Combined events
Decathlon and heptathlon points calculator
Enter your marks to get the points for each event and your total. It covers the decathlon, the heptathlon, and the indoor pentathlon and heptathlon. Set a target score to see the marks you still need.
How it is calculated
Each mark is turned into points with one of three formulas. World Athletics publishes them in its scoring tables for combined events, with the values of a, b and c for each event.
Jumps: points = a × (M − b)c, with M in centimetres
Throws: points = a × (D − b)c, with D in metres
The result is always rounded down to a whole number. A mark at or below b scores zero: b is the cut-off. The total is the sum of the points of every event.
For the men’s 100 m, a is 25.4347, b is 18.00 and c is 1.81. A time of 10.62 gives 25.4347 × (18.00 − 10.62)1.81 = 947.56, which is rounded down to 947 points.
Hand times
The formulas are built for fully automatic times. With hand timing, add 0.24 s to times in events shorter than 400 m and 0.14 s in the 400 m, then score the result. Nothing is added from 800 m up. Choose Hand above and the calculator adds it for you.
Target score
Enter a target and leave the events you have not done yet empty. The calculator splits the points still needed evenly across those events and shows the mark that scores them in each one. It is one way to reach the target, not the only one: more points in your best event let you score fewer in another.
Worked example
As a check, the formulas reproduce the decathlon that won the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton, scored at 8,902 points. The first day was 10.62 in the 100 m (947 points), 8.07 m in the long jump (1,079), 16.57 m in the shot put (886), 2.00 m in the high jump (803) and 47.74 in the 400 m (922), for 4,637 points. Enter those marks above and you get the same points for each event.
The official scoring tables print the score sheets of the top three in the decathlon and the heptathlon at those championships. The calculator matches all 51 event scores and all six totals.
Limits
- This is a calculator, not an official result. Officials score competitions from the official tables.
- Wind does not change the points.
- In the high jump and pole vault the bar goes up in fixed steps of 3 cm and 10 cm, so a target height may need rounding up to the next height on the bar.
- Masters age factors are not applied.
Sources
Formulas, parameters, rounding and hand-timing adjustments: IAAF Scoring Tables for Combined Events, 2001 edition, reprinted 2016. Events and order: World Athletics Technical Rules, Rule 39 and the short track rules, in the World Athletics Book of Rules. StrideBuddy is not affiliated with World Athletics.
Questions
How are decathlon points calculated?
Each mark is turned into points with a published formula: a × (b − T)^c for running events, and a × (M − b)^c for jumps and throws. T is the time in seconds, and M is the jump in centimetres or the throw in metres. The result is rounded down, and the points of all events are added up.
What do I add to a hand time?
Add 0.24 seconds for events shorter than 400 m and 0.14 seconds for the 400 m. Nothing is added for the 800 m, 1000 m and 1500 m. The calculator does this when you choose hand timing.
Why does an event score zero?
Every event has a cut-off mark. A time at or slower than the cut-off, or a jump or throw at or below it, scores zero points. In the men’s 100 m the cut-off is 18.00 seconds.
Do younger athletes use different scoring tables?
No. Under World Athletics rules the same tables are used for every age group, even when the hurdles are lower or the implements are lighter. Masters competitions add age factors on top, which this calculator does not apply.
Keep your running training in one diary.
StrideBuddy is a training diary for track athletes. Log your sprint, hurdle and middle-distance sessions with every rep and split. It does not log jumps or throws.