One of the most difficult problems of the combined events is that the dynamics of the competition are clear to specialists but not so to the average fan and television broadcasters are not interested in covering the event in full. This is hardly surprising as in a decathlon held in accordance with the current regulations, each athlete spends eight to nine minutes directly performing during a programme that can that run up to 10 hours per day. The aim of this article is to draw specialists and non-specialists into a discussion about the future of the event. After listing examples of innovative formats that have been tried in recent years, the author outlines a model that drastically reduces the time required for the jumping and throwing disciplines and calculates that a decathlon with 15-20 competitors could be completed in 10 hours. After considering the organisational challenges of staging the event in this way, he concludes that a one-day decathlon is possible.
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