The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word was formed in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek ( ) and ( ). Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged not by the position achieved but rather on a points system in each event. 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 person who wins the decathlon. This began when Gustav V of Sweden told Jim Thorpe, "Sir, you are the world's greatest athlete" after Thorpe won the decathlon at the Stockholm Olympics in 1912.
The event is similar to the pentathlon held at the ancient Greek Olympics,Waldo E. Sweet, Erich Segal (1987). Sport and recreation in ancient Greece. Oxford University Press. (p37). Retrieved on 7 May 2011. and also similar to a competition called an "all-around", which was contested at the United States amateur championships in 1884. Another all-around was held at the 1904 Summer Olympics. The modern decathlon first appeared at the 1912 Games.
In modern athletics, the 10 events are: 100 metres, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 metres, 110 metres hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and 1500 metres. The current official decathlon world record holder is French athlete Kevin Mayer, who scored a total of 9126 points at the 2018 Décastar in France.
Historical background The decathlon developed from the ancient pentathlon competitions held at the ancient Greek Olympics. Pentathlons involved five disciplines – long jump, discus throw, javelin throw, sprint and a wrestling match. Introduced in Olympia during 708 BC, this competition was extremely popular for many centuries.
A ten-event competition known as the "all-around" or "all-round" championship, similar to the modern decathlon, was first contested at the United States amateur championships in 1884 and reached a consistent form by 1890. While an all-around event was held at the 1904 Summer Olympics, whether it was an official Olympic event has been disputed.
The modern decathlon first appeared in the Olympic athletics program at the 1912 Games in Stockholm.
Format
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 finish the event, rather than just the winner or medal-winning athletes, do a round of honour together after the competition. The current world record holder is Kevin Mayer from France with 9126 points which he set on 16 September 2018, in Talence, France.
Day 1 100 metres Long jump Shot put High jump 400 metres
Day 2 110 metres hurdles Discus throw Pole vault Javelin throw 1500 metres
Women's decathlon At major championships, the women's equivalent of the decathlon is the seven-event heptathlon; before 1981 it was the five-event pentathlon.IAAF Scoring Tables for Combined Events, p. 9. However, in 2001, the IAAF (now World Athletics) approved scoring tables for a women's decathlon; the current world record holder is Austra Skujytė of Lithuania, with 8358 points. 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 use lower hurdles over 100 m rather than 110 m. The points tables used are the same as for the heptathlon in the shared events. In some women's decathlon competitions, the schedule differs from the men's decathlon, with the field events switched between day one and day two. This rule was initially instituted to avoid scheduling conflicts when men's and women's decathlon competitions take place simultaneously, however by 2024 the rule was revised to allow conducting the women's decathlon using the men's event order.IAAF Scoring Tables for Combined Events, p. 10. The inaugural Women's Decathlon World Championships used the men's ordering of events.
Women's decathlon reversed field event order (optional)
Day 1 100 metres Discus throw Pole vault Javelin throw 400 metres
Day 2 100 metres hurdles Long jump Shot put High jump 1500 metres
One hour The one-hour decathlon is a special type of decathlon in which the athletes have to start the last of ten events (1500 m) within sixty minutes of the start of the first event. The world record holder is Czech decathlete Robert Změlík, who achieved 7897 points at a meeting in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, in 1992.
Masters athletics In Masters athletics, performance scores are age graded before being applied to the standard scoring table. This way, marks that would be competitive within an age division can get rated, even if those marks would not appear on the scale designed for younger age groups. Additionally, like women, the age divisions use different implement weights and lower hurdles. Based on this system, German Rolf Geese in the M60 division and American Robert Hewitt in the M80 divisions have set their respective world records over 8000 points. Using the same scale, Nadine O'Connor scored 10,234 points in the W65 division, the highest decathlon score ever recorded.
Points system
+ Parameter values by disciplineEvent A B C100 m 25.4347 18 1.81Long jump 0.14354 220 1.4Shot put 51.39 1.5 1.05High jump 0.8465 75 1.42400 m 1.53775 82 1.81110 m hurdles 5.74352 28.5 1.92Discus throw 12.91 4 1.1Pole vault 0.2797 100 1.35Javelin throw 10.14 7 1.081500 m 0.03768 480 1.85 The 2001 IAAF points tables use the following formulae:IAAF Scoring Tables for Combined Events, p. 24. Points = for track events (faster time produces a higher score) Points = for field events (greater distance or height produces a higher score)
, , and are parameters that vary by discipline, as shown in the adjacent table, while is the performance by the athlete, measured in seconds (running), metres (throwing), or centimetres (jumping).
