You Are Here > SR/Olympics > Summer Games > 1928 Amsterdam > Athletics > Men's Decathlon

News: Sports-Reference.com Widgets - Our Stats, Your Site »post

Athletics at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games:

Men's Decathlon

Athletics at the 1928 Summer Games: Previous Summer Games ▪ Next Summer Games

Events:
Phases:

Host City: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Venue(s): Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam
Date Started: August 3, 1928
Date Finished: August 4, 1928
Format: Scoring by 1912B point tables.

Gold: FIN Paavo Yrjölä
Silver: FIN Akilles Järvinen
Bronze: USA Ken Doherty

Summary

Paavo Yrjölä’s victory at the 1928 decathlon was achieved with a world record of 8,053.290 points on the 1912B tables. Allowing for the conversion from the earlier tables, it was the first world record to better the hallowed mark of Jim Thorpe from the 1912 Olympics. Yrjölä won three of the 10 events, but did not take the lead until the discus throw. His lead was minimal through eight events (the pole vault), but he won the javelin throw and among the leaders had the fastest time in the 1,500 to pull ahead for the victory. His teammate, Akilles Järvinen, finished second, while three Americans placed 3rd, 4th, and 5th, led by bronze medalist, Ken Doherty, the 1928-29 US champion.

Final Standings

Rank Athlete Age Team NOC Medal P(1912BT) P(1985T)
1 Paavo Yrjölä 25 Finland FIN Gold 8,053.290 6.587 OR
2 Akilles Järvinen 22 Finland FIN Silver 7,931.500 6.645
3 Ken Doherty 23 United States USA Bronze 7,706.650 6.428
4 James Stewart 21 United States USA 7,624.135 6.310
5 Tom Churchill 20 United States USA 7,417.115 6.165
6 Helge Jansson 23 Sweden SWE 7,286.285 6.111
7 Ludwig Wessely 24 Austria AUT 7,274.850 6.224
8 Albert Andersson 26 Sweden SWE 7,108.435 6.031
9 Henry Lindblad 22 Sweden SWE 7,071.425 5.906
10 Wilhelm Ladewig 21 Germany GER 6,881.520 5.964
11 Hugo Barth 24 Germany GER 6,850.605 5.885
12 Tatsuo Toki 24 Japan JPN 6,757.605 5.794
13 Johan Meimer 23 Estonia EST 6,733.150 5.636
14 Sven Lundgren 26 Sweden SWE 6,727.045 5.878
15 Erwin Huber 21 Germany GER 6,702.820 5.789
16 Martti Tolamo 21 Finland FIN 6,642.115 5.736
17 Barney Berlinger 20 United States USA 6,619.375 5.499
18 Antoni Cejzik 28 Poland POL 6,356.280 5.415
19 Hermann Lemperle 21 Germany GER 6,293.755 5.484
20 Stelios Benardis Greece GRE 6,149.910 5.270
21 Mátyás Farkas 34 Hungary HUN 6,015.635 5.180
22 Yonetaro Nakazawa 24 Japan JPN 5,672.175 4.795
23 Gaston Étienne 26 Belgium BEL 5,256.625 4.577
24 Branko Kallay 19 Yugoslavia YUG 5,210.650 4.487
25 René Joannes-Powell 32 Belgium BEL 5,190.650 4.780
26 Gheorghe Csegezi Romania ROU 5,081.605 4.658
27 Gérard Noël 27 Belgium BEL 4,606.740 4.106
AC Con O'Callaghan Ireland IRL DNF
AC Howard Ford 22 Great Britain GBR DNF
AC Gaston Médécin 27 Monaco MON DNF
AC Adolf Meier 26 Switzerland SUI DNF
AC Johannes Viljoen 24 South Africa RSA DNF
AC Ion Haidu Romania ROU DNF
AC Gunnar Fredriksen 21 Norway NOR DNF
AC Gunnar Hagen 23 Norway NOR DNF
AC George Weightman-Smith 22 South Africa RSA DNF
AC Armas Wahlstedt 22 Finland FIN DNF
AC Virgil Ioan Romania ROU DNF