Crossfitter vs Decathlete, who’s in better shape?

Javier Colomer 6 min. of reading CrossFit Leave a comment

One of the most asked questions lately since the rise of CrossFit, is whether the claim they make naming their champion and championess as the fittest on Earth is true, and for that some have decided to make a comparison with the benchmark of balance in terms of classic sports abilities:

The decathlon

What is the Decathlon?

The decathlon is a classic athletics discipline, Olympic since Stockholm 1912, where over two consecutive days a total of 10 events are held to determine who is the most complete athlete in the competition.

The winner of this event is named by the organization as “The best athlete in the world”

Decathlon Events

The competition takes place through 4 running events, 3 throws and 3 jumps.

On the first day the events are:

100m sprint
Long jump
Shot put
High jump
400 meters sprint

On the second day:

110 meters hurdles
Discus throw
Pole vault
Javelin throw
1500 meters run

The marks obtained in the different events are scored according to the International Athletics Federation scoring tables. The athlete with the highest score will be declared the winner of the competition.

So, we already have these tangible events to start figuring out who really is fitter.

But to make things clearer, let’s do a “face off” between the best decathlete in the world vs the best CrossFitter

CrossFitter VS Decathlete

The best decathlete in the world right now is Ashton Eaton. The Oregon man, current world record holder, Olympic champion in London and World champion in Beijing this year, where he set the highest score ever achieved in the Olympic discipline.

Rich Froning Jr, 4-time CrossFit Games winner and considered the best in the short history of the fitness sport.

Athlete Comparison

Endurance

Well, if we pick some specific decathlon events, we see Eaton with marks like:

100m sprint in 10.21s
400m in 45s
200m in 20.76s
1500m in 4:14

We see he would be competitive even in the specific events of the discipline, except the 1500m at international level, meaning a true natural powerhouse. On the other hand, the CrossFitter from Tennessee is very, very far behind.

With an approximate 400m of 60s, or a 5000m in the “twenties,” he can’t do much against the athlete in running events.

It’s clear that the principle of specialization affects all events, but we need data to start the comparison

The reason for leaving out throws or more technical elements is precisely due to the degree of specialization these events require, taking years to perfect the technique of high jump, hammer throw or javelin throw

Strength

If we look at the strength elements, the decathlete doesn’t have much to envy from the absolute numbers of the CrossFitter:

Froning with a clean and jerk of 170kg, a squat of 220kg or a deadlift of 270kg
Eaton with a clean of 150kg or a squat of 250kg

The decathlete can match or even surpass him in certain elements, despite being lighter (90kg Froning) (84kg Eaton).

The curious thing about the strength elements is that, being specific competition elements for the CrossFitter, and only accessory elements included in the decathlete’s preparation, he is still stronger than the CrossFitter, stronger in his own discipline… we’ll come back to this point

Does Decathlon Develop Physical Condition Better?

So, if taking strength and physical conditioning elements as references, the decathlete comes out better, does this mean decathlon prepares better for developing these abilities than CrossFit?

The answer is neither yes nor no, since the rhetorical question was wrongly formulated…

If Ashton Eaton, when he started to stand out in sport, had chosen CrossFit instead of decathlon, probably, his numbers would be similar in those elements less dependent on technique and more on physical potential.

Here lies the heart of the matter:

Decathlon is a sport that follows the basic principles of specialization

Conclusion

The decathlete is born…

Only those who are “born” to be decathletes can be decathletes

To be competitive in this sport you need very specific inherent phenotypic qualities, great height and wingspan, dominance of type 2B muscle fiber composition (fast twitch) and obviously a locomotor development that allows the athlete to reach the technical excellence required in various elements of the discipline.

Therefore, not just anyone can be a decathlete

The CrossFitter is “forged”…

However, if our definition of “the fittest or most complete person in general” includes factors like:

the capacity to endure and resist pain
defining mental strategies when our heart rate is through the roof, or
being able to face the unknown, and
offering performance across the widest range and spectrum of skills, time domains and different capacities,

We can say that the CrossFitter is the most complete athlete, while the Decathlete is a specialist less specialized than other athletics disciplines