The short answer
Decathlon scoring turns each of ten marks into points using one formula, Points = A times (B minus P) to the power C for runs, flipped for jumps and throws. You add the ten scores. About 8000 points is elite, 9000 is world class, and Kevin Mayer's 9126 world record is the ceiling.
Key takeaways
- Each event uses Points = A x (B minus P) to the power C, with set constants per event
- Running events reward faster times; jumps and throws reward bigger marks
- 8000 points is national-elite, 8500 is world-class, 9000-plus is world-record territory
- Kevin Mayer's 9126 world record breaks down to roughly 850 to 1050 points per event
- The same scoring math runs the heptathlon, with seven events instead of ten
How decathlon scoring works
Decathlon scoring converts each of the ten marks into points, then adds them up. There is no head-to-head; you race the tables, not the man in the next lane. Win the 100m by a stride and you bank the points for your time, nothing more. That is why a decathlete can lose nine events and still win the meet on totals.
Every event runs through the same engine, the 2001 IAAF combined-events tables. For the three running events the score is Points = INT(A times (B minus P) to the power C), where P is your time and INT means round down. For the jumps and throws the performance term flips to A times (P minus B) to the power C, so a bigger distance or height scores higher. A, B and C are fixed constants unique to each event.
The ceiling
Kevin Mayer of France holds the men's decathlon world record at 9126 points, set in 2018. No one else has cleared 9100.
Source: Wikipedia, Decathlon (CC BY-SA)
The constants for all ten events
These are the published men's decathlon constants. You will not memorize them, but seeing them makes the system concrete. The C column is the shape of the curve: about 1.8 for sprints, near 1.4 for jumps, and just above 1.0 for throws. A higher C means the curve climbs more steeply as you improve.
Men's decathlon scoring constants
The A, B and C values plugged into the formula for each event.
| Event | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100m | 25.4347 | 18 | 1.81 |
| Long jump | 0.14354 | 220 | 1.40 |
| Shot put | 51.39 | 1.5 | 1.05 |
| High jump | 0.8465 | 75 | 1.42 |
| 400m | 1.53775 | 82 | 1.81 |
| 110m hurdles | 5.74352 | 28.5 | 1.92 |
| Discus | 12.91 | 4 | 1.10 |
| Pole vault | 0.2797 | 100 | 1.35 |
| Javelin | 10.14 | 7 | 1.08 |
| 1500m | 0.03768 | 480 | 1.85 |
A worked example helps. For the 100m, B is 18 and your time P slots into (18 minus P). Run 10.55 and you get (18 minus 10.55) to the power 1.81, times 25.4347, which rounds to 963 points. Run a flat 11.00 and the same formula gives 861. That 0.45-second gap is worth roughly 100 points, the kind of margin that decides medals.
Sample points per event
Here is what solid all-around marks score, so you can sanity-check a score sheet at a glance. Each of these lands near or above the 800-to-1000 band, which is what a 8000-plus decathlon is built from.
Sample decathlon marks and their points
Round-number marks scored on the men's decathlon tables.
| Event | Mark | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 100m | 10.50 | 975 |
| 100m | 11.00 | 861 |
| Long jump | 8.00m | 1061 |
| High jump | 2.00m | 803 |
| Shot put | 16.00m | 851 |
| 1500m | 4:00.00 | 953 |
Chase your weak score, not your best
Because the curve is progressive, going from 700 to 800 points in your worst event is usually easier than squeezing 950 to 1000 out of your best. The fastest path to a bigger total is almost always the event you avoid.
The 9126-point world record, broken down
Kevin Mayer set the record at 9126 points at Talence in 2018. What makes it the standard is balance: he has no soft spot. Below is the full breakdown, with each mark and the points it scored. Add the right column and it lands exactly on 9126.
Kevin Mayer, decathlon world record 9126 (2018)
Every mark and its points. The total is 9126.
| Event | Mark | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 100m | 10.55 | 963 |
| Long jump | 7.80m | 1010 |
| Shot put | 16.00m | 851 |
| High jump | 2.05m | 850 |
| 400m | 48.42 | 889 |
| 110m hurdles | 13.75 | 1007 |
| Discus | 50.54m | 882 |
| Pole vault | 5.45m | 1051 |
| Javelin | 71.90m | 918 |
| 1500m | 4:36.11 | 705 |
| Total | 9126 |
Read that table and the strategy of the event jumps out. Mayer's pole vault scored 1051 and his hurdles 1007, his two standout events. His 1500m, the closing grind, scored only 705, by far his lowest. That is normal. The 1500m is where most decathletes are weakest, and the tables are unforgiving there because the constant rewards genuinely fast distance running. A decathlete is, by design, a specialist in being good at everything and great at nothing.
What the score tiers mean
Treat these as a ladder. 8000 points is a strong national-class decathlete. 8500 is world-class and usually in the hunt at a global championship. 9000-plus is rarefied; only a handful of men in history have done it. Mayer's 9126 is the ceiling as of 2026. For context on building toward those marks, our decathlon training plan covers how to structure the ten events.
One last point worth internalizing: the tables are intentionally tuned so that an average elite mark across the ten events scores around 1000 points. That is the benchmark a decathlete chases in every event, and why coaches talk about points, never places. The same math, with seven events, runs the heptathlon, so once you can read one score sheet you can read both.