The Most Difficult Olympic “A” Standards
Posted by Jimmie R. Markham | July 16, 2008
Which Olympic "A" Standards are the easiest to achieve? Which are the most difficult? I was curious about this so I compared each standard to its corresponding world record and came up with the following list. What do you suppose are the reasons for wide variance between the most difficult "A" standard (the men’s 800m run) and the easiest (the women’s discus throw)?
| Rank | Event | Gender | Olympic "A" Standard | World Record | % Variance |
| 1. | 800 Metres | M | 1:46.00 | 1:41.11 | 4.8% |
| 2. | 100 Metres | M | 10.21 | 9.72 | 5.0% |
| 3. | 1500 Metres | M | 3:36.60 | 3:26.00 | 5.1% |
| 4. | 400 Metres Hurdles | M | 49.2 | 46.78 | 5.2% |
| 5. | 110 Metres Hurdles | M | 13.55 | 12.87 | 5.3% |
| 6. | 400 Metres | M | 45.55 | 43.18 | 5.5% |
| 7. | 5000 Metres | M | 13:21.50 | 12:37.35 | 5.8% |
| 8. | 10,000 Metres | M | 27:50.00 | 26:17.53 | 5.9% |
| 9. | 800 Metres | W | 2:00.00 | 01:53.3 | 5.9% |
| 10. | High Jump | M | 2.3 | 2.45 | 6.1% |
| 11. | 100 Metres Hurdles | W | 12.96 | 02:24.0 | 6.1% |
| 12. | 400 Metres Hurdles | W | 55.6 | 52.34 | 6.2% |
| 13. | Triple Jump | M | 17.1 | 18.29 | 6.5% |
| 14. | 3000 Metres Steeplechase | M | 8:24.60 | 7:53.63 | 6.5% |
| 15. | 200 Metres | M | 20.59 | 19.32 | 6.6% |
| 16. | High Jump | W | 1.95 | 2.09 | 6.7% |
| 17. | 5000 Metres | W | 15:09.00 | 14:11.2 | 6.8% |
| 18. | Pole Vault | M | 5.7 | 6.14 | 7.2% |
| 19. | 1500 Metres | W | 4:07.00 | 03:50.5 | 7.2% |
| 20. | 20 Kilometres Race Walk | M | 1:23:00.0 | 1:17:25.6 | 7.2% |
| 21. | 10,000 Metres | W | 31:45.00 | 29:31.8 | 7.5% |
| 22. | 20 Kilometres Race Walk | W | 1:33:30.0 | 1:26:52.3 | 7.6% |
| 23. | 200 Metres | W | 23 | 21.34 | 7.8% |
| 24. | 100 Metres | W | 11.32 | 10.49 | 7.9% |
| 25. | 3000 Metres Steeplechase | W | 9:46.00 | 09:01.6 | 8.2% |
| 26. | 400 Metres | W | 51.55 | 47.6 | 8.3% |
| 27. | Long Jump | M | 8.2 | 8.95 | 8.4% |
| 28. | Triple Jump | W | 14.2 | 15.5 | 8.4% |
| 29. | Marathon | M | 2:15:00 | 2:04:26 | 8.5% |
| 30. | 50 Kilometres Race Walk | M | 4:00:00.0 | 3:40:57.9 | 8.6% |
| 31. | Hammer Throw | M | 78.5 | 86.74 | 9.5% |
| 32. | Long Jump | W | 6.72 | 7.52 | 10.6% |
| 33. | Hammer Throw | W | 69.5 | 77.8 | 10.7% |
| 34. | Decathlon | M | 8000 | 9026 | 11.4% |
| 35. | Pole Vault | W | 4.45 | 5.03 | 11.5% |
| 36. | Shot Put | M | 20.3 | 23.12 | 12.2% |
| 37. | Discus Throw | M | 64.5 | 74.08 | 12.9% |
| 38. | Javelin Throw | W | 60.5 | 71.7 | 15.6% |
| 39. | Marathon | W | 2:37:00 | 2:15:25 | 15.9% |
| 40. | Javelin Throw | M | 81.8 | 98.48 | 16.9% |
| 41. | Heptathlon | W | 6000 | 7291 | 17.7% |
| 42. | Shot Put | W | 18.35 | 22.63 | 18.9% |
| 43. | Discus Throw | W | 61 | 76.8 | 20.6% |
Topics: Analysis, Blog, Jumps, Long Distance, Middle Distance, Multi-events, Sprints/Hurdles, Throws |
August 1st, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Wow, that’s pretty cool.. I just discovered this site like a week or so ago.. finally something to almost satisfy my obsession!