If you like math, maybe this will give you joy – either way, there are a lot of equations.
TOKYO, Japan — Focusing on one Olympic sport is hard enough, which is why you have to give heptathlon athletes props for somehow managing to excel in seven events.
Frankly, another thing they deserve some major props for? Understanding the scoring systems, which includes the type of equations that just might confuse the heck out of anyone who still has stress dreams about high school algebra (such as someone who went into journalism.)
Since the heptathlon events are continuing on Thursday during the Tokyo Olympics – and Wheat Ridge native Annie Kunz is in contention for a spot in the podium – here’s a breakdown of how the event will be scored.
To begin, here are the seven events in the heptathlon:
- 100 meter hurdles
- High jump
- Shot put
- 200 meters
- Long jump
- Javelin throw
- 800 meters
Knowing the sports seems hard enough, and here’s where the equations come in.
The scoring system for heptathlon was devised by Dr. Karl Ulbrich, a Viennese mathematician who is obviously not terrified of equations. Here’s what the layman needs to know: competitors in the heptathlon are awarded 1,000 points for hitting certain, pre-decided benchmarks.
Points are then awarded incrementally for a performance below that benchmark, and there’s a certain minimum performance level that equals zero points.
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At the end of the seven events, whoever has the most points wins.
For context though, let’s talk about the equations. As this journalist learned in 8th grade, it’s good to define the variables. “P” is for points, “T” is for time in seconds, “M” is for height or length in centimeters and “D” is for length in meters.
Meanwhile, the “a,” “b” and “c” variables you see below are pre-determined values for each event. Just for those of you who will be following the events at home while holding your graphing calculator, I’ll put the numbers below.
But first, lets make sports coverage fun (?) by looking at some gnarly equations!
Here’s how they determine the points for running events:
Here’s the breakdown of a, b and c for the running events:
- 200 meters: a = 4.99087, b = 42.5, and c = 1.81
- 800 meters: a = 0.11193, b = 254, and c = 1.88
- 100 meter hurdles: a = 9.23076, b = 26.7, c = 1.835
Now, let’s look at the equation for jumping events!
In this context, here’s our other variables:
- High jump: a = 1.84523, b = 75, c = 1.348
- Long jump: a = 0.188807, b = 210, c = 1.41
Do you have a headache yet? Don’t stop now! There’s one more heptathlon equation to unpack!
Here’s how they figure out points for the throwing events:
And here are the remaining variables:
- Shot put: a = 56.0211, b = 1.5, c = 1.05
- Javelin throw: a = 15.9803, b = 3.8, c = 1.04
Finally, if you’re sticking around, here are the benchmark levels for each event:
- 100 meter hurdles: 13.75 seconds for 1,000 points, 14.56 seconds for 900 points, 15.32 seconds for 800 points and 16.12 seconds for 700 points.
- High jump: 1.82 meters for 1,000 points, 1.74 meters for 900 points, 1.66 meters for 800 points and 1.57 meters for 700 points.
- Shot put: 17.07 meters for 1,000 points, 15.58 meters for 900 points, 14.09 meters for 800 points, 12.58 meters for 700 points.
- 200 meters: 23.80 seconds for 1,000 points, 24.86 seconds for 900 points, 25.97 seconds for 800 points and 27.14 seconds for 700 points.
- Long jump: 6.48 meters for 1,000 points, 6.17 meters for 900 points, 5.84 meters for 800 points and 5.5 meters for 800 points.
- Javelin throw: 57.18 meters for 1,000 points, 52.04 meters for 900 points, 46.87 meters for 800 points and 41.68 meters for 700 points.
- 800 meters: 2:07.63 for 1,000 points, 2:14.52 for 900 points, 2:21.77 for 800 points and 2:29.47 for 700 points.
The people at FiveThirtyEight actually analyzed which events athletes should put the most effort into. It’s a good read, if you’re still here.
A short version? The short version favors exceling in running events.
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