The sport of track and field is populated mostly by specialists. Each athlete chooses a particular event that suits his physical capabilities. Athletes with great speed will do well in the sprints, such as the 100 or 200 meter dashes. Those with unusual strength may learn to throw the javelin, shot put, or hammer. The high jump, long jump, and triple jump reward athletes with agility and spring. Finally, endurance is the necessity for the long distance runner.
The sport features one exception to this specialization. The decathlete must be an all-around athlete-fast, strong, agile, and able to meet the test of endurance. Relatively few track and field athletes have the physical and mental characteristics to be good decathletes. Those who do are considered the best all-around athletes in the world.
Competition in the decathlon takes place during two consecutive days and may last 8-10 hours each day. Events on day 1 include the 100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400-meter run. Day 2 events are the 110-meter hurdle race (over ten 42-inch barriers), discuss, pole vault, javelin, and 1500-meter run.
In each event, the athletes earn points for their performances. The points are drawn from a scoring table that is governed by the International Amateur Athletic Federation. In a sense, the athletes compete not against themselves but rather against these scoring tables. The winner in the decathlon competition does not need to place first in any event. He only needs to accumulate the greatest number of points from all 10 events. Thus, the decathlon rewards balance. The best decathlete has the most efficient combination of speed, strength, technique, and endurance so as to perform well enough in all events to score the most points.
For more information about the decathlon, consult these helpful references:
A Basic Guide to Decathlon (an official U.S. Olympic Committee Sports Series), by Frank Zarnowski. 1996. 140 pages. Order from Griffin Publishing, 544 W. Colorado St., Glendale, CA 91204. 1-818-244-2128. Fax: 1-818-242-1172
Olympic Glory Denied: And a Final Opportunity for Glory Restored, by Frank Zarnowski. (The story of Dan O'Brien and 10 other decathletes: only Dan O'Brien received a second chance for Olympic glory.) June 1996. 288 pages. Order from Frank Zarnowski, 58 Second Ave., Emmitsburg, MD 21727. $18.95 plus $1.50 S&H. 1-301-447-6255
Condensed Decathlon Scoring
The following tables list the points athletes earn for their performances in each event of the decathlon. These tables, compiled by Frank Zarnowski for use on this web site, are condensed versions of the actual tables used in scoring the decathlon. For example, the times given for the 100-meters dash are in tenths of a second, whereas the scoring is done in hundredths of a second.
Each event has seven reference points covering a wide range of performances. Most athletes would be able to achieve a mark within these ranges.
For field events, which involve distance and height, performances are given in both meters and feet/inches. In the decathlon, every mark is measured metrically, then converted to feet/inches.
100 Meters
11.6 seconds 683 points
11.4 " 723 "
11.2 " 765 "
11.0 " 808 "
10.8 " 852 "
10.6 " 897 "
10.4 " 942 "
Long Jump
6.20 meters 20-41/4 630 points
6.80 " 21-4 697 "
7.67 " 22-2 3/4 767 "
7.10 " 23-3 1/2 838 "
7.40 " 24-3 1/2 910 "
7.70 " 25-3 1/4 985 "
8.00 " 26-3 1061 "
Shot Put
11.00 meters 36-11/4 546 points
12.00 " 39-4 1/2 606 "
13.00 " 42-8 667 "
14.00 " 45-11 1/4 728 "
15.00 " 49-2 1/2 790 "
16.00 " 52-6 851 "
17.00 " 55-9 1/4 913 "
High Jump
1.85 meters 6-03/4 670 points
1.90 " 6-2 3/4 714 "
1.95 " 6-4 3/4 758 "
2.00 " 6-6 3/4 803 "
2.05 " 6-8 3/4 850 "
2.10 " 6-10 3/4 896 "
2.15 " 7-0 1/2 944 "
400 Meters
52.0 seconds 719 points
51.0 " 763 "
50.0 " 808 "
49.0 " 855 "
48.0 " 902 "
47.0 " 951 "
46.0 " 1001 "
110 Meter Hurdles
16.5 seconds 652 points
16.0 " 706 "
15.5 " 762 "
15.0 " 821 "
14.5 " 881 "
14.0 " 944 "
13.5 " 1008 "
Discus
40.00 meters 131-3 665 points
42.00 " 137-9 705 "
44.00 " 144-4 746 "
46.00 " 150-11 787 "
48,00 " 157-6 829 "
50.00 " 164-0 870 "
52.00 " 170-7 912 "
Pole Vault
3.60 meters 11-93/4 509 points
3.90 " 12-9 1/2 590 "
4.20 " 13-9 1/4 673 "
4.50 " 14-9 760 "
4.80 " 15-9 849 "
5.10 " 16-8 3/4 941 "
5.40 " 17-8 1/2 1035 "
Javelin
51.00 meters 167-6 603 points
54.00 " 177-2 648 "
57.00 " 187-0 693 "
60.00 " 196-10 738 "
63.00 " 206-8 783 "
66.00 " 216-6 829 "
69.00 " 226-4 874 "
1500 Meters
5:10.0 mins / secs 504 points
5:00.0 " 560 "
4:50.0 " 619 "
4:40.0 " 680 "
4:30.0 " 745 "
4:20.0 " 812 "
4:10.0 " 881 "