News24 Dec 2021


2021 review: combined events

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Damian Warner at the end of the Tokyo Olympic Games decathlon (ยฉ Getty Images)

As the year draws to a close, we look back at the key moments of 2021 in each area of the sport. 

The series continues with a review of the combined events and will be followed over the coming days by reviews of all the other event groups. 

Decathlon

Season top list

9018 Damian Warner ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ CAN Tokyo 5 August
8726 Kevin Mayer ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท FRA Tokyo 5 August
8649 Ashley Moloney ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ AUS Tokyo 5 August
8647 Garrett Scantling ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA Eugene 20 June
8604 Pierce LePage ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ CAN Tokyo 5 August

Full season top list
Full indoor heptathlon season top list

World rankings

1 Damian Warner ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ CAN 1473
2 Kevin Mayer ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท FRA 1400
3 Garrett Scantling ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA 1351
4 Ashley Moloney ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ AUS 1347
5 Pierce LePage ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ CAN 1347

Full rankings

Olympic medallists

๐Ÿฅ‡ Damian Warner ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ CAN 9018 OR
๐Ÿฅˆ Kevin Mayer ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท FRA 8726 SB
๐Ÿฅ‰ Ashley Moloney ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ AUS 8649 AR
  Full results

 

Major winners

Olympic Games: Damian Warner ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ CAN 9018 points
South American Championships: Andy Preciado ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡จ ECU 8004 points
Oceania Combined Events Championships: Daniel Golubovic ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ AUS 8336 points
European Indoor Championships (heptathlon): Kevin Mayer ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท FRA 6392 points
World Athletics Challenge: Kai Kazmirek ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช GER 24,500 points overall
World U20 Championships: Frantisek Doubek ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ CZE 8169 points

Season at a glance

Damian Warner broke all sorts of decathlon records in 2021.

The Canadian surpassed the 9000-point mark on his way to winning the Olympic title with 9018 in Tokyo, breaking the Games record in the process.

He equalled his own world decathlon best of 10.12 over 100m in Tokyo, while earlier in the year in Götzis he set world decathlon bests of 8.28m in the long jump and 13.36 in the 110m hurdles.

And to cap his incredible season, Warner became the first man in history to produce a season average in excess of 9000 points from two or more decathlons.


In fact, with five men exceeding 8600, 12 men scoring 8400 or higher, and 44 men surpassing 8000 points – depth last witnessed in 1996 – it was a strong year all round for the decathlon. Which, of course, makes Warner’s achievements all the more remarkable, as he beat some quality opponents to land his first global title.

World record-holder Kevin Mayer, having recovered from the injuries that forced him to withdraw from the 2019 World Championships, put up a strong fight in Tokyo, but ultimately he had to make do with his second successive Olympic silver medal, almost 300 points adrift of Warner. Australian youngster Ashley Moloney, meanwhile, gave his more experienced rivals a run for their money and took Olympic bronze with an Oceanian record of 8649.

Top-flight decathlon action returned in 2021 in the Combined Events Challenge – now renamed the World Athletics Combined Events Tour – and the series got under way in Lana, where Norway’s Martin Roe won with 8055.

One month later, Warner won a record sixth Hypo Meeting title in Götzis with a Canadian record of 8995, agonisingly missing out on becoming the fourth man in history to surpass 9000 points. Compatriot Pierce LePage took second place in Götzis with 8534.

After the Canadian 1-2 in Götzis, there was a Czech 1-2 in Arona as Jiri Sykora (8122) won from Adam Sebastian Helcelet (8058). Most of the leading German athletes, meanwhile, were in action in Ratingen, where Kai Kazmirek came out on top with 8184, effectively securing his place on the Olympic team.

Garrett Scantling impressed at the US Trials in late June. Having taken a break from the sport after narrowly missing the US Olympic team in 2016, Scantling returned to the decathlon last year and is now better than ever. He won the US Trials with a lifetime best of 8647 in a competition where four men exceeded 8400.


Elsewhere in the States, Estonia’s Karel Tilga dominated the collegiate scene. The 23-year-old won the NCAA indoor heptathlon title with a PB of 6264, then set a decathlon PB of 8484 in April before going on to land the NCAA title with 8261.

