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Athletics

Road to the Olympics: Understanding the new athletics world rankings system (Part 2)

Road to the Olympics: Understanding the new athletics world rankings system (Part 2)
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By

Kapil Choudhary

Published: 23 April 2019 3:42 AM GMT

This is Part 2 of a two-part series explaining the Olympic qualification for athletics in Tokyo. As detailed in Part 1 of this series, athletics has a new qualification system in place for Tokyo where about 50% of the athletes would qualify on the basis of World Rankings. This article attempts to explain how these new World Rankings work.


The World Rankings are maintained for every individual event. In addition, there is an Overall World Ranking which allows us to compare athletes across events. However, only the event-specific rankings matter as far as Olympic qualification is concerned. There are no world rankings for relays.

Event Groups

IAAF maintains World Rankings for 46 different “event groups” – 23 for men and 23 for women. Every event group has a “main event” and possibly some “similar events”. So, for example, in the 100m World Rankings, 100m is the main event whereas non-Olympic events such as 50m, 55m and 60m are classified as similar events. Thus, performances in 50m, 55m, 60m and 100m ALL contribute to the 100m rankings. Similarly, the 400m rankings, for example, are also affected by performances in the 300m and 500m events.

The full list of IAAF “event groups” is as below.

Sr. No.

Main Event

Similar Events

No. of Best Results Contributing to Rankings

Min. No. of Results Required in Main Event

Ranking Period

1

100m

50m, 55m, 60m

5

3

12 months

2

200m

200m indoor

5

3

12 months

3

400m

300m, 300m indoor, 400m indoor, 500m, 500m indoor

5

3

12 months

4

800m

600m, 600m indoor, 800m indoor, 1000m, 1000m indoor

5

3

12 months

5

1500m

1500m indoor, Mile, Mile indoor, 2000m, 2000m indoor

5

3

12 months

6

5000m

3000m, 3000m indoor, 2 Miles, 2 Miles indoor, 5000m indoor

3

2

12 months

7

10,000m

5000m (outdoor), Cross Country (WCH only)

2

1

18 months

8a

Men’s 110mH

50mH, 55mH, 60mH

5

3

12 months

8b

Women’s 100mH

50mH, 55mH, 60mH

5

3

12 months

9

400mH

-

5

3

12 months

10

3000mSC

2000mSC

3

2

12 months

11

High Jump

High Jump indoor

5

3

12 months

12

Pole Vault

Pole Vault indoor

5

3

12 months

13

Long Jump

Long Jump indoor

5

3

12 months

14

Triple Jump

Triple Jump indoor

5

3

12 months

15

Shot Put

Shot Put indoor

5

3

12 months

16

Discus Throw

-

5

3

12 months

17

Hammer Throw

-

5

3

12 months

18

Javelin Throw

-

5

3

12 months

19a

Men’s Decathlon

Heptathlon indoor

2

1

18 months

19b

Women’s Heptathlon

Pentathlon indoor

2

1

18 months

20

Marathon

Half Marathon, 25km, 30km

2

1

18 months

21a

Men’s 20km Race Walk

10km, 15kmwalks

3

2

18 months

21b

Women’s 20km Race Walk

5km, 10km, 15kmwalks

3

2

18 months

22a

Men’s 50m Race Walk

20km, 30km, 35kmwalks

2

1

18 months

22b

Women’s 50km Race Walk*

20km, 30km, 35kmwalks

2

1

18 months

23

Half Marathon and 10km*

5km, 15km, 10 miles, 20km

3

2

18 months

* denotes non-Olympic event

As can be seen from the above table, for every “event group”, an athlete’s best 2 to 5 performances achieved within the ranking period (depending on the event) contribute to the World Rankings. So, for example, in the 400m event, the best 5 results achieved within the previous 12 months contribute to an athlete’s ranking whereas in the marathon, the ranking is composed of only the 2 best performances achieved within the previous 18 months.

In addition, there is also additional requirement that at least a minimum number of results have to be achieved in the “main event”. So, for example, in the 800m rankings, at least 3 results have to come from the 800m outdoor event whereas the remaining 2 results can come from either the main event or any of the other similar events like 600m or 1000m. It should also be noted that some events form part of 2 event groups. So, for example, the 5000m event has its own ranking, but at the same time also contributes to the 10000m ranking as a similar event.

The 2019 Asian Athletics Championships is taking place at the Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar.

Also, as detailed in Part 1, the result achieved in the last Continental Championships can always be included in the World Rankings irrespective of when they took place.

Scoring Points

Every performance by an athlete leads to a performance score, which is composed of two parts – the result score and the placing score.

Performance Score = Result Score + Placing Score

The result score depends upon the actual result achieved, while the placing score depends on the final placement of the athlete and the level of competition this placement is achieved in.

