The pole vault is one of the ten disciplines of the decathlon
The notion of decathlon appears in the field of athletics . This is the name given to the set of a dozen competitive events that an athlete practices on two consecutive days and according to a certain order established by regulation.
Decathlon structure
The decathlon includes three jumping, three throwing, and four running competitions. At least half an hour usually passes between one test and another, while the usual thing is that there is an interval of ten hours between the final test of the first day and the initial test of the second day.
Athletes who compete in the decathlon are usually grouped according to their records : it is intended that those who have similar records form part of the same series. At the end of each test , the corresponding scores and the accumulated total are announced.
Typically, on the first day of the decathlon, successively competed in the one hundred meter dash ( one hundred meter dash ), long jump ( long jump ), shot put ( shot put ), high jump ( high jump ) and four hundred plain meters ( four hundred smooth meters ). The next day, the order of the tests is as follows: one hundred and ten meters hurdles , discus throw , pole vault ( pole vault ), javelin throw and finally one thousand five hundred meters flat ( one thousand five hundred meters dash ).
Scoring system
To qualify the athletes participating in the decathlon, the scoring system used is based on a series of parameters or constants specific to each discipline, which are accommodated in one of two equations, depending on whether it is a track event or a field event. . For track ones we use INT(A*(BP) C ) , while for field ones we use INT(A*(PB) C ) .
First we notice the INT() function, which encloses the rest of the operation. Its objective is to convert the result of the other accounts to a positive integer, that is, to remove the negative sign (if it exists) and the decimal digits. For example, -15.23 passed through this function becomes 15 . With respect to parameters A, B and C , their respective values are available in the regulations, in a table where three particulars correspond to each discipline.
Finally we have the variable P , which represents the mark that the athlete obtains. In track events, it is measured in seconds; in jumps, in centimeters; in launches, in meters. It is important not to confuse this scoring system with the tables prepared by Bojidar Spiriev , a statistician of Bulgarian origin born in the first half of the 20th century, which serve to measure and contrast the relative quality of each athlete's record in the various events.
The decathlon and gender
It should be noted that the men's decathlon has been an Olympic discipline since Stockholm 1912 . In the women's branch , on the other hand, the decathlon is not an Olympic combined event, but rather an equivalent one is used: the heptathlon (which is made up of seven events).
It is expected that the Olympic women's decathlon will be approved by 2024
As of 2021, the women's decathlon is not part of the Olympic Games , although there are movements to change this reality of inequality. An important name in this area is the American Olympic athlete Jordan Gray , who aims to leave this absurd difference behind by the year 2024, when Paris will host the Olympics.
As is often the case in this era, the signature meeting is one of the tools with which Gray and his followers pursue change. But it also contributes with information that does not always transcend conservative media, such as the fact that more than one government body has already approved the women's decathlon , so that it is not an isolated or capricious dream, but a reality. imminent.