Q & A #20 What are the 10 events in the Decathlon? What order?
Decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin, from δέκα (déka, meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "feat"). 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 by the position achieved.[1] The decathlon is contested mainly by male athletes, while female athletes typically compete in the heptathlon.
Traditionally, the title of "World's Greatest Athlete" has been given to the man who wins the Olympic decathlon. This began when King Gustav V of Sweden told Jim Thorpe, "You, sir, are the world's greatest athlete" after Thorpe won the decathlon at the Stockholm Olympics in 1912.[2] The currentdecathlon world record holder is American Ashton Eaton, who scored 9,039 points at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials.[3]
The event developed from the ancient pentathlon. Pentathlon competitions were held at the ancient Greek Olympics. Pentathlons involved five disciplines – long jump, discus throw, javelin throw, sprint and a wrestling match.[4] Introduced in Olympia during 708 BC, the competition was extremely popular for many centuries. By the 6th century BC, pentathlons had become part of religious games. The Amateur Athletic Union held "all around events" from the 1880s and a decathlon first appeared on the Olympic athletics program at the 1904 Games.[5]
Men's decathlon
The vast majority of international and top level men's decathlons are divided into a two-day competition, with the track and field events held in the order below. Traditionally, all decathletes who finished the event do a round of honour together after the competition, rather than just the winner or medalling athletes.
Women's decathlon
At major championships, the women's equivalent of the decathlon is the seven-event heptathlon; prior to 1981 it was the five-event pentathlon.[6] However, in 2001 the IAAF approved scoring tables for women's decathlon; the current world record holder is Austra Skujytė of Lithuania.[7] Women's disciplines differ from men's in the same way as for standalone events: the shot, discus and javelin weigh less, and the sprint hurdles uses lower hurdles over 100 m rather than 110 m. The points tables used are the same as for the heptathlon in the shared events. The schedule of events differs from the men's decathlon, with the field events switched between day one and day two; this is to avoid scheduling conflicts when men's and women's decathlon competitions take place simultaneously.[8]
Benchmarks
Split evenly between the events, the following table shows the benchmark levels needed to earn 1000, 900, 800 and 700 points in each sport.
Event
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1,000 pts
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900 pts
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800 pts
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700 pts
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Units
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100 m
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10.395
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10.827
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11.278
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11.756
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Seconds
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Long jump
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7.76
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7.36
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6.941
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6.51
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Metres
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Shot put
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18.4
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16.79
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15.16
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13.53
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Metres
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High jump
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2.20
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2.10
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1.99
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1.88
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Metres
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400 m
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46.17
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48.19
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50.32
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52.58
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Seconds
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110 m hurdles
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13.8
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14.59
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15.419
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16.29
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Seconds
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Discus throw
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56.17
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51.4
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46.59
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41.72
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Metres
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Pole vault
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5.28
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4.96
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4.63
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4.29
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Metres
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Javelin throw
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77.19
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70.67
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64.09
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57.45
