by Lia Skoufos, MS
This article is the first in a USATF Campus exclusive series to help understand the World Athletics Rankings. For track enthusiasts and elite athletes alike, this series aims to provide clarity, analysis, and education on all things World Rankings and how they impact Team USATF.
In early 2019, the IAAF (now World Athletics) released a system to rank and compare athletes – both within and between events – with a grace period for athletes, coaches, agents, and other constituents to adapt to the system before employing it as a method for qualification to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Up until this point, qualification for the IAAF World Championships and Olympic Games was solely based on an entry standard, and any unfilled spots were then given to the next best athletes based on mark. Prior to 2021, most athletes who competed in the IAAF World Championships or Olympic Games achieved these entry standards, and few spots were left to descending order lists. With the release of this new ranking system, automatic entry standards became more difficult. Thus, fewer athletes automatically qualify for global championships, and more athletes must be intentional about choosing the competitions and delivering the performances that will enhance their World Ranking.
An athlete’s World Ranking is based on their average score over a certain number of competitions in a set window. Apart from distance events (3000m and longer) and Combined Events, the required number of performances to establish a World Ranking is 5 within the last 12 months. For all specific performance density requirements, see Table 1 below.
For World Athletics to determine what your best performances are in the set ranking period, they calculate what are called Performance Scores. Performance Scores are the total of the Results Score and Placing Score for any given event.
The first component of an athlete’s Performance Score is their Results Score. In conjunction with Dr. Bojidar Spiriev’s ranking methods developed with Elite Ltd (All-Athletics), World Athletics releases and annually updates the World Athletics Scoring Table of Athletics, which assigns all performances a score between 0 and 1400. This differs from the combined events scoring tables; and as such, a decathlon, heptathlon, or pentathlon is scored on the Scoring Table of Athletics as a singular event. This document accounts for differences in short track (indoor) and standard-sized tracks. It also includes road running and walking events. Except for adjustments for wind or elevation in applicable events, this table directly maps each performance to a score, rounding down on score when necessary. An athlete’s Results Score accounts for most of the points in an athlete’s Performance Score.
Placing Scores depend on two factors: the place finish of the athlete and the category of meet at which the result was achieved. As of 2023, the only meets that count toward a World Ranking are ones that are first registered on the World Athletics Calendar. Each of these competitions is then assigned a category. There are 10 categories, ranked as follows: OW, DF, GW, GL, A, B, C, D, E, F. OW encompasses the World Athletics Championships, Olympic Games, and World Athletics Ultimate Championships. DF is dedicated to the Diamond League Finals. For reference, every category is broken down here. The higher the meet category, the more points an athlete is awarded for placing well. For example, winning the Olympic Games is worth 375 points, but winning a small college meet is only worth 15 in most cases.
For some events, there are similar disciplines that can count towards an athlete’s World Ranking given that at least half of the performances for the ranking are in the standard event. This tends to include events that are similar in length or are the short track equivalent to the standard event. These events also exist on the World Athletics Scoring Table of Athletics, so athletes are not scored the same for equal times performed on a short track versus a standard 400m track. All Similar Events are listed in Table 2 below.
*sh = Short track More details on rankings, results, and scenarios can be found on the World Athletics website. You can also experiment with this World Athletics Rankings Dashboard & Calculator, hosted exclusively on USATF Campus.
Lia Skoufos is a Sports Scientist at USATF specializing in throwing events. She holds a BS in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois Chicago and MS in Sport and Exercise Analytics from Marquette University and supports a range of analytics-based projects at USATF. In addition to her work with the throws group, she focuses on creating data-driven visuals and bridging the gap between technical analytics and practical applications by translating complex information into clear, actionable insights for coaches, athletes, and all USATF Campus members.