Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's decathlon



The Men's Decathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Stadium Australia on Wednesday 27 September and Thursday 28 September 2000.

The winning margin was 36 points. As of 2023, this is the narrowest winning margin in the Olympic decathlon since the introduction of the 1984 scoring tables and the only time the Olympic decathlon has been won by fewer than 50 points over this same period.

After the first day of the contest, Chris Huffins found himself in an eight-point lead ahead of Dean Macey. Erki Nool and Tom Pappas occupied the next places. On the next day, Nool dropped to fifth place after the 110 metres hurdles but advanced again after the controversial discus contest. Starting with two foul attempts, Nool was originally fouled in his third and last attempt as well, which would have resulted in him getting 0 points and falling out of the leading group. However, Nool successfully appealed the ring-foul ruling and had his throw measured to 43.66 metres which saw him climb one place. The British delegation, representing Macey, protested to no avail.

Following Nool's strong result in the javelin throw event Huffins' lead had shrunk to only 14 points before the 1500 metres. As this was a weak event for Huffins he looked set to lose out in the medal chase; however, he managed to lower his personal best time by twelve seconds and grasped a bronze medal. Reigning world champion and world record holder Tomáš Dvořák struggled with a knee problem throughout the competition and finished in a disappointing sixth place.

Medalists
''Šebrle would go on to break the world record in 2001 and win the gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in a new Olympic record. Huffins retired from international athletics after the end of the season.''

Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in points) prior to the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Overall results
The best marks for each event were split between eight competitors with the gold medallist claiming none but placing second in three of them.

Flying points table after final event: