The men's

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

. It was the third and last appearance of a pentathlon at the Olympics. The competition was held on Monday, July 7, 1924. Thirty pentathletes from 17 nations competed.

Records

Robert LeGendre set a new world record in

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

during this competition. He improved the old records:

Results

Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

The long jump was the first event and started at 2:00 p.m. Group 1 Group 2

Javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

The javelin throw was the second event and started at 2:45 p.m. Group 1 Group 2

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

The third event was the 200 metres. The heats started at 3:45 p.m. Heat 1 Heat 2 Heat 3 Heat 4 Heat 5 Heat 6 Heat 7 Heat 8 Heat 9 Heat 10 Standings after three events After these three events only the top twelve competitors were allowed to participate in the following

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...

contest. After the determination of the twelve competitors who will participate in the next event all other results from the non-qualified pentathletes were deleted. This gave the following order and current standing at this point of the competition:

Eero Lehtonen Eero Reino Lehtonen (21 April 1898 – 9 November 1959) was a Finland, Finnish athlete. He competed at the 1920 Olympics in the pentathlon, long jump and decathlon and at the 1924 Olympics in the pentathlon and 4 × 400 m relay. He won the penta ...

and

Elemér Somfay Elemér Somfay (28 August 1898 – 15 May 1979) was a Hungarian athlete who competed mainly in the pentathlon. He competed for a Hungary at the 1924 Summer Olympics held in Paris, France France (), officially the French Republ ...

later gold and silver medalists tied in fourth place after three events. The biggest winner of the deletion of the results from the non-qualified competitors was Robert LeGendre. He came up from fourth and second place. The biggest loss had Denis Duigan who came from ninth back to eleventh.

Discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...

The discus throw was the fourth event and started at 4:30 p.m. The leader after three events

Mort Kaer Morton Armour Kaer (September 7, 1903 – January 11, 1992), nicknamed "Devil May," was an athlete in track and an All-American collegiate and professional American football player. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska and died in Mount Shasta, Calif ...

was able to finish only in tenth place. While

, Olympic champion in pentathlon at the 1920 Games, won the discus throw competition. After the fourth event again only the best six pentathletes from the overall standings advanced to the last contest.

who only managed to finish in tenth place in the discus throw came back to fourth place overall - enough to participate in the final 1500 metres run.

Brutus Hamilton Brutus Kerr Hamilton (July 19, 1900 – December 28, 1970) was an American track and field athlete, coach and athletics administrator. Biography Hamilton was born in Peculiar, Missouri, and grew up on a farm next door to the Harry S. Truman fam ...

who finished third in the discus throw did not improve his seventh place overall and failed to qualify for the 1500 metres run. So the first six places were unchanged and three Finns, two US-Americans, and one Hungarian started in the final. At this point of the competition the results from the non-qualified competitors were not deleted so the results stand for the final event.

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

The 1500 metres run was the fifth and final event and started at 5:15 p.m.

Final standings

The medal ranks were unchanged after the 1500 metres run.

was able to win his second gold medal in Olympic pentathlon. He also became the last Olympic champion in pentathlon as this event was discontinued. The new world record holder in long jump Robert LeGendre finished third and won the bronze medal. He would have won the gold medal if this contest were scored by points tables. But his ninth place in the javelin throw pushed him back. And he did not participate in the Olympic long jump event held the next day, because he did not compete in this event at the US Olympic trials.

References

External links

Olympic Report
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1924 Summer Olympics - Men's Pentathlon Men's pentathlon

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...