heptathlon

1 7.1

A track and field contest that has seven running, jumping, and throwing events usually for women

noun
/ˈhɛpˌtæθlən/

: heptatlón

heptathlon gold medal
Olympic heptathlon
heptathlon champion

Examples

What's a heptathlon?

Blog text (13)
His season also included setting the world record for the third consecutive year in the heptathlon, winning the World Indoor title, and winning a USA Indoor championship in the long jump.

Blog text (9)
Jessica Ennis won the heptathlon, showcasing her skills in seven different events.
The heptathlon consists of seven events, including hurdles and javelin, all held over two days.
American athletes often excel in the heptathlon, which tests their abilities across multiple disciplines.

Surface Forms

heptathlon singular

heptathlons plural

Morphology

heptathlon = hepta + athlon

The word is built from Greek combining forms hepta- (seven) + -athlon (contest), so the meaning 'seven-event contest' is deducible if a learner recognises these combining forms, but these elements are not familiar to an average B1 learner.

Etymology

The word heptathlon has two Greek parts: hept- meaning 'seven' and -athlon meaning 'contest' or 'race', the same -athlon you see in decathlon. So a heptathlon is a track and field contest made of seven different events, usually for women.