Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's decathlon

The men's decathlon competition featured as part of the athletics programme at the 1968 Summer Olympics and was held at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario in Mexico City on 18 and 19 October.

Men's Decathlon
at the Games of the XIX Olympiad
The exterior of the host stadium in Mexico City
VenueEstadio Olímpico Universitario, Mexico City
Dates18 & 19 October
Competitors33 from 20 nations
Winning score8311
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Bill Toomey
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Hans-Joachim Walde
 West Germany
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Kurt Bendlin
 West Germany
← 1964
1972 →

American Bill Toomey won the gold medal with an Olympic record score of 8193 points. Two West German athletes, Hans-Joachim Walde and Kurt Bendlin, took the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

A total of 33 competitors from 20 nations entered the decathlon with 19 athletes managing to finish all events at the competition.[1]

The ten-event track and field competition used hand timing in the track events and was scored using the 1962 scoring method. The youngest competitor was Don Vélez (aged 20) and the oldest was Valbjörn Þorláksson (aged 34). The sixth-placer Tom Waddell, representing the United States, later went on to found the Gay Olympics.[1]

Schedule

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Date Round
Friday, 18 October 1968 100 metres
Long jump
Shot put
High jump
400 metres
Saturday, 19 October 1968 110 metres hurdles
Discus throw
Pole vault
Javelin throw
1500 metres

Overall summary

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Rank Athlete Overall points 100 m LJ SP HJ 400 m 110 m H DT PV JT 1500 m
    Bill Toomey (USA) 8193 10.4 7.87 13.75 1.95 45.6 WDB 14.9 43.68 4.20 62.80 4:57.1
    Hans-Joachim Walde (FRG) 8111 10.9 7.64 15.13 2.01 49.0 14.8 43.54 4.30 71.62 4:58.5
    Kurt Bendlin (FRG) 8064 10.7 7.56 14.74 1.80 48.3 15.0 46.78 4.60 75.42 5:09.8
4   Mykola Avilov (URS) 7909 10.9 7.64 13.41 2.07 49.9 14.5 46.64 4.10 60.12 5:00.8
5   Joachim Kirst (GDR) 7861 10.5 7.61 16.43 1.98 50.2 15.6 46.89 4.15 57.02 5:20.1
6   Tom Waddell (USA) 7719 11.3 7.47 14.45 2.01 51.2 15.3w 43.73 4.50 63.70 5:04.5
7   Rick Sloan (USA) 7692 11.2 6.72 14.07 2.10 51.0 15.5 45.58 4.85 49.90 4:44.0
8   Steen Smidt-Jensen (DEN) 7648 10.9 7.17 13.03 1.95 50.2 14.9 41.07 4.85 46.80 4:41.3
9   Ed de Noorlander (NED) 7554 11.1 6.90 13.89 1.95 50.5 14.5w 41.70 4.20 50.22 4:37.8
10   Manfred Tiedtke (GDR) 7551 10.9 7.46 15.77 1.95 50.0 14.7 40.31 4.30 51.84 5:33.4
11   Lennart Hedmark (SWE) 7481 11.1 7.29 14.08 1.89 51.3 14.9 42.96 4.10 62.90 5:11.0
12   Walter Dießl (AUT) 7465 10.7 7.42 14.32 1.83 51.6 14.7w 42.23 4.25 55.38 5:19.7
13   Clive Longe (GBR) 7338 10.9 6.86 15.10 1.70 49.3 15.5 47.70 4.00 59.30 5:18.8
14   Wu Ah-Min (ROC) 7209 11.3 7.40 12.08 1.80 52.2 14.8w 40.25 4.35 60.10 5:08.9
15   Spas Dzhurov (BUL) 7173 10.9 7.40 13.99 1.89 50.2 15.1 40.90 3.60 47.04 5:15.5
16   Roger Lespagnard (BEL) 7125 11.1 6.94 12.59 1.95 50.2 15.8 37.74 4.20 47.46 4:57.0
17   Urs Trautmann (SUI) 7044 11.2 6.96 15.16 1.95 1:03.9 14.9 46.20 4.10 56.32 5:13.6
18   Franz Biedermann (LIE) 6323 11.5 6.30 10.94 1.70 51.4 15.5 30.67 3.90 44.92 4:47.9
19   Don Vélez (NCA) 5943 11.5 6.63 10.60 1.65 53.1 16.2 36.43 3.40 48.94 5:46.1
  Jānis Lanka (URS) DNF (7227) 10.9 7.15 15.31 1.80 49.9 14.8w 49.90 3.80 59.76 DNF
  Gert Herunter (AUT) DNF 10.5 6.75 13.93 1.83 49.7 15.0 40.38
  Hansruedi Kunz (SUI) DNF 11.0 6.54 13.67 1.65 49.1 15.7w 40.18
  Charlemagne Anyamah (FRA) DNF 11.2 6.03 14.00 1.80 50.9 15.3 39.88
  Roberto Carmona Botella (MEX) DNF 10.9 6.92 14.37 1.70 50.5
  Valbjörn Þorláksson (ISL) DNF 11.1 6.76 12.59 1.70 53.2
  Herbert Wessel (GDR) DNF 10.8 7.39 13.70 1.86 53.4
  Chen Chuan-Show (ROC) DNF 10.8 6.78 12.38 1.70 50.9
  Rein Aun (URS) DNF 10.8 7.40 14.75 1.80 DNF
  Ho Henh Phươc (VIE) DNF 11.9 6.16 11.93 1.70
  Horst Mandl (AUT) DNF 11.2 7.04 13.34
  Dominique Rakotorahalahy (MAD) DNF 11.5 6.62
  Werner von Moltke (FRG) DNF 11.1 6.14
  Werner Duttweiler (SUI) DNF 11.2 5.31

References

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  1. ^ a b "Athletics at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games: Men's Decathlon". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
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