How it works
This is the women’s ultimate all-round test – a seven-discipline track-and-field contest spread over two days.
Competitors earn points for their performance in each discipline and the overall winner is the athlete who accrues the most.
The first day consists of (in order) 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200m. Day two comprises long jump, javelin and 800m.
History
Women first competed in a pentathlon – five disciplines – at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. This format was replaced by the heptathlon – via the addition of the javelin and 800m – at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
Did you know
Great Britain has gained a medal at the last three Olympics: Denise Lewis won bronze (1996) and gold (2000) and Kelly Sotherton took bronze in Athens (2004).
Gold standard
Sweden, Great Britain, Russia and Germany have all enjoyed consistent success – but America is the only nation to have won more than one Olympic gold.
Icons
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
After taking Olympic silver at the 1984 Games, this American enjoyed an unprecedented period of success, winning successive golds (1988 and 1992) and setting a world record that still stands today.