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Metres
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1500 m
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3:53.79
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4:07.42
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4:21.77
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4:36.96
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Minutes:Seconds
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Records
The current world record holder for the decathlon is Ashton Eaton of the United States, with a score of 9039 points set during the 2012 Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon.[12]
Decathlon bestsThe total decathlon score for all world records in the respective events would be 12,544. The total decathlon score for all the best performances achieved during decathlons is 10,485. The difference column shows what percentage less the decathlon record is in event scoring (i.e. meters, seconds etc.) and the numerical difference in decathlon points (other than the totals section, which shows a percent difference in decathlon points as well). The relative differences in points are much higher in throwing events than in running and jumping events. World records (WR) compared to decathlon bests (DB)Event | WR–World record/ DB–Decathlon best | Athlete | Record | Score | Difference | Ref |
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100 m |
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WR | Usain Bolt (JAM) | 9.58 s | 1,202 | 158 | DB | Ashton Eaton (USA) | 10.21 s | 1,044 | 6.58% | [13] | Long jump |
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WR | Mike Powell (USA) | 8.95 m | 1,312 | 192 | DB | Ashton Eaton (USA) | 8.23 m | 1,120 | 8.04% | [14] | Shot put |
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WR | Randy Barnes (USA) | 23.12 m | 1,295 | 247 | DB | Edy Hubacher (SUI) | 19.17 m | 1,048 | 17.08% | High jump |
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WR | Javier Sotomayor (CUB) | 2.45 m | 1,244 | 183 | DB | Rolf Beilschmidt (GDR) &
Christian Schenk (GDR) | 2.27 m | 1,061 | 7.35% | 400 m |
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WR | Michael Johnson (USA) | 43.18 s | 1,156 | 131 | DB | Bill Toomey (USA) &
Ashton Eaton (USA) [15] | 45.68 s | 1,025 | 5.79% | [16] | 110 m hurdles |
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WR | Aries Merritt (USA) | 12.80 s | 1135 | 91 | DB | Ashton Eaton (USA) | 13.35 s | 1,044 | 4.66% | Discus throw |
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WR | Jürgen Schult (GDR) | 74.08 m | 1,383 | 390 | DB | Bryan Clay (USA) | 55.87 m | 993 | 24.58% | Pole vault |
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WR | Sergey Bubka (UKR) | 6.14 m | 1,277 | 125 | DB | Tim Lobinger (GER) | 5.76 m | 1,152 | 6.19% | Javelin throw |
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WR | Jan Železný (CZE) | 98.48 m | 1,331 | 291 | DB | Peter Blank (FRG) | 79.80 m | 1,040 | 18.80% | 1500 m |
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WR | Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) | 3 m 26.00 s | 1,218 | 255 | DB | Robert Baker (USA) | 3 m 58.70 s | 963 | 15.87% | Total | World record | 12,553 | 2,063 |
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Decathlon | 10,485 | 16.43%
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ASHTON EATONEvent: Decathlon Height: 6-1 Weight: 185 PR: Decathlon - 9,039 WR (2012); Heptathlon - 6,645iWR (2012) Born: 01/21/1988 Current Residence: Eugene, Ore.
Hometown: Bend, Ore. High School: Mountain View (Ore.) HS ‘06 College: Oregon ‘10 Coach: Harry Marra Agent: Paul Doyle Sponsor: Nike Club: Oregon TC Elite USA Championships Two-time USA Outdoor champion - 2011 (8,729); 2012 (9,039 WR) 2012 USA Indoor long jump champion (8.06m/26-5.5) 2009 USA Outdoor runner-up (8,075)
International Championships 2012 Olympic gold medalist (8,869) 2012 World Indoor gold medalist (6,645WR) 2011 World Outdoor silver medalist (8,505) Collegiate Championships Three-time NCAA decathlon champion - 2008 (8,055); 2009 (8,241); 2010 (8,457) Two-time NCAA heptathlon champion – 2009 (5,988); 2010 (6,499) Three-time Pac-10 champion - 2008 (7,604); 2009 (8,091); 2010 (8,154) Awards and Honors 2012 Jesse Owens Athlete of the Year Award winner 2010 Bowerman Award winner 2010 USTFCCCA Outdoor and Indoor Field Athlete of the Year World decathlon (9,039) and indoor heptathlon record holder (6,645) About Ashton In just three total multi-event competitions for Eaton in 2012, the former Oregon Duck standout set two world records and won an Olympic gold medal. He stole the stage during a rain-soaked Olympic Trials when he broke an 11-year old world record in the decathlon with 9,039 points. Needing to run 4:16.23 in the 1,500 meters to set the record, competitor Curtis Beach waved him through the finish in 4:14.48 before a deafening Hayward Field home crowd. Not giving the decathlon a thought until after high school, Eaton has improved his personal best by more than 900 points since 2008 and has set the world record in the indoor heptathlon three years in a row. When he first broke Dan O' Brien's heptathlon mark in 2010, he broke a record set when he was just five years old. Eaton qualified for his first World Outdoor Championships team in 2009 where he placed 18th. With quick, explosive events and just one throwing event, he indicated the heptathlon he is best suited. A one-man wrecking crew, at the 2008 Pac-10 Outdoor Championships, Eaton scored points for the Oregon Ducks in a total of five different events (decathlon, 200m, long jump, 4x100m and 4x400m). One of only four Ducks to ever break 8,000 points in the decathlon, as a prep star in Mountain View, Ore., he won Oregon 4A state titles as a senior in 2006 in the 400 meters (48.69) and long jump (24-0 1/4w), and was runner-up in the 200 meters (22.10) to land athlete of the meet honors. Also lettered in football as a running back and wrestled. His grandfather, James Eaton, was a Michigan State halfback. Engaged to Oregon heptathlete and Canadian Olympian Brianne Theisen.
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