Combined events rules rules, for watching
Start with the rules you see all the time, then the ones that change results.
Settling an argument? Search all 12 rules
- Which events make up the decathlon and the heptathlon, and in what order?
- What are the pentathlon and the women's decathlon?
- How are points given in a combined event?
- What happens if two athletes finish on the same points?
- What happens if an athlete skips an event?
- How much rest do athletes get between events?
- Is a decathlete disqualified for one false start?
- How many attempts does a decathlete get in the long jump and the throws?
- How do the high jump and pole vault work inside a decathlon or heptathlon?
- Who runs against whom in a combined event?
- Do wind and hand timing change the points?
- What happens to a decathlete who is disqualified in one event?
Where these rules come from
| Tag | Document |
|---|---|
| TR plus rule number | World Athletics, Competition and Technical Rules, 2026 Edition, the Technical Rules. Read in full for this set: TR 39 (combined events competitions). Read for the points where a combined event differs: TR 4.4, 7, 11.4, 16.7 to 16.9, 17.3, 20.3, 20.4, 25.17, 26.2, 26.4 and 26.8 |
| CR plus rule number | The Competition Rules in the same book. Read for this set: CR 22 (the starter), CR 25 (results codes) and the paragraph of CR 31 on combined events records |
| "commentary" | The explanatory notes printed in green under a rule. The book says they "provide interpretation to the Rules and practical guidance for their implementation" |
| R | "Why the rule exists", or a point reasoned from the rule, not stated in it |
| C | Common usage or general knowledge, not a rule |
Not covered: the Combined Events Scoring Tables themselves, which are a separate World Athletics publication and are not stored in this repository, so no page gives a formula or a points figure apart from the one example printed in the rule book; the indoor combined events in Part V of the Technical Rules (short track); the rules of each individual event, which have their own sets in the sibling folders; para athletics; the regulations of any one championship.
Not covered: the Combined Events Scoring Tables themselves, which are a separate World Athletics publication and are not stored in this repository, so no page gives a formula or a points figure apart from the one example printed in the rule book; the indoor combined events in Part V of the Technical Rules (short track); the rules of each individual event, which have their own sets in the sibling folders; para athletics; the regulations of any one championship.