Mayer may have missed out on the Olympic title in Tokyo, but he added another gold medal to his collection earlier in the year when winning the European indoor title. The French all-rounder scored 6392 to win in Torun, just 87 points shy of his own European indoor record.

Canadian decathletes may have featured prominently at the top of the 2021 world list, but USA ends the year with the best depth, packing 20 athletes into the world top 100 – 10 of whom scored 8000 points or more. Germany is next best with 12 in the top 100, followed by Estonia (eight).

 

Heptathlon

Season top list

6791 Nafissatou Thiam ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช BEL Tokyo 5 August
6703 Annie Kunz ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA Eugene 27 June
6689 Anouk Vetter ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ NED Tokyo 5 August
6683 Kendell Williams ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA Eugene 27 June
6667 Erica Bougard ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA Eugene 27 June

Full season top list
Full indoor pentathlon season top list

World rankings

1 Nafissatou Thiam ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช BEL 1423
2 Anouk Vetter ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ NED 1360
3 Noor Vidts ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ NED 1317
4 Kendell Williams ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA 1305
5 Annie Kunz ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA 1295

Full rankings

Olympic medallists

๐Ÿฅ‡ Nafissatou Thiam ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช BEL 6791 WL
๐Ÿฅˆ Anouk Vetter ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ NED 6689 NR
๐Ÿฅ‰ Emma Oosterwegel ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ NED 6590 PB
  Full results

 

Major winners

Olympic Games: Nafissatou Thiam ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช BEL 6791 points
South American Championships: Evelis Aguilar ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ด COL 6165 points
Oceania Combined Events Championships: Taneille Crase ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ AUS 5773 points
European Indoor Championships (pentathlon): Nafissatou Thiam ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช BEL 4904 points
World Athletics Challenge: Kendell Williams ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA 19,574 points overall
World U20 Championships: Saga Vanninen ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ FIN 5997 points

Season at a glance

Nafissatou Thiam re-established herself as the world’s No.1 heptathlete in 2021, winning two major honours and becoming the first woman since Jackie Joyner-Kersee in 1992 to successfully defend an Olympic title.


The 27-year-old Belgian competed in just two combined events competitions this year, but she made both of them count. The first was the pentathlon at the European Indoor Championships, where she won with a national record score of 4904.

She opted against doing a heptathlon before the Olympics and had a relatively quiet season up to that point. For much of the first day, she renewed her rivalry with world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson, but the Briton was forced to withdraw from the 200m at the end of the first day after sustaining an injury.

It then left a relatively clear path to gold for Thiam, though she was challenged by 2016 European champion Anouk Vetter of the Netherlands. A 54.68m javelin throw from Thiam effectively sealed the title and she went on to win with 6791. Vetter set a Dutch record of 6689 to take silver, while compatriot Emma Oosterwegel enjoyed a breakthrough moment to take bronze with a lifetime best of 6590.

No world or Games records were broken in Tokyo, but the heptathlon was one of the deepest ever at an Olympics with five women exceeding 6500 and eight beating 6400 – depth bettered only at the 2016 edition of the Games.


In fact, the season as a whole was a strong one with 23 women scoring 6300 or higher and 6291 being good enough for 25th on the world list – both markers of record depth.

Interestingly, the five meetings in the Combined Events Challenge – now renamed Combined Events Tour – produced five different winners, all of different nationalities.

Spain’s Maria Vicente won at the first meeting of the year in Lana, scoring 6304 to hold off a challenge from Ireland’s Kate O’Connor (6297). Xenia Krizsan won in Götzis with a Hungarian record of 6651, while China’s Zheng Ninali triumphed in Arona with 6358, and Canada’s Georgia Ellenwood was the victor in Ratingen with 6314.

But the highest quality heptathlon of the year, outside of the Olympic Games, came at the US Olympic Trials. Annie Kunz made a remarkable breakthrough with a lifetime best of 6703 to take the title ahead of Kendell Williams (6683) and Erica Bougard (6667). It’s just the second time in history that three women have broken 6600 in a national-level heptathlon.

World Athletics

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