decathlon

What it means

1. An athletic contest consisting of ten events which includes sprinting, hurdling, jumping, and throwing over a span of two days.

   He entered U.C.L.A. in 1954 and played for the renowned coach John Wooden’s basketball team there while training for decathlons.

   2020 February 12, Richard Goldstein, “Rafer Johnson, Winner of a Memorable Decathlon, Is Dead”, in The New York Times

   1 more example

   For now, Gray and her peers are able to compete for Olympic berths only in the seven-event heptathlon, while the decathlon is restricted to men.

   2021 June 7, Shauna Farnell, “An Olympic Hurdle: Why Is the Decathlon Only for Men?”, in The New York Times

2. A contest in science and math proving skill.

In a sentence

He entered U.C.L.A. in 1954 and played for the renowned coach John Wooden’s basketball team there while training for decathlons.

2020 February 12, Richard Goldstein, “Rafer Johnson, Winner of a Memorable Decathlon, Is Dead”, in The New York Times

Where it comes from

From dec- + -athlon, coined for the 1912 Summer Olympics in analogy to the word pentathlon.