The decathlon is the ultimate competitive tournament when it comes to track and field athletics. If you aren’t familiar with track-and-field, the decathlon consists of ten events that challenge the strength, speed, poise, and athleticism of even the most widely heralded track-and-field athletes in the world. The events list is varied, ranging from the “Shot Put,” in which a track-and-field athlete throws a ball as far as they can, to the “100 meters,” an incredibly short race that is essentially about who can run the distance of one football field the fastest.
In order of least to most difficult, here is our ranking of the ten most difficult sports on the decathlon events list.
10. Shot Put
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Just because it is the least difficult sport in the Decathlon hardly makes this event a cakewalk. This event is the ultimate test of strength, as you are forced to hurl a very heavy ball as far as you can throw. The world record for throwing this object is about 75 feet – keep in mind this is not light and aerodynamic like a football, but rather, much closer to a bowling ball. Certainly not for the out-of-shape.
9. Discus Throw
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Similar to the shot put, the discus throw is an event where a competitor throws a heavy disc as far as he can. As it is more aerodynamic than the ball used in the shot put, this disc can go further distances than the shot put ball. Still, it is a nearly five pound disc – can you imagine throwing a five pound weight at a far distance at all? World records are currently just north of 240 feet, making this decathlon event extremely competitive – achieving even half of that length would be a considerable success for most young athletes.
8. 400 Meters
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One of the core events of track and field, the 400 meters, is a race, about ⅕ of a mile long, that engages the competitors in an act of sprinting against each other. Competitors are pitted against each other to get to the other end of the 400 meter track first. A thrilling event that often has crowds cheering for the entire duration of the race, the 400 meters is certainly no easy task.
7. Long Jump
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As the name would imply, in this event, an athlete runs as fast as possible to a take-off point, at which he then jumps as far as he possibly can. The difficulty in this event is in the very last two strides of the run prior to the jump, which are critical for maximizing distance in this event.
So how far do you think you could jump? Five feet? The top ten world records clock in at close to thirty feet – the athleticism needed for this event is utterly ridiculous.
6. 100 Meters
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An incredibly difficult, ultra competitive dash of approximately the length of one football field, the 100 meter dash is the ultimate rush for the track and field athlete. The track and field athlete has to compete with several other competitors in a heated battle to the finish. The world records are completed in just under ten seconds, making this event one of the shortest yet most intriguing competitive events in not just the decathlon, but in all of sports.
