Decathlon, Men
| Date | 20 – 21 August 1920 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen | |
| Participants | 23 from 11 countries | |
| Format | Scoring by 1912B point tables. | |
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.”
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Points | Points (1934 Tables) | Points (1952 Tables) | Points (1962 Tables) | Points (1985 Hand Tables) | 100 metres | Long Jump | Shot Put | High Jump | 400 metres | 110 metres Hurdles | Discus Throw | Pole Vault | Javelin Throw | 1,500 metres | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 541 | Helge Løvland |  NOR | 6803.3550 | 6013 | 5190 | 5970 | 5803 | 12.0 | 6.280 | 11.19 | 1.65 | 54.8 | 16.2 | 37.340 | 3.20 | 48.010 | 4:48.4 | Gold | ||
| 2 | 176 | Brutus Hamilton |  USA | 6771.2750 | 5952 | 5111 | 5940 | 5739 | 11.4 | 6.325 | 11.61 | 1.60 | 55.0 | 17.3 | 36.145 | 3.30 | 48.080 | 4:57.8 | Silver | ||
| 3 | 615 | Bertil Ohlson |  SWE | 6580.2200 | 5829 | 4974 | 5825 | 5640 | 12.0 | 6.435 | 11.07 | 1.65 | 55.0 | 17.0 | 37.785 | 3.30 | 39.890 | 4:50.6 | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 585 | Gösta Holmér | SWE | 6532.1500 | 5738 | 4874 | 5740 | 5551 | 11.8 | 5.920 | 11.06 | 1.70 | 56.5 | 16.6 | 34.820 | 3.20 | 47.620 | 5:01.6 | |||
| 5 | 614 | Evert Nilsson | SWE | 6433.5300 | 5609 | 4671 | 5624 | 5371 | 12.2 | 5.670 | 11.39 | 1.75 | 55.7 | 20.0 | 34.770 | 3.40 | 49.280 | 4:45.6 | |||
| 6 | 291 | Valdemar Wickholm |  FIN | 6405.4600 | 5765 | 4978 | 5790 | 5630 | 11.6 | 6.120 | 11.44 | 1.60 | 52.8 | 16.8 | 32.300 | 3.00 | 42.760 | 4:45.6 | |||
| 7 | 246 | Gene Vidal | USA | 6358.5700 | 5666 | 4800 | 5673 | 5489 | 12.0 | 6.130 | 11.16 | 1.65 | 55.7 | 17.1 | 37.300 | 3.30 | 35.320 | 4:46.6 | |||
| 8 | 582 | Axel-Erik Gyllenstolpe | SWE | 6331.6250 | 5604 | 4748 | 5638 | 5482 | 12.0 | 6.350 | 10.69 | 1.65 | 55.8 | 16.8 | 33.655 | 2.90 | 49.310 | 5:01.4 | |||
| 9 | 637 | Ernst Gerspach |  SUI | 5948.1075 | 5282 | 4397 | 5364 | 5188 | 12.0 | 6.000 | 10.59 | 1.60 | 57.0 | 17.2 | 32.785 | 3.10 | 41.885 | 5:02.3 | |||
| 10 | 634 | Constant Bucher | SUI | 5274.6950 | 4788 | 3910 | 4930 | 4783 | 11.8 | 5.855 | 9.71 | 1.45 | 56.0 | 19.2 | 32.435 | 2.90 | 36.460 | 4:56.4 | |||
| 11 | 30 | René Joannes-Powell |  BEL | 5091.6575 | 4707 | 3831 | 4830 | 4718 | 12.2 | 5.935 | 9.47 | 1.55 | 56.4 | 18.0 | 28.290 | 2.90 | 29.635 | 4:52.6 | |||
| 12 | 517 | Gensabulo Noguchi |  JPN | 3668.6300 | 3616 | 3005 | 3715 | 3775 | 12.1 | 5.630 | 8.13 | 1.45 | 57.2 | – | 21.970 | 2.60 | 35.480 | 5:11.2 | |||
| 170 | Harry Goelitz | USA | – | – | – | – | – | 12.0 | 5.835 | 10.81 | 1.65 | 53.9 | 16.4 | 33.500 | 2.80 | 37.300 | – | ||||
| 534 | Einar Ræder | NOR | – | – | – | – | – | 12.0 | 6.275 | 10.99 | 1.65 | 55.7 | 17.0 | 28.745 | 2.50 | 35.740 | – | ||||
| 682 | Aleksander Klumberg |  EST | – | – | – | – | – | 12.4 | 6.210 | 11.61 | 1.70 | 58.2 | 18.0 | 35.915 | 3.10 | – | – | ||||
| 161 | Everett Ellis | USA | – | – | – | – | – | 12.0 | 5.665 | 11.45 | 1.60 | 54.6 | 16.2 | 31.635 | 2.70 | – | – | ||||
| 472 | Carlo Butti |  ITA | – | – | – | – | – | 12.6 | 5.740 | 10.61 | 1.55 | 58.0 | 19.0 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 269 | Eero Lehtonen | FIN | – | – | – | – | – | 11.6 | 6.555 | 10.66 | 1.50 | 54.4 | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 650 | Eduard Hašek |  TCH | – | – | – | – | – | 11.6 | 6.125 | 9.93 | 1.50 | 55.6 | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 262 | Paavo Johansson | FIN | – | – | – | – | – | 12.4 | 6.040 | 11.69 | 1.55 | 1:00.2 | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 433 | Apostolos Nikolaidis |  GRE | – | – | – | – | – | 12.8 | 5.445 | 11.29 | 1.65 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 428 | James Andromedas | GRE | – | – | – | – | – | 13.3 | 5.520 | 9.92 | 1.55 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 267 | Hugo Lahtinen | FIN | – | – | – | – | – | 12.0 | 6.230 | 10.06 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| – |  FRA | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| 294 | Géo André | FRA | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 369 | Gabriel Sempé | FRA | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 353 | Martial Simon | FRA | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| – | Jean Desforges | FRA | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |