The men's decathlon was part of the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics

Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics

At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the athletics competition included 36 events, 24 for men and 12 for women. The women's 400 metres and women's pentathlon events were newly introduced at these Games. There were a total number of 1016 participating athletes from 82 countries.-Men's...

 program in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

. It was held on 19 October and 20 October 1964, with five events each day. 23 athletes from 15 nations entered, with 1 not starting the first event.

The events of the decathlon

Decathlon

The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...

, in order, were:

1. 100 metres
2. Long jump
3. Shot put
4. High jump
5. 400 metres
6. 110 metre hurdles
7. Discus throw
8. Pole vault
9. Javelin throw
10. 1500 metres

100 metres

Place	Athlete	Nation	Time	Points
				Event	Total	Rank
1	Willi Holdorf Willi Holdorf Willi Holdorf is a West German athlete who mainly competed in the decathlon.He competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, where he won the gold medal in the men's decathlon event.-References:...		10.7 seconds	879	879	1
	Hector Thomas Héctor Thomas Héctor Thomas Martínez is a retired track and field athlete from Venezuela, who competed in the decathlon. He represented his native country in two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1960. Thomas twice won a medal at the Pan American Games during the 1960s.-References:*...		10.7 seconds	879	879	1
3	Rein Aun Rein Aun Rein Aun was an Estonian athlete who represented the USSR. He competed in the decathlon, winning a silver medal in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He was 1.90 m tall and weighed 86 kg . His trainer was Vladimir Zulin.He was born October 5, 1940, in the Nõmme district of Tallinn...		10.9 seconds	828	828	3
	Vasili Kuznetsov		10.9 seconds	828	828	3
5	Russell Arden Hodge		11.0 seconds	804	804	5
	Mikhail Storozhenko		11.0 seconds	804	804	5
	Hans-Joachim Walde Hans-Joachim Walde Hans-Joachim Walde is a West German former track and field athlete who competed mainly in the decathlon.Walde competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo in the decathlon, where he won the bronze medal. He returned for the 1968 Summer Olympics held in Mexico...		11.0 seconds	804	804	5
	Yang Chuan Kwang		11.0 seconds	804	804	5
9	Dramane Sereme		11.1 seconds	780	780	9
	Suzuki Shosuke		11.1 seconds	780	780	9
	Valbjørn Thorlaksson		11.1 seconds	780	780	9
12	Horst Beyer Horst Beyer Horst Beyer is a Paralympian athlete from Germany competing mainly in category P42 pentathlon events. He competed for West Germany in the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, South Korea. There he finished sixth in the men's Discus throw - A2A9 event, finished fifth in the men's Javelin throw - A2A9...		11.2 seconds	756	756	12
	Richard John Emberger		11.2 seconds	756	756	12
	Bill Gairdner Bill Gairdner William Gairdner attended Appleby College in Oakville, and is now a resident of Willowdale, Ontario. He is a retired track and field athlete, who represented Canada in the men's 400 m hurdles and the men's decathlon at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan...		11.2 seconds	756	756	12
	Paul Irvin Herman		11.2 seconds	756	756	12
16	Alois Buchel		11.3 seconds	733	733	16
	Werner Duttweiler		11.3 seconds	733	733	16
	Eef Kamerbeek		11.3 seconds	733	733	16
	Franco Sar		11.3 seconds	733	733	16
20	Guerrino Moro		11.6 seconds	665	665	20
21	Koech Kiprop		11.7 seconds	643	643	21
	Wu Ar Min		11.7 seconds	643	643	21
—	Samir Ambrose Vincent		Did not start	Did not start		—

Long jump

Place	Athlete	Nation	Distance	Points
				Event	Total	Rank
1	Rein Aun		7.22 metres	865	1693	3
	Mikhail Storozhenko		7.22 metres	865	1669	4
3	Hans-Joachim Walde		7.21 metres	863	1667	5
4	Horst Beyer		7.02 metres	824	1580	8
5	Willi Holdorf		7.00 metres	820	1699	1
	Hector Thomas		7.00 metres	820	1699	1
7	Vasili Kuznetsov		6.98 metres	816	1644	6
8	Paul Irvin Herman		6.97 metres	814	1570	10
9	Werner Duttweiler		6.94 metres	808	1541	11
10	Alois Buchel		6.81 metres	780	1513	13
11	Yang Chuan Kwang		6.80 metres	778	1582	7
12	Russell Arden Hodge		6.75 metres	767	1571	9
13	Richard John Emberger		6.72 metres	761	1517	12
14	Eef Kamerbeek		6.56 metres	728	1461	17
15	Suzuki Shosuke		6.53 metres	721	1501	14
16	Dramane Sereme		6.51 metres	717	1497	15
17	Koech Kiprop		6.50 metres	715	1358	20
18	Valbjoern Thorlaksson		6.43 metres	699	1479	16
19	Bill Gairdner		6.40 metres	693	1449	18
20	Franco Sar		6.31 metres	673	1406	19
21	Guerrino Moro		6.20 metres	648	1313	21
22	Wu Ar Min		5.90 metres	582	1225	22
—	Samir Ambrose Vincent		—	Did not start		—

Shot put

Storozhenko moved from fourth place to first with his performance in the shot put, as Thomas dropped from the lead to eighth.

Place	Athlete	Nation	Distance	Points
				Event	Total	Rank
1	Mikhail Storozhenko		16.37 metres	868	2537	1
2	Willi Holdorf		14.95 metres	786	2485	2
3	Russell Arden Hodge		14.93 metres	784	2355	6
4	Hans-Joachim Walde		14.45 metres	756	2423	3
5	Eef Kamerbeek		14.40 metres	753	2214	12
6	Horst Beyer		14.32 metres	747	2327	7
7	Vasili Kuznetsov		14.06 metres	732	2376	5
8	Paul Irvin Herman		13.89 metres	721	2291	9
9	Rein Aun		13.82 metres	717	2410	4
10	Werner Duttweiler		13.80 metres	716	2257	11
11	Franco Sar		13.60 metres	702	2108	16
12	Bill Gairdner		13.38 metres	689	2138	14
13	Yang Chuan Kwang		13.23 metres	680	2262	10
14	Valbjoern Thorlaksson		13.10 metres	671	2150	13
15	Guerrino Moro		12.62 metres	640	1953	20
16	Hector Thomas		12.42 metres	627	2326	8
17	Alois Buchel		12.16 metres	610	2123	15
18	Richard John Emberger		11.80 metres	586	2103	17
19	Suzuki Shosuke		11.35 metres	556	2057	18
20	Dramane Sereme		11.03 metres	504	2031	19
21	Wu Ar Min		10.67 metres	509	1734	22
22	Koech Kiprop		10.55 metres	500	1758	21
—	Samir Ambrose Vincent		—	Did not start		—

High jump

Wu dropped out of contention after three events, not competing in the high jump.

Place	Athlete	Nation	Height	Points
				Event	Total	Rank
1	Hans-Joachim Walde		1.96 metres	822	3245	2
2	Rein Aun		1.93 metres	796	3206	3
	Werner Duttweiler		1.93 metres	796	3053	6
4	Horst Beyer		1.90 metres	769	3096	5
	Richard John Emberger		1.90 metres	769	2872	12
6	Paul Irvin Herman		1.87 metres	743	3034	7
	Koech Kiprop		1.87 metres	743	2601	19
8	Mikhail Storozhenko		1.84 metres	716	3253	1
	Willi Holdorf		1.84 metres	716	3201	4
10	Yang Chuan Kwang		1.81 metres	689	2951	11
	Valbjoern Thorlaksson		1.81 metres	689	2839	13
	Alois Buchel		1.81 metres	689	2812	14
13	Russell Arden Hodge		1.75 metres	634	2989	8
	Hector Thomas		1.75 metres	634	2960	10
	Franco Sar		1.75 metres	634	2742	16
16	Vasili Kuznetsov		1.70 metres	588	2964	9
	Eef Kamerbeek		1.70 metres	588	2802	15
	Bill Gairdner		1.70 metres	588	2726	17
	Suzuki Shosuke		1.70 metres	588	2645	18
	Guerrino Moro		1.70 metres	588	2541	20
21	Dramane Sereme		1.60 metres	493	2524	21
—	Wu Ar Min		Withdrew	—	1734	—
—	Samir Ambrose Vincent		—	Did not start		—

400 metres

Storozhenko, leading after four, finished last in the 400 metres, falling to fifth place.

Place	Athlete	Nation	Time	Points
				Event	Total	Rank
1	Willi Holdorf		48.2 seconds	889	4090	1
2	Rein Aun		48.8 seconds	861	4067	3
3	Yang Chuan Kwang		49.0 seconds	852	3803	9
4	Richard John Emberger		49.1 seconds	847	3719	11
5	Paul Irvin Herman		49.2 seconds	842	3876	6
	Bill Gairdner		49.2 seconds	842	3568	15
7	Hans-Joachim Walde		49.5 seconds	829	4074	2
	Vasili Kuznetsov		49.2 seconds	842	3793	10
9	Russell Arden Hodge		49.6 seconds	824	3813	8
10	Alois Buchel		49.7 seconds	819	3631	14
11	Horst Beyer		49.8 seconds	814	3910	4
12	Valbjoern Thorlaksson		50.1 seconds	801	3640	13
13	Werner Duttweiler		50.5 seconds	784	3837	7
14	Suzuki Shosuke		50.8 seconds	770	3415	18
15	Dramane Sereme		51.2 seconds	753	3277	20
16	Hector Thomas		51.4 seconds	744	3704	12
17	Eef Kamerbeek		52.0 seconds	720	3522	16
	Guerrino Moro		52.0 seconds	720	3261	21
19	Franco Sar		52.2 seconds	712	3454	17
20	Koech Kiprop		52.8 seconds	687	3288	19
21	Mikhail Storozhenko		53.6 seconds	655	3908	5
—	Wu Ar Min		Withdrew	—	1734	—
—	Samir Ambrose Vincent		—	Did not start		—

First day rankings

1. Willi Holdorf, 4090 points
2. Hans-Joachim Walde, 4074 points
3. Rein Aun, 4067 points
4. Horst Beyer, 3910 points
5. Mikhail Storozhenko, 3908 points
6. Paul Irvin Herman, 3876 points
7. Werner Duttweiler, 3837 points
8. Russell Arden Hodge, 3813 points
9. Yang Chuan Kwang, 3803 points
10. Vasili Kuznetsov, 3793 points
11. Richard John Emberger, 3719 points
12. Hector Thomas, 3704 points
13. Valbjoern Thorlaksson, 3640 points
14. Alois Buchel, 3631 points
15. Bill Gairdner, 3568 points
16. Eef Kamerbeek, 3522 points
17. Franco Sar, 3454 points
18. Suzuki Shosuke, 3415 points
19. Koech Kiprop, 3288 points
20. Dramane Sereme, 3277 points
21. Guerrino Moro, 3261 points
22. Wu Ar Min, 1734 points (withdrew)
23. Samir Ambrose Vincent, 0 points (withdrew)

110 metre hurdles

Kamerbeek became the second decathlete to drop out.

Place	Athlete	Nation	Time	Points
				Event	Total	Rank
1	Yang Chuan Kwang		14.7 seconds	881	4684	7
2	Franco Sar		14.8 seconds	870	4324	15
3	Vasili Kuznetsov		14.9 seconds	859	4652	8
	Richard John Emberger		14.9 seconds	859	4578	10
5	Willi Holdorf		15.0 seconds	848	4938	1
	Mikhail Storozhenko		15.0 seconds	848	4756	4
7	Koech Kiprop		15.1 seconds	837	4125	17
8	Horst Beyer		15.2 seconds	827	4737	5
	Paul Irvin Herman		15.2 seconds	827	4703	6
10	Hans-Joachim Walde		15.3 seconds	817	4891	2
11	Bill Gairdner		15.4 seconds	807	4375	14
12	Valbjoern Thorlaksson		15.6 seconds	787	4427	12
13	Rein Aun		15.9 seconds	757	4824	3
	Werner Duttweiler		15.9 seconds	757	4594	9
15	Russell Arden Hodge		16.0 seconds	748	4561	11
16	Dramane Sereme		16.4 seconds	712	3989	19
17	Suzuki Shosuke		16.5 seconds	703	4118	18
18	Hector Thomas		16.7 seconds	685	4389	13
19	Guerrino Moro		16.8 seconds	676	3937	20
20	Alois Buchel		17.5 seconds	621	4252	16
—	Eef Kamerbeek		Withdrew	—	3522	—
—	Wu Ar Min		Withdrew	—	1734	—
—	Samir Ambrose Vincent		—	Did not start		—

Discus throw

Place	Athlete	Nation	Distance	Points
				Event	Total	Rank
1	Franco Sar		47.46 metres	827	5151	11
2	Willi Holdorf		46.05 metres	801	5739	1
3	Horst Beyer		45.17 metres	784	5521	4
4	Russell Arden Hodge		44.64 metres	775	5336	9
5	Rein Aun		44.19 metres	766	5590	3
6	Paul Irvin Herman		44.15 metres	765	5468	6
7	Vasili Kuznetsov		43.81 metres	759	5411	7
8	Hans-Joachim Walde		43.15 metres	747	5638	2
	Mikhail Storozhenko		43.15 metres	747	5503	5
10	Bill Gairdner		42.91 metres	742	5117	13
11	Guerrino Moro		40.90 metres	703	4640	19
12	Valbjoern Thorlaksson		39.70 metres	680	5107	14
13	Yang Chuan Kwang		39.59 metres	677	5361	8
14	Hector Thomas		38.43 metres	654	5043	15
15	Alois Buchel		37.19 metres	629	4881	16
16	Richard John Emberger		35.32 metres	590	5168	10
17	Suzuki Shosuke		35.24 metres	589	4707	17
18	Koech Kiprop		33.07 metres	542	4667	18
19	Werner Duttweiler		32.66 metres	533	5127	12
20	Dramane Sereme		29.24 metres	457	4446	20
—	Eef Kamerbeek		Withdrew	—	3522	—
—	Wu Ar Min		Withdrew	—	1734	—
—	Samir Ambrose Vincent		—	Did not start		—

Pole vault

Duttweiler and Thomas both dropped out before the pole vault. Yang continued to advance, and Herman and Kuznetsov also moved into position to challenge for medals, while Beyer dropped out of contention into 8th place. Holdorf's lead grew to almost 130 points, almost unassailable, and nearly as many as the 150 that separated 2nd from 5th places.

Place	Athlete	Nation	Height	Points
				Event	Total	Rank
1	Yang Chuan Kwang		4.60 metres	957	6318	6
	Guerrino Moro		4.60 metres	957	5597	15
3	Vasili Kuznetsov		4.40 metres	909	6320	5
	Valbjoern Thorlaksson		4.40 metres	909	6016	10
5	Paul Irvin Herman		4.35 metres	896	6364	4
6	Suzuki Shosuke		4.25 metres	871	5578	16
7	Willi Holdorf		4.20 metres	859	6598	1
	Rein Aun		4.20 metres	859	6449	3
	Franco Sar		4.20 metres	859	6010	11
10	Hans-Joachim Walde		4.10 metres	832	6470	2
11	Koech Kiprop		4.05 metres	820	5487	17
12	Mikhail Storozhenko		4.00 metres	807	6310	7
	Alois Buchel		4.00 metres	807	5688	14
14	Horst Beyer		3.80 metres	754	6275	8
15	Russell Arden Hodge		3.70 metres	728	6064	9
	Richard John Emberger		3.70 metres	728	5896	12
17	Bill Gairdner		3.40 metres	644	5761	13
18	Dramane Sereme		2.60 metres	403	4849	18
—	Werner Duttweiler		Withdrew	—	5127	—
—	Hector Thomas		Withdrew	—	5043	—
—	Eef Kamerbeek		Withdrew	—	3522	—
—	Wu Ar Min		Withdrew	—	1734	—
—	Samir Ambrose Vincent		—	Did not start		—

Javelin throw

In the javelin throw, Yang won another event, moving up to fourth place. Holdorf fared poorly, his lead shrinking to 60 points, but with Walde increasing to 67 points ahead of Aun in third place, a German gold medal was nearly assured and the top pair was looking quite likely. In contrast, Yang was only 23 points behind Aun in an effort to knock the Soviet off the medal platform. Kuznetsov was still only a point behind Yang and Herman was not far from them either.

Place	Athlete	Nation	Height	Points
				Event	Total	Rank
1	Yang Chuan Kwang		68.15 metres	858	7176	4
2	Vasili Kuznetsov		67.87 metres	855	7175	5
3	Paul Irvin Herman		63.35 metres	802	7166	6
4	Hans-Joachim Walde		62.90 metres	796	7266	2
5	Bill Gairdner		59.72 metres	758	6519	13
6	Rein Aun		59.06 metres	750	7199	3
	Mikhail Storozhenko		59.06 metres	750	7060	7
8	Horst Beyer		58.17 metres	738	7013	8
9	Richard John Emberger		57.54 metres	731	6627	12
10	Willi Holdorf		57.37 metres	728	7326	1
11	Valbjoern Thorlaksson		56.19 metres	714	6730	9
12	Koech Kiprop		55.54 metres	705	6192	16
13	Franco Sar		53.59 metres	680	6690	11
14	Suzuki Shosuke		51.88 metres	658	6236	15
15	Russell Arden Hodge		50.21 metres	636	6700	10
16	Dramane Sereme		48.46 metres	612	5461	18
17	Guerrino Moro		46.63 metres	587	6184	17
18	Alois Buchel		44.90 metres	562	6250	14
—	Werner Duttweiler		Withdrew	—	5127	—
—	Hector Thomas		Withdrew	—	5043	—
—	Eef Kamerbeek		Withdrew	—	3522	—
—	Wu Ar Min		Withdrew	—	1734	—
—	Samir Ambrose Vincent		—	Did not start		—

1500 metres

The final event was the 1500 metres. Emberger was the fastest in the event, but still finished in 10th place overall. Aun, with a 67-point deficit to catch Walde for the silver medal, needed to run approximately 10 seconds faster than the German. His 4:22.3 was more than enough to beat Walde's 4:37.5, giving Aun 100 more points than Walde and the silver medal. Yang and Kuznetsov, who had been threatening to join the medalists, each dropped in the rankings after the 1500.

Place	Athlete	Nation	Time	Points
				Event	Total	Rank
1	Richard John Emberger		4:19.3	665	7292	10
2	Rein Aun		4:22.3	643	7842	2
3	Horst Beyer		4:23.6	634	7647	6
4	Bill Gairdner		4:24.5	628	7147	11
5	Russell Arden Hodge		4:24.9	629	7325	9
6	Paul Irvin Herman		4:25.4	621	7787	4
7	Suzuki Shosuke		4:28.1	602	6838	15
8	Alois Buchel		4:28.6	599	6849	14
9	Willi Holdorf		4:34.3	561	7887	1
10	Hans-Joachim Walde		4:37.5	543	7809	3
11	Guerrino Moro		4:38.8	532	6716	16
12	Koech Kiprop		4:41.6	515	6707	17
13	Yang Chuan Kwang		4:48.4	474	7650	5
14	Dramane Sereme		4:51.5	456	5917	18
15	Valbjoern Thorlaksson		5:00.6	405	7135	12
16	Mikhail Storozhenko		5:00.7	404	7464	8
17	Vasili Kuznetsov		5:02.5	394	7569	7
18	Franco Sar		5:08.4	364	7054	13
—	Werner Duttweiler		Withdrew	—	5127	—
—	Hector Thomas		Withdrew	—	5043	—
—	Eef Kamerbeek		Withdrew	—	3522	—
—	Wu Ar Min		Withdrew	—	1734	—
—	Samir Ambrose Vincent		—	Did not start		—

Final standings

Place	Athlete	Nation	Points
1	Willi Holdorf		7887
2	Rein Aun		7842
3	Hans-Joachim Walde		7809
4	Paul Irvin Herman		7787
5	Yang Chuan Kwang		7650
6	Horst Beyer		7647
7	Vasili Kuznetsov		7569
8	Mikhail Storozhenko		7464
9	Russell Arden Hodge		7325
10	Richard John Emberger		7292
11	Bill Gairdner		7147
12	Valbjoern Thorlaksson		7135
13	Franco Sar		7054
14	Alois Buchel		6849
15	Suzuki Shosuke		6838
16	Guerrino Moro		6716
17	Koech Kiprop		6707
18	Dramane Sereme		5917
—	Werner Duttweiler		Did not finish 5127 after 7 events
	Hector Thomas		Did not finish 5043 after 7 events
	Eef Kamerbeek		Did not finish 3522 after 5 events
	Wu Ar Min		Did not finish 1734 after 3 events
	Samir Ambrose Vincent		Did not start