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Unlike individual events, the history of the decathlon world record is closely linked to changes in the scoring system. Early performances were achieved under different tables, meaning point totals from different eras are not directly comparable. AthleticsLab presents each performance according to the scoring system in force at the time it was achieved.

The first internationally recognized decathlon records emerged during the pioneering years of the event, culminating in the legendary performance of Jim Thorpe at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm. Although Thorpe was later stripped of his Olympic title due to amateurism regulations, his achievement remains one of the defining moments in the history of combined events.

Throughout the following decades, the world record advanced steadily as training methods, equipment and specialization improved. Athletes such as Rafer Johnson, Yang Chuan-kwang, Vasily Kuznetsov, Mykola Avilov and Daley Thompson each raised the standard, while the introduction of the current scoring tables in 1985 marked the beginning of a new era for the event.

Modern decathlon has produced unprecedented performances, highlighted by Roman Šebrle, the first athlete to surpass the 9,000-point barrier, followed by world records from Ashton Eaton and Kevin Mayer, whose achievements reflect the remarkable evolution of the event in the 21st century.

Decathlon, Men World Record Progression – Data Table

Decathlon performances are listed using the scoring tables in force at the time each mark was achieved. Because the scoring system has changed several times throughout history, point totals from different eras are not directly comparable.

Note: Certain world records included 100m times aided by a following win between 2 and 4 m/s: 10.7w (8538/Jenner-1976), 10.58w (8649/Kratschmer – 1980), 10.50w (8704 Thompson – 1982 and 10.70w (8798/8832 – Hingsen 1984). Although Thompson’s 8797=8846 was the best mark of the new 1984 Tables, it was 8832 of Higsen which was ratified as the first World Record on the new Tables. The condition for a new World Record accepted by the IAAF was that the 8832 points achieved by Higsen must be surpassed. The appointed date was (appropriately) 1/4/1985, which was seemingly unfortunate for Thomson as he had already achieved this before that date and all that time was behing Hingsen by one point. On 15/7/1986, the IAAF, having made a thorought and detailed study of the photograph of the finish, reappraised Thompson’s 110m hurldles time in the 1984 Olympics grom 14.34 to 14.33. As a result, the British athete got an extra point and caught up with Hingsen’s old World Record (8798). Since they were then both equal, Tompson, in accordance with the new points table, became the new World Record holder: 8847 against Hingsen’s 8832 (World Athletics 2024).

