all over the Hellenic world. The pentathlon was an important part of the Olympics until Emperor Theodosius of Rome banned the Games in 393 AD.
The Stockholm Olympics of 1912 brought back this tradition of the search for all round greatness. The modern pentathlon was included (shooting, swimming, fencing, riding and running) and so was the modern decathlon (ten events), with the heptathlon (seven events) for women being introduced later. So what drives someone to take on this running, throwing, jumping challenge and push their body to its limits? I met American decathlete Bruce Thorpe in New York and told him he must have been crazy to take up the decathlon. He laughed.
‘Yes, I think I probably was. I could have done lots of different sports, but I chose the decathlon. It’s very tough and it demands a lot of different skills. You have to train just as hard as other athletes, only you have to do it in ten different events! I think we’re probably all a little crazy, but it’s very satisfying in the end,’ he said. I asked him to explain what happens in the decathlon.
‘The way it works is you complete each event and you get points, depending on how well you do in that event. At the end of two days, the person with the most points is the champion and takes the gold medal, the second person gets the silver and the third the bronze medal. We start with the 100 metres, the long jump, the shot put, the high jump and the 400 metres. The second day, it’s the 110 metre hurdles, the discus, the javelin, the pole vault and the one that we all dread, the 1500 metres.’ I asked him what made the 1500 metres such a struggle. 'All the other events demand speed or strength. With the long race, it’s stamina. Really, decathletes aren’t built for that event.'
So what tips does Bruce have for those of you thinking of taking up the decathlon? ‘Start as early as you can and join a good club,’ he said. ‘It takes a long time to master ten different events, or seven for the heptathlon, and you need expert help. And don’t expect to have much free time!’
Ten events, one champion. Think you might be the one? If you’re Interested in finding out more about the decathlon, contact your local athletics club.
