by Lia Skoufos, MS
This article is part of 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. For more information on how the World Rankings system works, see this article.
Any athlete with aspirations of representing Team USATF on a global stage, whether at the Olympic Games or World Athletics Championships, must first be selected to the team. For recent global championships, as outlined in our Athlete Selection Procedures, athletes select themselves via place finish at a designated selection event such as the USATF Outdoor Championships or U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Put simply, the top three finishers in each event who have qualified by either entry standard or world rankings position make up the team in addition to anyone qualified by wild card. With the introduction of the world rankings in 2020, the entry standards became more difficult by design. World Athletics’ goal was to set the championships entry standards such that half the athletes qualified via the entry standard and the other half qualified via world rankings. However, this has not always been the case in practice. For Team USATF, qualifying via entry standard vs. world ranking tends to vary depending on the event.
Since the world rankings were introduced as a method of qualification for both the World Athletics Championships and Olympic Games, 77% of Team USATF athletes have qualified by achieving their respective entry standard. In some events, athletes have historically been more reliant on world rankings, and in rare instances Team USATF has had less than three qualified athletes in an event. Tables 1 and 2 below break down the athletes who finished in the top three at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials or USATF Outdoor Championships over the past five seasons by qualification method for the respective global championship. These tables only factor in athletes who placed in the top three and do not extend beyond that, even if athletes beyond the top three qualified. Wild cards are also not accounted for in these tables.
The figures below display the same data, but in a more visually appealing way.
Even at a quick glance, Figure 1 is clearly much greener than Figure 2, highlighting the dominance and depth of U.S. athletes on the track. Especially in the sprint events, it is nearly impossible to place in the top three at our National Championships without also achieving the entry standard in the process. On the other hand, some of the field events tell a different story. There are many field event athletes who must rely on their world ranking as a road to qualification. However, leaving the discussion at this would be doing a disservice to field event athletes due to the clear difference in the number of athletes achieving entry standards in the sprint events. From just this past year, sprint events (100m, 200m, 400m, 100mH, 110mH, and 400mH) averaged a whopping 45.1 athletes globally hitting the entry standard. In contrast, the field events (shot put, discus throw, hammer throw, javelin throw, high jump, long jump, triple jump, and pole vault) averaged 15.5 athletes globally hitting the entry standard. Even when controlling for the number of athletes in the field (48 for sprint events, 40 for hurdle events, and 36 for field events), there is still a significant difference in the proportion of athletes qualifying for global championships via entry standard in the sprint events vs. field events. A potential explanation is that each country is limited to three athletes in each event at a global championship (aside from wild cards), and some countries (such as the U.S.) show significant depth in the sprint events. Regardless of the reason, it is undeniable that ranking points are vital for global championship qualifying for many events (especially certain field events). These athletes must carefully select their competitions and peak at the right time to maximize their ranking points and opportunities to compete at a global championship. More details on rankings, results, and scenarios can be found on the World Athletics website. You can also experiment with my World Athletics Rankings Dashboard & Calculator or World Rankings Over Time, 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.