decathlete

From deca- +‎ athlete.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /diːˈkæθliːt/

decathlete (plural decathletes)

1. (athletics) An athlete who competes in the decathlon.
   • 2007 September 2, Juliet Macur, “Decathletes Struggle for Any Recognition”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     Simply to see what would happen, Paul Terek, a United States decathlete, wore a baseball cap bearing his name in Japanese when he landed at the Osaka airport a few weeks ago. Some children there took the bait.

   • 2021 July 6, Shauna Farnell, “An Olympic Hurdle: Why Is the Decathlon Only for Men?”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:

     “Heptathlon is very geared and favorable to those who are quick,” said Gray’s coach, Andy Eggerth, who trains both heptathletes and decathletes. “A lot of world-class heptathletes are relatively bad at javelin and shot-put.”

• heptathlete