Décastar is an annual athletics competition that takes place in Talence

Talence

Talence is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.It is the third-largest suburb of the city of Bordeaux, and is adjacent to it on the south side...

, in Gironde

Gironde

For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...

. Organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations

International Association of Athletics Federations

The International Association of Athletics Federations is the international governing body for the sport of athletics. It was founded in 1912 at its first congress in Stockholm, Sweden by representatives from 17 national athletics federations as the International Amateur Athletics Federation...

 (IAAF), it is one of the athletics meetings that make up the IAAF World Combined Events Challenge

IAAF World Combined Events Challenge

The IAAF World Combined Events Challenge is an athletics contest organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations for combined events, the heptathlon for women, and the decathlon for men. The medalists are decided by totaling the number of points that the athletes have scored in...

. Male and female athletes compete in the decathlon

Decathlon

The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . 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...

 or heptathlon

Heptathlon

A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:...

, respectively, and points scored at the Décastar count towards a yearly total for the parent competition.

History

The Décastar competition was first established in 1976 and, after further editions in 1978 and 1984, it was held annually from 1986 onwards. Since its inception it has become one the premier combined event meetings: the 1996 Olympic champion

1996 Summer Olympics

The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

 Dan O'Brien

Dan O'Brien

Daniel Dion O'Brien is a former American decathlete. He was deemed one of the best decathlon athletes of the 1990s, winning an Olympic gold medal after winning three consecutive world titles....

 set a world record in the decathlon at the 1992 edition, a mark which went unbeaten for nearly seven years. At the 2004 edition, the organisers included the rarely competed women's decathlon and Marie Collonvillé

Marie Collonvillé

Marie Collonvillé is a French heptathlete. She was the first-ever IAAF-recognised world record holder in the women's decathlon; the event was officially recognised from 1 January 2005, and her mark of 8160 set in Talence on 26 September 2004 was broken by Austra Skujytė on 15 April...

 set the world record with 8150 points.

Competition format

As with most international combined events competitions, the programme is spread over two days.

Decathlon		Heptathlon
Day one	Day two	Day one	Day two
100 metres 100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...	110 metres hurdles 110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is incuded in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metre hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hurdles of 1.067 metres in height are evenly spaced along a straight...	100 metres hurdles 100 metres hurdles The 100 m hurdles are an Olympic track and field athletics discipline run by women . For the race ten hurdles of a height of 83.8 cm are placed evenly spaced along a straight course of 100 meters. They are positioned so that they will fall over if bumped into by the runner...	Long jump Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
Long jump Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...	Discus throw Discus throw The discus throw is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus...	High jump High jump The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....	Javelin throw Javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...
Shot put Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....	Pole vault Pole vault Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...	Shot put Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....	800 metres 800 metres The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...
High jump High jump The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....	Javelin Javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...	200 metres 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...	—
400 metres 400 metres The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...	1500 metres 1500 metres The 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...	—	—

Records

Décastar meeting records

Event	Athlete	Record
Men's decathlon		8891 points
Women's heptathlon		6831 points
Women's decathlon		8150 points

Winners

Edition	Men's Decathlon		Women's Heptathlon
	Winner	Points	Winner	Points
1976		8468		4357
1978		7930		4596
1984		8428		6714
1986		7944		6258
1987		8220		6533
1988		8512		6733
1989		8512		6599
1990		8525		6321
1991		8456		6425
1992		8891		6673
1993		8317		6703
1994		8710		6441
1995		8430		6478
1996		8478		6451
1997		8425		6536
1998		8410		6 352
1999		8690		6515
2000		8733		6831
2001		8324		6454
2002		8525		6151
2003		8219		6254
2004		8217		6242
2005 2005 Décastar The 29th edition of the annual Décastar took place on 17 September and 18 September 2005 in Talence, France. The track and field competition, featuring a decathlon and a heptathlon event, was part of the 2005 IAAF World Combined Events Challenge....		8326		6675
2006		8438		6256
2007		8553		6437
2008		8312		6473
2009		8291		6485
2010		8328		6453
2011		8200		6679

External links

• Official website
• IAAF report on 2009 edition