pentathlon
noun
Did you know?
The Greek word athlos means "contest or trial", so to be an athlete you had to compete in physical contests. The ancient Greek pentathlon tested warriors' skills in sprinting, long jumping, javelin throwing, discus throwing, and wrestling, none of which are part of today's Olympic pentathlon. But a pentathlete must still have muscles and reflexes suited to almost any kind of physical feat.
Examples of pentathlon in a Sentence
Ethan Fuller, BostonGlobe.com, 5 June 2023
The decision to name Thorpe the sole winner of the decathlon and pentathlon was reported on Thursday by Indian Country Today, which noted that Olympic officials had quietly put him alone at the top spot on the official website of the Games.
—New York Times, 15 July 2022
After gradually improving upon her personal best in each of her last three pentathlon tries, Franklin junior Sarah Dumas smashed her PR Saturday with 3,518 points and a second-place finish in the girls’ pentathlon.
—Matty Wasserman, BostonGlobe.com, 17 June 2023
However, according to Olympic historian David Wallechinsky, Hubbard's feat was overshadowed by teammate Robert Legendre, who had failed to qualify for the U.S. team in the long jump but set a world record in the event during the pentathlon a day earlier.
—Chris Lehourites, Star Tribune, 28 July 2020
Sophomore Nyrah Joseph added a second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles to her dominant pentathlon performance (3,035 points) on Thursday to take crucial points.
—Aj Traub, BostonGlobe.com, 27 May 2023
Cajon hurdler Seth Johnson, a Cal commit, showed off his all-around form in running away with the pentathlon competition.
—Eric Sondheimer Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2022
Wieslander and Ferdinand Bie (the Norwegian athlete who had received Thorpe’s gold medal in the pentathlon) are now listed as silver medal winners in their respective events, per the Associated Press (AP).
—Tara Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 July 2022
Before Friday's announcement, nearly 30 years after his death in 1982, Thorpe was reinstated as co-winner of both events alongside Hugo Wieslander, who placed second in the decathlon, and Ferdinand Bie, who finished just behind Thorpe in the pentathlon, the Times explained.
—Alexandra Schonfeld, PEOPLE.com, 15 July 2022
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pentathlon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Greek, from penta- + athlon contest
1603, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing pentathlon
Dictionary Entries Near pentathlon
Cite this Entry
“Pentathlon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pentathlon. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.
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pentathlon
noun
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