The best 2-5 performance scores (as detailed in above table) are averaged out to obtain an athlete’s final ranking score. In addition, an athlete gets bonus points added directly to his averaged ranking score if he/she creates a World Record. Breaking a World Record in a main event provides a bonus of 20 points whereas equalling a World Record in a main event provides a 10 point bonus. For similar events, breaking a World Record provides a 10 point bonus and equalling a World Record provides a 5 point bonus.

Result Score

The result score can be read straight away from the IAAF Scoring Tables, available at this 
link
. As a reference, in Men’s Javelin, a throw of 85m provides 1172 points, 90m provides 1244 points and 95m provides 1315 points. As would be expected, separate scoring tables exist for indoor and outdoor competition.

However, in certain events, namely the 100m, 200m, 100m/110m Hurdles, Long Jump and Triple Jump, the result score is also affected by wind conditions. Head winds provide additional points while strong tail winds result in a reduction of points.

Additional Points due to Head Wind = 6 * Wind reading (in m/s)

Points deducted due to Tail Wind = 0, for wind between 0 and 2 m/s

                                                       = 6 * Wind reading (in m/s), for wind > 2 m/s

So, for example, a head wind of 2.5 m/s results in an additional 6*2.5=15 pointsadded to the result score obtained from the IAAF scoring tableswhereas a similar tail wind results in a reduction of 15 points. Also, for long jump and triple jump, if the best jump is wind-assisted while another jump gives a better result score due to lower wind, the best result score is considered for World Ranking purposes.

Further, for the combined events, if the wind in one of the events exceeds +4 m/s AND the average wind across all events exceeds +2 m/s, then 24 points are deducted from the result score.

Also, for road running events, a downhill course leads to a reduction in the result score as follows.

Points deducted for downhill course = 0, for netdrop <=1m/km

                                                     = 6 * net drop (in m/km), for net drop > 1 m/km

In addition, for all event groups with a ranking period of 12 months, results older than 9 months see a drop in result score as below. However, area championships are exempt from this rule.Also, events with a ranking period of 18 months are not affected by this rule.

Oldness of Result

Drop in Result Score

9-10 months

20

10-11 months

40

11-12 months

60

 

Competition Categorization

For obtaining the placing scores in the World Rankings, all competitions have been categorised into one of 10 different categories. Some of the important competitions forming each category are as below.

Category

Competitions

OW

Olympics, World Championships

DF

Diamond League Finals

GW

Diamond League Events, Continental Cup, World Indoor Championships, World Half Marathon Championships, World Race Walking Team Championships, World Cross Country Championships

GL

Area Championships (eg. Asian Championships), Gold Label Marathons, Hammer Throw, Race Walking and Combined Events Challenges

A

Major Games (including Asian and Commonwealth), Area Indoor Championships, World Challenge Meetings, World Indoor Tour, Non-diamond disciplines at Diamond League meetings

B

National Championships (of all countries), various other events

C

World U20 Championships, Area U23 Championships, various other events

D

National Indoor Championships (of all countries), Youth Olympic Games, Area U20 Championships, various other events

E

Area U18 Championships, various other events

F

National Level events

As explained in Part 1, an interesting feature to note is that all the area championships- Asian, European, African – are in the same category of GL despite having widely differing standards of competition. Also, these championships are placed higher than even major games like Asian Games and Commonwealth Games which are often considered more prestigious by many participating countries, including India.

Another interesting aspect is that not only do National Championships form part of the rankings, but every nation’s National Championships is placed in the same category (Category B). This means that winning Gold at the near-world-standard USA national championships would provide the same placing score as winning Gold at the Indian National Championships (even though result scores will differ).

Further, only 1 OW and 1 DF event can actually form part of the World Rankings at any point of time. So, for example, results for the 2018 Diamond League Finals (DF category event) will be removed from the World Rankings once the 2019 Diamond League Finals take place, even if both events fall within the ranking period. Also, while various age-group competitions are part of the above categorization, any result achieved with underage apparatus (in hurdles and throwing events) isnot considered for World Rankings.

Placing Score

In the top 4 competition categories – OW, DF, GW and GL – placing scores can be achieved in the final as well as the round before the final (though the placing scores achieved in the round before the final are relatively low). In all other competitions, placing score is achieved only in the final. All other preliminary rounds provide only a result score.

The full placing score tables for track and field events can be obtained here, for the combined events here, for the road running events here, and for the race walking events here. From an Indian perspective, the most relevant of these tables are below.

