Decathlon, Men

The decathlon was not on the original 1920 Olympic Program, as the organizers decided that the pentathlon would suffice for the multi-eventers. But the decathlon was eventually added to the Program and Helge Løvland of Norway won the event. Through 1988, he remains the oldest Olympic decathlon champion in history. Løvland had set a world record in the decathlon in 1919 of 7,786.92 points, although it was inferior to Jim Thorpe’s mark. He had also set three world records in the pentathlon in 1918-19. The 1920 decathlon was the closest in Olympic history, with Løvland coming from behind to win the gold medal in the 1,500 metres when he outran Brutus Hamilton by 9.4 seconds. In an interview many years later, when asked if he could have defeated Thorpe in his prime, Løvland replied, “Oh, no, he was too good.”