Eisspeedway

Icosathlon

Athletics
Icosathlon
Joseph Detmer on 3000m steeple in Lynchburg (2010)
Kip Janvrin on the shotput event in Turku (2002)
Icosathlon combines twelve runs, four jumps, and four throws.
World records
MenUnited States Joseph Detmer 14571 pts (2010)
WomenUnited States Lauren Kuntz 11653 pts (2023)

The icosathlon, also called double decathlon, is an ultra combined events of track and field competition consisting of 20 events. The word "icosathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "decathlon", from Greek εἴκοσι (eíkosi, meaning "twenty") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "contest" or “prize”).

Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not by the position achieved.

The icosathlon is contested mainly by male athletes, while female athletes mostly compete in the tetradecathlon. The event is overseen by the International Association for Ultra Multievents (IAUM), which also holds the tetradecathlon based on the women's heptathlon.

The men's world record for the standard icosathlon of 14,571 is held by Joseph Detmer of the United States.[1] The women's world record of 11,653 is held by Lauren Kuntz from the United States.

Format

Men's icosathlon

The vast majority of men's icosathlons are divided into a two-day competition, with the track and field events held in the order below.

Each event is scored according to the decathlon scoring tables or, for non-decathlon events, the World Athletics points tables. At the conclusion of each icosathlon, the competitor with the highest point total is declared the winner.

Women's icosathlon

At major championships, the women's equivalent of the icosathlon is the fourteen-event tetradecathlon. Women's disciplines differ from men's in the same way as for standalone events: the shot, hammer, discus and javelin weigh less, and the sprint hurdles use lower hurdles over 100 m rather than 110 m, over 400m hurdles and 3000m steeple. The points tables used are the same as for the heptathlon and women's decathlon in the shared events. The schedule of events is identical to the men's icosathlon.

One day icosathlon

One-day icosathlons also exist, with the same program of events succeeding each other more quickly, but respecting the one hour pause of midday between the 3000m steeple and the 110m hurdles.

The world record holder is the Belgian athlete Frederic Xhonneux, who achieved 12,363 points at a meeting in Heiloo, Netherlands, the 27th of June 2015.[2]

As a woman, the British athlete Kelly Rodmell established the best performance of all-time with 10,275 points at a meeting in Helsinki, Finland, the 25th of May 2005.

Masters athletics

In Masters athletics, performance scores are age graded before being applied to the standard scoring table. This way, marks that would be competitive within an age division can get rated, even if those marks would not appear on the scale designed for younger age groups. Additionally, like women, the age divisions use different implement weights and lower hurdles. Based on this system, American Kip Janvrin in the M35 division has set his score at 14,793 points.

World Records

Men

  • Icosathlon : 14571 points –  Joseph Detmer (USA) – 2010 (Lynchburg, USA)

Women

  • Icosathlon : 11653 points –  Lauren Kuntz (USA) – 2023 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA)
World Records details
Day 1 100m Long jump 200m H Shot put 5000m 800m High jump 400m Hammer throw 3000m SC
 Joseph Detmer (USA) 10.93 7.30m 24.25 12.27m 18:25.32 2:02.23 1.98m 50.43 31.82m 11:22.47
 Lauren Kuntz (USA) 13.55 4.82m 30.27 8.36m 20:45.64 2:24.64 1.49m 61.37 24.18m 12:48.28
Day 2 110m H Discus throw 200m Pole vault 3000m 400m H Javelin throw 1500m Triple jump 10000m Total
 Joseph Detmer (USA) 15.01 40.73m 22.58 4.85m 10:25.49 53.83 51.95m 4:26.66 13.67m 40:27.26 14571 pts
 Lauren Kuntz (USA) 16.23 23.46m 28.35 3.50m 11:39.05 70.16 20.71m 5:22.77 9.91m 46:26.39 11653 pts

This table of records is not officially acknowledged by the World Athletics but is considered by the International Association for Ultra Multievents (IAUM) as the best performance of all time since the foundation of the discipline in 1981.[3]

Area Records

Continent Score Athlete Date Place
North America 14571 Joseph Detmer 25–26 September 2010 Lynchburg, USA
Europe 13906 Kaseorg Indrek 12–13 September 1992 Turku, Finland
Asia 12393 Kouki Someya 11–12 October 2014 Katsuura, Japan
Oceania 12088 David Purdon 4–5 Juny 2005 Vienna, Austria
Africa 11014 Seck Leyti 7–8 October 2005 Lynchburg, USA
South America

