δέκαθλον

Decathlon is a modern coinage from Greek deka (ten) and athlon (contest, prize). The ancient Greeks held multi-event competitions at Olympia — the pentathlon dates to 708 BCE — but no ten-event combination existed in antiquity. The word was built from ancient parts to name a modern invention, like putting Roman columns on a skyscraper.

The modern decathlon debuted at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. It was designed as the ultimate test of all-around athletic ability: four running events, three throwing events, and three jumping events, spread over two days. Jim Thorpe, a Sac and Fox Nation athlete from Oklahoma, won the inaugural competition. King Gustav V of Sweden reportedly told him, 'Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world.' Thorpe's medals were stripped the following year because he had played semi-professional baseball — a violation of amateur rules that would later be abolished.

The ten events have been fixed since 1912: 100 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 meters on day one; 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, and 1500 meters on day two. The order is not arbitrary. It alternates between running, jumping, and throwing, and it ends with the 1500 meters — the most grueling event, placed last to test what remains of an athlete after nine events.

Thorpe's medals were restored posthumously in 1983, seventy years after they were taken. The IOC added his name back to the 1912 record books. The word decathlon still means what it meant at its coining: ten contests. But its cultural meaning has narrowed to a single idea — the most complete athlete alive.