Performance	Athlete	Country	Data	Location	Competition	Notes
9126	Kevin Mayer	FRA	16/9/2018	Talence	Talence Décastar	100m 10.55 / LJ 7.80 / SP 16.00 / HJ 2.05 / 400m 48.42 / 110H 13.75 / DT 50.54 / PV 5.45 / JT 71.90 / 1500m 4:36.11
9045	Ashton Eaton	USA	29/8/2015	Beijing	IAAF World Championships	100m 10.23 / LJ 7.88 / SP 14.52 / HJ 2.01 / 400m 45.00 / 110H 13.69 / DT 43.34 / PV 5.20 / JT 63.63 / 1500m 4:17.52
9039	Ashton Eaton	USA	23/6/2012	Eugene	USA Championships	100m 10.21 / LJ 8.23 / SP 14.20 / HJ 2.05 / 400m 46.70 / 110H 13.70 / DT 42.81 / PV 5.30 / JT 58.87 / 1500m 4:14.48
9026	Roman Šebrle	CZE	27/5/2001	Götzis	Hypommeting	100m 10.64 / LJ 8.11 / SP 15.33 / HJ 2.12 / 400m 47.79 / 110H 13.92 / DT 47.92 / PV 4.80 / JT 70.16 / 1500m 4:21.98
8994	Tomáš Dvořák	CZE	4/7/1999	Praha	European Cup Combined Events Super League	100m 10.54 / LJ 7.90 / SP 16.78 / HJ 2.04 / 400m 48.08 / 110H 13.73 / DT 48.33 / PV 4.90 / JT 72.32 / 1500m 4:37.20
8891	Dan O'Brien	USA	5/9/1992	Talence	Talence Décastar	100m 10.43 / LJ 8.06 / SP 16.69 / HJ 2.07 / 400m 48.51 / 110H 13.98 / DT 47.56 / PV 5.00 / JT 62.58 / 1500m 4:42.10
8798	Daley Thompson	GBR	9/8/1984	Los Angeles	The XXXIV Olympic Games	100m 10.44 / LJ 8.01 / SP 15.72 / HJ 2.03 / 400m 46.97 / 110H 14.33 / DT 46.56 / PV 5.00 / JT 65.24 / 1500m 4:35.00
8847	Daley Thompson	GBR	9/8/1984	Los Angeles	The XXXIV Olympic Games	point table 1984
8798	Jürgen Hingsen	FRG	9/7/1984	Mannheim	Combined Events Meeting	100m 10.70 / LJ 7.76 / SP 16.42 / HJ 2.07 / 400m 48.05 / 110H 14.07 / DT 49.36 / PV 4.90 / JT 59.86 / 1500m 4:19.75
8779	Jürgen Hingsen	FRG	5/6/1983	Bernhausen	International Meeting	100m 10.92 / LJ 7.74 / SP 15.94 / HJ 2.15 / 400m 47.89 / 110H 14.10 / DT 46.80 / PV 4.70 / JT 67.26 / 1500m 4:19.74
8743	Daley Thompson	GBR	8/9/1982	Athina	European Championships	100m 10.51 / LJ 7.80 / SP 15.44 / HJ 2.03 / 400m 47.11 / 110H 14.39 / DT 45.48 / PV 5.00 / JT 63.56 / 1500m 4:23.71
8723	Jürgen Hingsen	FRG	15/8/1982	Ulm	Combined Events Meeting	100m 10.74 / LJ 7.85 / SP 16.00 / HJ 2.15 / 400m 47.65 / 110H 14.64 / DT 44.92 / PV 4.60 / JT 63.10 / 1500m 4:15.13
8704	Daley Thompson	GBR	23/5/1982	Götzis	Hypommeting	100m 10.50 / LJ 7.95 / SP 15.31 / HJ 2.08 / 400m 46.86 / 110H 14.31 / DT 44.34 / PV 4.90 / JT 60.52 / 1500m 4:30.55
8649	Guido Kratschmer	FRG	15/6/1980	Bernhausen	Int. Multi-Events Meeting	100m 10.56 / LJ 7.80 / SP 15.47 / HJ 2.00 / 400m 48.04 / 110H 13.92 / DT 45.952 / PV 4.60 / JT 66.50 / 1500m 4:24.2
8622	Daley Thompson	GBR	18/5/1980	Götzis	Hypommeting	100m 10.55 / LJ 7.72 / SP 14.46 / HJ 2.11 / 400m 48.04 / 110H 14.37 / DT 42.98 / PV 4.90 / JT 65.38 / 1500m 4:25.5
8618	Bruce Jenner	USA	30/7/1976	Montreal	The XXI Olympic Games	100m 10.94 / LJ 7.22 / SP 15.35 / HJ 2.03 / 400m 47.5 / 110H 14.84 / DT 50.04 / PV 4.80 / JT 68.52 / 1500m 4:12.6
8617	Bruce Jenner	USA	30/7/1976	Montreal	The XXI Olympic Games	mandatory introduction of electronic timing
8538	Bruce Jenner	USA	26/6/1976	Eugene	US Olympic Trials	100m 10.7 / LJ 7.10 / SP 14.34 / HJ 2.00 / 400m 48.6 / 110H 14.3 / DT 51.68 / PV 4.60 / JT 69.28 / 1500m 4:16.4
8524	Bruce Jenner	USA	10/8/1975	Eugene	USA-URS-POL Int. Match	100m 10.7 / LJ 7.17 / SP 15.25 / HJ 2.01 / 400m 48.7 / 110H 14.6 / DT 50.00 / PV 4.70 / JT 65.52 / 1500m 4:16.6
8454	Nikolay Avilov	URS	8/9/1972	München‎‎	The XX Olympic Games	100m 11.0 / LJ 7.68 / SP 14.36 / HJ 2.12 / 400m 48.5 / 110H 14.31 / DT 46.98 / PV 4.55 / JT 61.66 / 1500m 4:22.6
8417	Bill Toomey	USA	11/12/1969	Los Angeles	Combined Events Meeting	100m 10.3 / LJ 7.76 / SP 14.38 / HJ 1.93 / 400m 47.1 / 110H 14.3 / DT 46.49 / PV 4.27 / JT 65.74 / 1500m 4:39.4