World Championships

Edition Year City Country Date Winner Score
1st 1990 Espoo  Finland 22–23 September  Indrek Kaseorg (EST) 13213
2nd 1991 Punkalaidun  Finland 21–22 September  Indrek Kaseorg (EST) 14086
3rd 1992 Punkalaidun  Finland 12–13 September  Indrek Kaseorg (EST) 14274
4th 1993 Punkalaidun  Finland 11–12 September  Pasi Suutarinen (FIN) 12509
5th 1994 Punkalaidun  Finland 10–11 September  Pasi Suutarinen (FIN) 12378
6th 1995 Punkalaidun  Finland 9–10 September  Aivar Hommik (EST) 12023
7th 1996 Punkalaidun  Finland 7–8 September  Aivar Hommik (EST) 12111
8th 1997 Punkalaidun  Finland 6–7 September  Teppo Syrjala (FIN) 11774
9th 1998 Punkalaidun  Finland 5–6 September  Teppo Syrjala (FIN) 11929
10th 1999 Punkalaidun  Finland 4–5 September  Meelis Tammre (EST) 11722
11th 2000 Hexham  United Kingdom 23–24 September  John Heanley (GBR) 12409
12th 2001 Hexham  United Kingdom 22–23 September  David Purdon (AUS) 11275
13th 2002 Turku  Finland 7–8 September  Kip Janvrin (USA) 14185
14th 2003 Sankt Pölten  Austria 4–5 October  Brauer Päärn (EST) 11672
15th 2004 Gateshead  United Kingdom 21–22 August  Shaun Meinecke (USA) 12784
16th 2005 Lynchburg, Virginia  United States 7–8 October  David Purdon (AUS) 11682
17th 2006 Bendigo  Australia 14–15 October  David Purdon (AUS) 11931
18th 2007 Jyväskylä  Finland 25–26 August  Marnix Engels (NED) 12004
19th 2008 Scheeßel  Germany 2–3 August  Schürmann Adrian (DEU) 11877
20th 2009 Delft  Netherlands 12–13 September  Benedikt Nolte (DEU) 11605
21st 2010 Lynchburg, Virginia  United States 24–25 September  Joe Detmer (USA) 14571
22nd 2011 Lisse  Netherlands 20–21 August  Joan Estruch (ESP) 10824
23rd 2012 Turnhout  Belgium 30 June – 1 July  Bert Misplon (BEL) 11316
24th 2013 Yeovil  United Kingdom 24–25 August  Rob Simmonds (GBR) 11550
EC 2014 Lodi  Italy 6–7 September  Alastair Stanley (GBR) 12196
WI 2014 Delft  Netherlands 13–14 September  Frédéric Xhonneux (BEL) 13099
25th 2015 Tartu  Estonia 22–23 August  Roberto James Paoluzzi (ITA) 11763
EC 2016 Cambridge  United Kingdom 27–28 August  Alastair Stanley (GBR) 11464
WI 2016 Delft  Netherlands 10–11 September  Florian Herr (GER) 10729
26th 2017 Turnhout  Belgium 26–27 August  Alastair Stanley (GBR) (U23) 11769
 Bert Misplon (BEL) 11356
27th 2018 Delft  Netherlands 25–26 August  Alastair Stanley (GBR) 11981
28th 2019 Helsinki  Finland 24–25 August  Florian Herr (GER) 10101
29th* 2021 Épinal  France 21–22 August  Arnaud Ghislain (BEL) 11342
 Lauren Kuntz (USA) 10941
WI 2022 Delft  Netherlands 10–11 September  Ruben Harmsen (NED) 8822
 Amanda Pasko (USA) 10148
30th 2023 Turnhout  Belgium 8–9 July  Baptiste Scalabrino (FRA) 12042
WI+ 2023 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  United States 22–23 July  Lauren Kuntz (USA) 11653

EC – European Championships (non-World Championship year)

WI – World Invitational (non-World Championship year)

* Inaugural Icosathlon World Championship for Women

+ In response to women being barred from competition at the 30th World Championships, an additional invitational event, "Ico For All", was organized.

World Championship Medal Totals

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Estonia77317
2 Finland42511
3 Great Britain34411
4 United States3429
5 Germany33612
6 Australia3115
7 Belgium3025
8 Netherlands1449
9 France1326
10 Italy1001
 Spain1001
12 Russia0101
 Sweden0101
14 Senegal0011
Totals (14 entries)30303090

NOTE: Only Medal totals for senior Men since 1990.

Indoor equivalent

For indoor ultra-multievent meetings, all competitors compete in an indoor tetradecathlon, spanning 14 events over 2 days. Unlike in outdoor ultra multi event competitions, the number and order of events is the same for both genders.

Competitions

The IAUM sponsors an icosathlon and tetradecathlon every year at the IAUM World Championships. The 2012 World Championships were held in Turnhout, Belgium.[4] In addition, a variety of other icosathlon events are held, most notably the annual Dutch Double Decathlon, held in Delft, Netherlands. The 2015 event was held 19–20 September. The 5th European Championships were held on 6 and 7 September 2014 in Lodi, Lombardy, Italy (near Milan). The last European Championships was held the 27–28 August 2016 in Cambridge, England.[5] The 2017 event was held in Turnhout, Belgium and 2018 in Delft, Netherlands. The 2021 World championship (29th) was held for the first time in France in Épinal.[6] The last World championship (30th) was held again in Turnhout, Belgium, the 8–9 July 2023.[7]

References