seitsemänottelussa

Seitsemänottelu is a Finnish term used for the seven-event athletics competition, commonly known as the heptathlon. It is a multi-discipline event in which athletes accumulate points across seven different track and field disciplines. In the most widely contested format, the outdoor women's heptathlon is held over two days and includes the following events: 100 metres hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 metres, long jump, javelin throw, and 800 metres. Indoor formats exist as well, using seven events with a different schedule and sometimes different disciplines.

Scoring in seitsemänottelu is based on the World Athletics scoring tables. For each event, performances convert to points according to a standard formula, and the points from all seven events are summed to determine the final ranking. There is no single winning distance or time; success depends on balancing speed, strength, and technique to maximize total points across all events.

History and usage: The seven-event format was adopted for women in the 1980s, replacing the pentathlon in many competitions, and the outdoor women's heptathlon became an Olympic event in 1984. The term seitsemänottelu is used in Finnish-language contexts to refer to this event, as well as to describe seven-discipline multi-event competitions more generally.

Notable records include the world best in the women’s outdoor heptathlon, which stands at 7291 points, set by Jackie Joyner-Kersee in 1988. The event remains a premier test of overall athletic versatility in track and field.