Track Events other than combined events, 3000mSC, 5000m and 10000m – Final

PLACE

OW

DF

GW

GL

A

B

C

D

E

F

1st

350

240

200

170

140

100

60

40

25

15

2nd

310

210

170

145

120

80

50

35

21

10

3rd

280

185

150

130

110

70

45

30

18

5

4th

250

170

140

120

100

60

40

25

15

 

5th

230

155

130

110

90

55

35

22

12

 

6th

215

145

120

100

80

50

30

19

10

 

7th

200

135

110

90

70

45

27

17

 

 

8th

185

125

100

80

60

40

25

15

 

 

9th

130

90

70

60

 

 

 

 

 

 

10th

120

80

60

50

 

 

 

 

 

 

11th

110

70

50

45

 

 

 

 

 

 

12th

100

60

45

40

 

 

 

 

 

 

13th

95

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14th

90

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15th

85

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16th

80

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Track Events other than combined events, 3000mSC, 5000m and 10000m –Round before the Final

 

If Final has 0-9 athletes

If Final has 10+ athletes

PLACE

OW

DF

GW

GL

OW

DF

GW

GL

Qual for Final

140

95

80

70

100

65

50

40

9th*

130

90

70

60

 

 

 

 

10th*

120

80

60

50

 

 

 

 

11th*

110

70

50

45

95

55

40

35

12th*

100

60

45

40

90

50

35

30

13th*

85

 

 

 

85

 

 

 

14th*

80

 

 

 

80

 

 

 

15th*

75

 

 

 

75

 

 

 

16th*

70

 

 

 

70

 

 

 

*only if not qualified for the Final

This means that, for the purpose of World rankings, an athlete can actually put up more than one scoring performance in each competition. For example, the current World No. 7 in Men’s 100m, Zharnel Hughes (USA), ran 10.01 sec in the SF of the 2018 Berlin European Championships (a GL category event) and then ran 9.95sec in the final. In the SF, his time was 2nd among all runners and he went on to win Gold in the Final. His SF run earned him a total of 1273 points(1203 result score + 70 placing score) whereas his run in the final earned him 1394 points(1224 result score + 170placing score). Both these runs form a part of his best 5 runs in the previous 12 months and thus BOTH contribute independently to his World Ranking score.

This rule inflates the importance of an area Championship even further, as it belongs to the GL category. It means that if a TejaswinShankar or a M Sreeshankar would have travelled to Doha, not only would they have had the opportunity to put one good performance score in their World Ranking scores, but they could have actually put up two – one in qualification and one in the final.

Overall World Rankings

Overall World Rankings have no direct bearing on Olympic qualification but can be used to compare athletes across events. They are constituted by an athlete’s best 5 results in the previous 12 months. The 5 results can come from any event, as long as at least 3 results come from one of the main events of the 46 event groups.

All the various score adjustments such as wind, downhill courses for road running and drop in score for results older than 9 months are in place. However, an athlete’s overall ranking score has to always be equal to or higher than their event ranking score, and in case it is not as per calculations, it is simply made equal to their highest event ranking score.

Rankings of Prominent Indian Athletes

The below table shows World Rankings for some prominent Indian athletes,as of 9 April 2019.

Athlete

Gender

Event

Event Ranking

Overall Ranking

Neeraj CHOPRA

Men

Javelin Throw

4

104

Mohammed Anas YAHIYA

Men

400m

14

355

Arpinder SINGH

Men

Triple Jump

12

405

Dharun AYYASAMY

Men

400mH

24

528

Jinson JOHNSON

Men

800m, 1500m

40, 53

637

Irfan KOLOTHUM THODI

Men

20km Walk

23

689

Tejinderpal Singh TOOR

Men

Shot Put

31

857

M.P. JABIR

Men

400mH

37

876

Arokia RAJIV

Men

200m, 400m

40

876

M SREESHANKAR

Men

Long Jump

38

1069

TejaswinSHANKAR

Men

High Jump

44

1152

Sudha SINGH

Women

3000mSC

18

364

Dutee CHAND

Women

100m, 200m

46

436

Hima DAS

Women

400m

19

498

PalakeezhUNNIKRISHNAN CHITRA

Women

1500m

30

676

LoganathanSURIYA

Women

5000m, 10000m

44, 41

731

Sheoran NIRMLA

Women

400m

32

739

Swapna BARMAN

Women

Heptathlon

14

739

Raghavan ANU

Women

400mH

39

908

Varakil NEENA

Women

Long Jump

27

908

SanjivaniJADHAV

Women

5000m, 10000m

48, 98

1164

Jauna MURMU

Women

400mH

63

1335

Poovamma Raju MACHETTIRA

Women

400m

85

1506

Soumya BABY

Women

20km Walk

33

1546

M. ARPITHA.

Women

400mH

72

1585

SaritaGAYAKWAD

Women

400m, 400mH

194, 78

1739

Jisna MATHEW

Women

400m

103

1770

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