2008 Woodie Awards
Track and field's multi event
Kasie Scott
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: Sports
Few people know about one of the most time consuming and mentally challenging events in track and field. This "multi" event requires all an athlete's mental and physical strength in five events for female athletes and seven events for the male athletes.
A pentathlon is an athletic event in which competitors demonstrate their talents in five disciplines. In modern day, it appears as a modernized form of the Olympic Games from the ancient Greek triad. Though the classic and modern day pentathlons are very different, both test the endurance and skill of an athlete. The modern pentathlon was originally designed to reflect the skills needed by the 19th century members of the cavalry.
The pentathlon features five totally different events where men and women compete in different divisions. The athlete must be able to achieve a high level of skill in multiple athletic disciplines, and must also learn to balance the needs of his or her body with the high demands of the course. The women's event includes the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump and 800-meter run that are all competed within a single day. The men's event evolved into the heptathlon and includes the 60-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60-meter hurdles, pole vault, and the 1000-meter run. Their events are distributed over two days, with the first four events competed in the first day.
Theoretically, the multi is organized so that with each event starting exactly 30 minutes after the finish of the previous event. Realistically, the multi overlaps with the open events in the main event track meet where the athletes must balance competing in open events while finishing the multi events. Some of the athletes will compete in up to ten to 12 events in two days of competition. This takes a toll on the athlete's body.
The event takes place over many hours and the athletes must prepare with high energy food like bread, protein bars, or peanut butter. Because of the diversity of the events, many of the athletes bring four to six pairs of shoes, ranging from sprint spikes, to throwing shoes, to jumping spikes.
A pentathlon is an athletic event in which competitors demonstrate their talents in five disciplines. In modern day, it appears as a modernized form of the Olympic Games from the ancient Greek triad. Though the classic and modern day pentathlons are very different, both test the endurance and skill of an athlete. The modern pentathlon was originally designed to reflect the skills needed by the 19th century members of the cavalry.
The pentathlon features five totally different events where men and women compete in different divisions. The athlete must be able to achieve a high level of skill in multiple athletic disciplines, and must also learn to balance the needs of his or her body with the high demands of the course. The women's event includes the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump and 800-meter run that are all competed within a single day. The men's event evolved into the heptathlon and includes the 60-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60-meter hurdles, pole vault, and the 1000-meter run. Their events are distributed over two days, with the first four events competed in the first day.
Theoretically, the multi is organized so that with each event starting exactly 30 minutes after the finish of the previous event. Realistically, the multi overlaps with the open events in the main event track meet where the athletes must balance competing in open events while finishing the multi events. Some of the athletes will compete in up to ten to 12 events in two days of competition. This takes a toll on the athlete's body.
The event takes place over many hours and the athletes must prepare with high energy food like bread, protein bars, or peanut butter. Because of the diversity of the events, many of the athletes bring four to six pairs of shoes, ranging from sprint spikes, to throwing shoes, to jumping spikes.
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