decathlon

[DecaRag]

I was a decathlete from 1980-1984 after being a high school pole vaulter and hurdler in three different high schools (my dad being a coach, we moved around some). I was an overall high-point winner in some high school meets, but did not always win the events I entered.

What I've found is that you must have good speed and agility (thus pole vault and hurdles is a good test), a good frame to handle the amount of weight training and running that will be required to improve, but more importantly an internal burning desire to improve yourself through hard work, without the motivation of being in the highlight as are some individual event athletes. You know, about the only time you hear of the decathlon in the general media is during the Olympics...

Decathlon is an unusual event - you are competing against other athletes, but mostly against yourself and the scale. Most decathletes, from my experience, enjoy seeing others in the "fraternity" improve because they understand the amount of work it takes to get there. Sure, they want to win, but more especially they each want to improve themselves by gaining on the elusive goal of setting a PR in every event so they be the best in the one.

My teammate (Jim Jones - 2 time MVC decathlon champ) summed it up pretty well when he penned the following writing... hope you enjoy it.

Decathlon Creed

Brethren of the Decathlon Faith:

We are bound together by a common purpose -
To strive for proficiency in ten events
in order that we might be excellent in one.

With Rolex consistency, we press onward toward
the goal that is set before us.

We will not be denied the opportunity to compete
and to pursue our vision,

To grasp the ultimate evasive challenge of
combining ten personal records in a single decathlon.

And let us not lose heart in the seemingly endless futility of training.
For we have faith that we can, we will, we must, we shall succeed.

And neither pain, nor injury, nor exhaustion, nor any other hurdle
can prevent us from emerging victorious.

Down deep everyone dreams of being a decathlete,
but only a devoted few are willing to pay the price
to make those dreams come true.

The most important thing in the decathlon
is not winning the award,
but to struggle, to persist, to conquer thyself,
and to triumph over the scale.

Written by Jim Jones (West Texas State University - 1980)

[DecaRag]

By the way, the decathlon is done in two consecutive days as follows:

Day 1
100m
LJ
SP
HJ
400m

Day 2
110m HH
Discus
PV
Jav
1500m

Supposed to be 30 minutes between the end of one event and the start of the next. The jumps seem to take the longest amount of time - depending on the number of athletes, pits used, and range of heights among the competitors.

There are rules for decathlon different than regular T&F events...

Check out the site http://www.decathlonusa.org/ for more info.

[matthew2]

Where could I get a used javelin or cheap for a decathlon? We don't have javelin in Oklahoma high school so I can't get one from the school.

[CrossBarHOpper]

http://www.vaultworld.com/prsport/ has the best prices for most things but there not used. what high school are u from

[Flying D]

Hey everyone, since we are on the decathalon topic i have been pondering some thoughts. States and state opens just ended for me, and i cleared 13' both meets, besting my previous personal record which was 12'6. Althought a PR is always good, here is the problem. My school record is 13'4, and i just finished off my senior year 4 inches shy of it. The only meet i have left is the decathalon. I know i can get 13'6, but i have no clue how tired i will be during the decathalon. To anyone who has done it, is it really THAT cruel on your body that by pole vault it is hard to do good in, or is it really just what you have inside? I feel like i can break the record on the decathalon, but nobody seems to believe me. Any thoughts from fellow vaulters? I know i can find the will to do it on the inside, but is there a point in which your body just cant handle your desire?
Thanks
-john

[Rhino]

I have equalled my pole vault PR during a decathlon several times. I've also run better hurdle times in decath than in open meets, after feeling absolute rigor mortis in my legs after the 400. Decathlon is easier in some ways than competing in 4 events in a track meet and running all over the stadium to get from one event to another.

[Flying D]

yea i guess you have a good point there. nicely put, gives me some motivation

[JumpinSkiing]

I love the decathlon, we have one every year in New Hampshire, and i'll be going.

It's a ton of fun.

I usually run 4 events every meet.

[log2]

Wow I was just looking at the records for the decathlon, and I found an interesting one... the One Hour Decathlon... lol that would be hard, the score was 7897 by Robert Zmelik

[TheBigMastodon]

I have the first day of my first decathlon tomorrow. Wish me luck!

[TheBigMastodon]

Anyone have an idea what kinda of point total you would need in the decathlon in high school to get looks from D1 schools? Scholarships? I havent been able to find any info on this. I read in another forum that 6000 points your junior year could get you D1 offers.

[mrc]

[quote="TheBigMastodon"]Anyone have an idea what kinda of point total you would need in the decathlon in high school to get looks from D1 schools? Scholarships? I havent been able to find any info on this. I read in another forum that 6000 points your junior year could get you D1 offers.[/quote]

recruiting for the dec is a bit of tricky subject, largely because so few kids are exposed to the decathlon before high school and also, sadly, due to the nature of the event. I scored 6200 my junior year and it got me some looks from DI schools, it's not something I, nor many are going to get large offers from. Even after choosing to attend a DII school, I had to work my way up toward decent money.

Especially when looking at DI you have to realize that schools are only going to give money to kids they are going to get something back from in terms of points in meets. A good dec may score win the conference/national decathlon, but often a good sprinter will contribute points in the 100,200,400, and/or relays (ie Mr. Carter from LSU at NCAAs last week). If you're looking for a scholarship in the decathlon, it's almost better to have some key big events rather than a bigger overall score because you are only going to compete in a handful of decathlons a year, but you're still going to have dual meets and conference type stuff throughout the year. Someone like Trey Hardee is obviously an incredible decathlete but scoring 8400 points still only earns the team 10 points at conference or NCAAs. When you run under 10.5 and vault over 17 like he can, your team can get a lot more milage out of you at the meets you wont be competing in a dec.
It does however work the other way tho. Some decs may have an off year and don't do that well in the dec, but when it comes time to negotiate your scholarship at the end of the year and you're one of the top guys in the team in 4 or 5 events, you've still got something to work with.

To conclude tho im not trying to discourage, just throw in my experience as a west coast dec. I will never get rich off it and I may have a ton of sweet student loans haunting me for a while, but there is nothing more fulfilling than working your butt off for four years as a college decathlete.