The decathlon tables should not be confused with the scoring tables compiled by Bojidar Spiriev, to allow comparison of the relative quality of performances by athletes in different events. On those tables, for example, a decathlon score of 9006 points equates to 1265 "comparison points", the same number as a triple jump of 18 m.IAAF Scoring Tables of Athletics – Outdoor – 2008 Edition p. 154.
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 1000 pts 900 pts 800 pts 700 pts Unit100 m 10.395 10.827 11.278 11.756 SecondsLong jump 7.76 7.36 6.94 6.51 MetresShot put 18.40 16.79 15.16 13.53 MetresHigh jump 2.20 2.10 1.99 1.88 Metres400 m 46.17 48.19 50.32 52.58 Seconds110 m hurdles 13.80 14.59 15.419 16.29 SecondsDiscus throw 56.17 51.4 46.59 41.72 MetresPole vault 5.28 4.96 4.63 4.29 MetresJavelin throw 77.19 70.67 64.09 57.45 Metres1500 m 3:53.79 4:07.42 4:21.77 4:36.96 Minutes:Seconds
Calculator
Event Score Points s cm m cm s Day One — s m cm m m s Day Two — Total —
Records
The official men's decathlon world record holder is Kevin Mayer of France, with a score of 9126 points set during the 2018 Décastar in Talence, France, which was ratified by World Athletics.
The previous record from Ashton Eaton (9045 points):
Updated 8 August 2026:
Area Men Women Score Season Athlete Score Season Athlete World 9126 2018 8358 2005 Area records Africa 8521 2016 7014 a 2007 Asia 8725 2004 7798 2004 Europe 9126 2018 8358 2005 North, Central Americaand Caribbean 9045 2015 8246 b 2021 Oceania 8649 2021 5927 c 1999 South America 8393 2013 6570 2004 a Decathlon record not officially kept by the Confederation of African Athletics. b Decathlon record not officially kept by the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association. c In 2012 Simone Carrè (AUS) achieved a score of 6428 pts, but it was not ratified by the Oceania Athletics Association.
Decathlon bests Men The total decathlon score for all world records in the respective events would be 12,687. The total decathlon score for all the best performances achieved during decathlons is 10,685. The Difference column shows the difference in points between the decathlon points that the individual current world record would be awarded and the points awarded to the current decathlon record for that event. The relative differences in points are much higher in throwing events than in running and jumping events.
Decathlon bests are only recognized when an athlete completes the ten-event competition with a score of over 7000 points.van Kuijen, Hans (12 September 2013). Eaton and Melnychenko lead Talence fields, Lavillenie to make Decathlon debut – IAAF Combined Events Challenge. IAAF. Retrieved on 12 September 2013.
+Men's world records (WR) compared to decathlon bests (DB)EventTypeAthleteRecordScoreDiffDatePlace 100 mWR 9.58 1202 136 16 August 2009 Berlin DB 10.12 1066 25 May 2019 Götzis LongjumpWR 1312 118 30 August 1991 Tokyo DB 1194 30 May 2026 Götzis ShotputWR 1323 275 27 May 2023 Los Angeles DB 1048 5 October 1969 Bern HighjumpWR 1244 173 27 July 1993 Salamanca DB 1071 7 April 2017 Santa Barbara 400 mWR 43.03 1164 104 14 August 2016 Rio de Janeiro DB 45.00 1060 28 August 2015Beijing 110 mhurdlesWR 12.75 1142 83 10 June 2026 Eugene DB 13.36 1059 30 May 2021 Götzis DiscusthrowWR 1416 384 13 April 2025 Ramona DB 1032 6 June 2024 Eugene PolevaultWR 1335 183 12 March 2026 Uppsala DB 1152 16 September 1999 Leverkusen JavelinthrowWR 1331 291 25 May 1996 Jena DB 1040 19 July 1992 Emmelshausen 1500 mWR 3:26.00 1218 255 14 July 1998 Rome DB 3:58.7 963 3 April 1980 Austin Total World records 12,687 2002 Decathlon bests 10,685
Women +Women's decathlon bests (DB)EventAthleteRecordScoreDatePlace 100 m 11.80 991 8 August 2026 Oberlin Long jump 905 4 October 2020 Austin Shot put 959 14 April 2006 Columbia High jump 1054 14 April 2006 Columbia 400 m 54.0 1054 5 October 1997 Apeldoorn 100 m hurdles 13.57 1040 10 September 2000 Lage Discus throw 836 14 April 2006 Columbia Pole vault 1108 14 April 2006 Columbia Javelin throw 1024 26 September 2004 Talence 1500 m 4:50.76 889 9 August 2026 Oberlin
All-time top 25 men Correct as of July 2026.Decathlon – men – senior – outdoor. IAAF. Retrieved on 25 January 2014.