This series of posts provides an analysis of key developments in the world rankings for combined events, and in qualification for major championships.
You can read a full description of the rankings system here, and the issues to consider when planning a strategy for qualification.
The tables below are a line-by-line analysis of the scores which contributed to the current position of athletes.
The 31 January post outlined the rule changes for 2023 and expiry of Olympic marks.
In addition to the decathlon analysis of the last few weeks, the top 50 heptathlon rankings are now included.
Key points of interest from the decathlon rankings as at 14 February
- Yuma Maruyama won the Asian Indoor Championships heptathlon last weekend. He was previously unranked but his score of 5801 to win gold brought him into the rankings in 42nd place.
- Sven Jansons did two heptathlons in a row, at the Dutch and Belgian championships. He finished first in the latter in a PB of 5869, which – even with 0 placing points, since he was competing as a guest – was enough to move him up from 76th to 74th.
- The Belgian title went to Robin Bodart, and that performance brought him into the rankings in 85th place
- After moving up the rankings following his performance in Tallinn, Vilem Strasky finished second at the Czech championships in a PB of 5850, which moved up him another seven places to 77th.
- Meanwhile, performances in 2021 continue to expire. This week Fredrik Samuelsson dropped one position – 48th to 49th – as his 2021 National Championships victory was replaced by his second place in Sollentuna. This demonstrates the value of national championships in the rankings – Samuelsson received more points from his 7757 nationals win than from his 7821 in Sollentuna
- Unranked athletes continue to include: Kevin Mayer, Jorge Ureña, Adam Sebastian Helcelet, Pawel Wiesiołek, Andreas Bechmann, Karel Tilga, Ruben Gado, Nils Pittomvils, Martin Roe, Darko Pešić and Thomas van der Plaetsen.
- Wiesiołek and Pešić both finished heptathlons in Tallinn so only need one further score to place them back into the rankings.
Key points of interest from the heptathlon rankings as at 14 February
There are a significant number of athletes who are currently unranked, including;
- USA: Kendell Williams and Annie Kunz
- China: Nina Zheng
- Austria: Ivona Dadic, Verena Mayr and Sarah Lagger
- Spain: Maria Vicente
- Colombia: Evelis Aguilar
- Canada: Georgia Ellenwood
- Germany: Vanessa Grimm
- Burkina Faso: Marthe Koala
- Cuba: Yargelis and Adriana Rodriguez
- Finland: Maria Huntington
- Switzerland: Caroline Agnou
Developments over the last few weeks:
- Sofie Dokter’s outstanding 4603 at the Dutch championships moved her from 26th to 19th (and into an automatic Euro Q position)
- Ekaterina Voronina won the Asian Indoor title, which moved her from 31st to 27th
- Xenia Krizsan – previously unranked – re-entered the rankings in 20th place after winning the Hungarian title, and moved into the quota for the European Indoors
- Like Samuelsson, Bianca Salming’s 2021 Nationals score (6101) expired causing her to drop three places. The score that replaced it was – again like Samuelsson – higher than the previous mark, her 6185 from 6th place at the European Championships. Nationals matter.
PERFORMANCES DUE TO EXPIRE
In the next few weeks those athletes whose current rankings position includes performances from August 2021 may see their rankings drop as those scores expire, including (in the top 50):
- Tim Nowak
- Malik Diakite
- Andri Oberholzer
- Marvin Bollinger
- Miia Sillman
- Mareike Roesing
PERFORMANCES NOT ON WORLD LISTS
The new World Athletics rules for performances eligible for rankings mean that there are legal scores that do not feature on WA world lists, nor reflected in rankings. However, there are no such scores of major significance to the rankings since the last update.
EUROPEAN INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023
Thanks to the efforts of Fredrik Samuelsson and the hundreds of athletes who supported his letter to European Athletics, there is now a small increase in the field size for Istanbul, from 12 to 14.
The rules for qualification for Istanbul 2023 can be found here, and the qualifying period ends on 19 February, this weekend
Five athletes are currently qualified for the heptathlon by reaching either the indoor (6140) or outdoor (8400) standard from 20 August 2021 onwards. There have been no changes since last week.
- Simon Ehammer (Switzerland 1)
- Sander Skotheim (Norway 1)
- Hans Christian Hausenberg (Estonia 1)
- Kevin Mayer (France 1)
- Maicel Uibo (Estonia 2)
The remaining nine quota places are occupied by the athletes listed below.
- Marcus Nilsson (Sweden 1)
- Manuel Eitel (Germany 1)
- Ondřej Kopecký (Czech Republic 1)
- Kai Kazmirek (Germany 2)
- Marcus Rooth (Norway 2)
- Risto Lillemets (Estonia 3)
- Tim Nowak (Germany 3)
- Dario Dester (Italy 1)
- Rik Taam (Netherlands 1)
The next five athletes on the rankings are:
- Makenson Gletty (France 2)
- Jiri Sýkora (Czech 2) – injured
- Baptiste Thiery (France 3)
- Sven Roosen (Netherlands 1)
- Jente Hauttekeete (Belgium 1)
Six athletes are currently qualified for the pentathlon by reaching either the indoor (4580) or outdoor (6650) standard from 20 August 2021 onwards, but at least one has confirmed they won’t compete:
- Noor Vidts (Belgium 1)
- Adrianna Sulek (Poland 1)
- Holly Mills (GB 1)
- Sofie Dokter (Netherlands 1)
- Paulina Ligarska (Poland 2 – injured and won’t compete)
- Nafi Thiam (Belgium 2)
The remaining eight quota places are occupied by the athletes listed below:
- Annik Kaelin (Switzerland 1)
- Dorota Skrivanova (Czech 1)
- Saga Vanninen (Finland 1)
- Xenia Krizsan (Hungary 1)
- Kate O’Connor (Ireland 1)
- Leonie Cambours (France 1)
- Bianca Salming (Sweden 1)
- Sveva Gerevini (Italy 1)
The next five athletes on the rankings are:
- Marijke Esselink (Netherlands 2)
- Yuliya Loban (Ukraine 1)
- Edyta Bielska (Poland 3)
- Miia Sillman (Finland 2)
- Annaelle Nyabeu-Djapa (France 2)
The rankings do not yet include the results of the US Championships, which are of course not relevant for the European Indoors.
This weekend (18-19 February) there are various national championships, including those in Ukraine, Spain, Finland, Poland and France which provide the opportunity for athletes to either score a Q standard, or increase their ranking position and overtake others.
This is particularly relevant for Pawel Wiesiolek (unranked but with one eligible performance), Jorge Urena (aiming for the outright standard), Yuliya Loban, and for the French athletes just outside the qualifying quota.
Others are higher in the rankings and/or have Q standard but have presumably indicated they don’t intend to seek selection, such as Niklas Kaul, Leo Neugebauer, Janek Õiglane, Johannes Erm, Anouk Vetter, KJT.
The British championships are also this weekend, but unfortunately there are no combined events. Those British athletes just outside the qualification quota are therefore denied the opportunity, should they have wished to take it, to boost their position via national bonus points within the qualifying period for the Europeans.
