what is harder to do? run 10.4 in the 100 or under 4:30 in the 1500? Well, in my opinion that´s not the question. In the actual tables 10.4 is 999 points, equal as 3.53.00 in 1500 metres. Or 4.30 in 1500 is 745 points, similar to 11.55 in 100 metres.


There is a difference between running 1,5 km in 4.30 minutes and sprint 11.55 in 100 metres. Clay, the biggest decahlete at the moment, has no incentives to train hardly in 1500 metres, because there are probes worthier with the actual rules, leaving speed endurance back in their interests. I don´t have doubts about Clay running 430 after training it more intensively, but not with the actual tables.


Finally, I agree with BJ, I love to speak about decathlon, although I am a simple fan, not as you.


I would like to leave another question just now, I love to make lists, and I was thinking in my job the other day about the decathletes´s top five in Olympic Games from Mathias´ times: I was looking statistics in this page and there was a couple of surprises I didn´t adverted before, first of all Avilov in Olympic Games, and also Sebrle, both of them have been between the six in three consecutive Games (Clay could be the next one in London).


Any comment? :B:B thanks for your very very interesting comments

hello, again, happy about all the contributions to my email, really interesting all of you, but please, don´t be so hard with me ("sadly wrong" or "crazy"), it´s only my opinion, I mean I´m not trainer or decathlete but I´ve loved decathlon from I was a child in the eighties, reading lots of things about. First of all, BJ, I´m sorry if I´ve not explained myself right about endurance, I´m Spaniard, so English is my second language: what I wanted to tell it´s that a decathlete must be the most complete athlete in the track and nowadays the actual score tables are very unballanced, in favour of jumps and sprints, and we are forgetting that a complete superathlete (as Clay, of course, no doubt) must have also endurance (or speed endurance, BJ, I´m sorry).


Clay is in a very similar level to Thompson or O´Brien in most of the events, but sadly, 1500 has no impact in scoring tables, so he doesn´t mind to have a BAD time in that last event. Worse than usual O´Brien, and of course, much worse than average Thompson, Hingsen or Jenner.


One of you, guys, samir, was telling something similar to me. With the scoring table of this great web, 5.05, 1500´s time of Clay in Beijing, was 531 points.


Well you can get that amount of points with:

100 m: 12.64

Long jump: 5.74 (I jumped that when I was 15)

Shot put: 10.75

High jump: 1.68

400m: 56.70

110m hurdles: 17.93

Discus: 33.35

Pole vault: 3.68

Javelin: 46.00



anyone of those numbers are really low, but they get t you the same amount of points than Clay´s core. It´s not Clay´s fault, it´s about the scoring table not rightly ballanced. In my opinion, I´m sorry, BJ and Matt and Jessica, Clay is playing fine, focusing to the most profitable events in the scoring table.


Well, I would like to listen more opinions, ciao

Pablo

Hi, guys, I´m a bit disappointed about decathlon´s numbers in Beijing. Clay is very far from the rest of the athletes, and its acting in Beijing was superb in nine events, but I don´t like to see that year after year, 1500 metres is not important (less each year) for the big champions. I still remind of Daley thompson intending to break the world record in LA84, below 4:35 in 1500 minutes: he didn´t succed, and he was considered a mediocre runner in that event. More than twenty years ago, the olimpyc champion is over 5 minutes, and the scoring table is, in my opinion, the guilty, because he could run till 6 minutes for going on as champion. The actual tables are forgeting one of the characteristics of a complete athlete: endurance.

And second question, after my deception with Clay´s 1500, I recognise he still goes on in the tradition of americans like O´Brien, Jenner or Johnson, he´s young to get more victories. But, to get the fourth position in an Olympic championship with 8300 points is really bad. I don´t want to be nostalgic, but in the eighties you would have Daley, the three occidental Germans (Hingsen, Wentz, Guido), one or two of the other Germany (Freimuth, Voss, Schenk, Pottel), and also some Russians and French. The level of the decathlon at the moment is not good. Sebrle (chapeau his career) is at the end, and we cannot expect much more from Drozdov, Smith, Sysoyev, Karpov or Pogorelov: 8600 is an unaffordable barrier for them. Papas or Macey close to retirement.



My only expectations could be about three guys growing firmly in the next two years: Krauchanka, Hardee and the Cuban Leonel, but I still remember the big impression of Busemann in Atlanta, no to be continued in next years.



I don´t know, I would like more opinions to be shared with mine,