8319	Kurt Bendlin	FRG	14/5/1967	Heidelberg	Combined Events Meeting	100m 10.6 / LJ 7.55 / SP 14.50 / HJ 1.84 / 400m 47.9 / 110H 14.8 / DT 46.31 / PV 4.10 / JT 74.85 / 1500m 4:19.4
8230	Russ Hodge	USA	24/7/1966	Los Angeles	LA Times International Games	100m 10.5 / LJ 7.51 / SP 17.25 / HJ 1.85 / 400m 48.9 / 110H 15.2 / DT 50.44 / PV 4.10 / JT 69.49 / 1500m 4:40.4
9206 / 8089	Chuan-Kwang Yang	TPE	28/4/1963	Walnut	Mt. SAC Relays	100m 10.7 / LJ 7.17 / SP 13.22 / HJ 1.92 / 400m 47.7 / 110H 14.0 / DT 40.99 / PV 4.84 / JT 71.75 / 1500m 5:02.4 POINT TABLE 1962
8683	Rafer Johnson	USA	9/7/1960	Eugene	AAU Championships	100m 10.6 / LJ 7.55 / SP 15.85 / HJ 1.78 / 400m 48.6 / 110H 14.5 / DT 51.97 / PV 3.97 / JT 71.10 / 1500m 5:09.9
8357	Vasiliy Kuznetsov	URS	17/5/1959	Moskva	RSFSR Leningrad-Ukraine Int. Match	100m 10.7 / LJ 7.35 / SP 14.68 / HJ 1.89 / 400m 49.2 / 110H 14.7 / DT 49.94 / PV 4.20 / JT 65.06 / 1500m 5:04.6
8302	Rafer Johnson	USA	28/7/1958	Moskva	URS-USA Int. Match	100m 10.6 / LJ 7.17 / SP 14.69 / HJ 1.80 / 400m 48.2 / 110H 14.9 / DT 49.06 / PV 3.95 / JT 72.59 / 1500m 5:05.0
8014	Vasiliy Kuznetsov	URS	18/5/1958	Krasnodar	Leningrad-Moskva-RSFSR-Ukraine Int. Match	100m 11.0 / LJ 7.30 / SP 14.49 / HJ 1.75 / 400m 49.1 / 110H 14.5 / DT 47.50 / PV 4.00 / JT 66.16 / 1500m 4:50.0
7985	Rafer Johnson	USA	11/6/1955	Kingsburg	Combined Events Meeting	100m 10.9 / LJ 7.49 / SP 13.80 / HJ 1.85 / 400m 49.7 / 110H 14.5 / DT 47.20 / PV 3.87 / JT 59.09 / 1500m 5:01.5
7887	Bob Mathias	USA	26/7/1952	Helsinki	The XV Olympic Games	100m 10.9 / LJ 6.98 / SP 15.30 / HJ 1.90 / 400m 50.2 / 110H 14.7 / DT 46.89 / PV 4.00 / JT 59.21 / 1500m 4:50.8
8042 / 7444	Bob Mathias	USA	30/6/1950	Tulare	AAU Championships	100m 10.9 / LJ 7.09 / SP 14.48 / HJ 1.85 / 400m 51.0 / 110H 14.7 / DT 44.62 / PV 3.98 / JT 55.59 / 1500m 5:05.1 /BRUSSELS POINT TABLES
7900	Glenn Morris	USA	8/8/1936	Berlin	The XI Olympic Games	100m 11.1 / LJ 6.97 / SP 14.10 / HJ 1.85 / 400m 49.4 / 110H 14.9 / DT 43.02 / PV 3.50 / JT 54.52 / 1500m 4:33.2
8790.46 / 7824.5	Hans-Heinrich Sievert	GER	8/7/1934	Hamburg	Championship of Gu	100m 11.1 / LJ 7.43 / SP 15.31 / HJ 1.80 / 400m 52.2 / 110H 15.8 / DT 47.23 / PV 3.43 / JT 58.32 / 1500m 4:58.8 /FINNISH POINT TABLES
8462.23	Jim Bausch	USA	6/8/1932	Los Angeles	The X Olympic Games	100m 11.7 / LJ 6.95 / SP 15.32 / HJ 1.70 / 400m 54.2 / 110H 16.2 / DT 44.58 / PV 4.00 / JT 61.91 / 1500m 5:17.0
8255.47	Akilles Järvinen	FIN	20/7/1930	Viipuri	Combined Events Meeting	100m 11.1 / LJ 6.89 / SP 13.14 / HJ 1.80 / 400m 50.0 / 110H 15.4 / DT 36.47 / PV 3.60 / JT 58.15 / 1500m 4:54.2
8053.29	Paavo Yrjölä	FIN	4/8/1928	Amsterdam	The IX Olympic Games	100m 11.8 / LJ 6.72 / SP 14.11 / HJ 1.87 / 400m 53.2 / 110H 16.6 / DT 42.09 / PV 3.30 / JT 55.70 / 1500m 4:44.0
7995.19	Paavo Yrjölä	FIN	17/7/1927	Helsinki	Combined Events Meeting	100m 11.8 / LJ 6.73 / SP 14.27 / HJ 1.85 / 400m 52.8 / 110H 16.8 / DT 40.76 / PV 3.20 / JT 57.40 / 1500m 4:41.8
7820.93	Paavo Yrjölä	FIN	18/7/1926	Viipuri	Combined Events Meeting	100m 11.8 / LJ 6.54 / SP 13.97 / HJ 1.85 / 400m 52.4 / 110H 16.9 / DT 37.31 / PV 3.30 / JT 56.70 / 1500m 4:41.1
7710.77	Harold Osborn	USA	12/7/1924	Paris	The VIII Olympic Games	100m 11.2 / LJ 6.92 / SP 11.43 / HJ 1.97 / 400m 53.2 / 110H 16.0 / DT 34.51 / PV 3.50 / JT 49.69 / 1500m 4:50.0
7485.61	Aleksander Klumberg	EST	17/9/1922	Helsinki	Combined Events Meeting	100m 12.3 / LJ 6.59 / SP 12.92 / HJ 1.75 / 400m 55.0 / 110H 17.0 / DT 39.64 / PV 3.40 / JT 62.20 / 1500m 5:11.3

See also: [Women’s Hepthathlon WR Progression]