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The Triathlon, Pentathlon and Decathlon
Triathlon is one of the most challenging of sports. The Triathlon is a sport that has three parts with no breaks allowed. The three parts in this sport are a 1.5 kilometer (9.0 mile) swim, a 40-kilometer\par (25-mile) bicycle race, and lastly, a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) run. The triathlon is a new sport at this Olympics. The mens triathlon was won by Canadian Simon Whitfield.
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Pentathlon is an athletic competition for men and women that test their skills in horseback riding, fencing, swimming, pistol shooting, and running. The competitors participate in all 5 events and they receive a point score for each porformance. The athlete with the highest score wins. The modern pentathlon is held in both individual and team categories. The modern pentathlon usually takes 3 or 4 days to complete and is held durint the summer Olympics. First the competitors ride a horse over a 600 meter course with five obstacles. Fencing comes next. The third event is freestyle swimming, 300 meters for men and 200 for women. The final events are Rapid-fire pistol shooting and a cross country run of 4000 meters for men and 2000 meters for women.
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Decathlon is a 2 day contest made up of 10 events. The winner is considered the all- around track and field champion. On the first day of the competetion the athletes compete in the 100 meter dash, the long jump, the shot-put, the high jump, and a 400 meter run in that order. They try the 110-meter hurdles, the discus throw, the pole vault, the javelin throw, and a 1500 meter run on the second day. The athletes compete against time and distance standards, instead of against each other. The athlete scoring the most points is the winner.