The 2021 Women's Decathlon Association Championship was held over the week-end of August 21-22 in San Mateo. J. Gray was once more the star of the competition. Unfortunately the participation was not at the 2019 level: just six competitors took the start (but all of them did manage to finish).
Things were not easy since the wind was particularly strong and it was decided that the athletes would run the 100 m in the opposite direction so as to have a tailwind. And a tailwind did they have, a 4.6 m/s one. And, given the direction of the long jump run-up, the tailwind did contribute to the performance of the athletes. J. Gray benefited from a 2 m/s wind in her best, 6.12 m, jump. Now the rules stipulate that for combined events,
in events where wind velocity is measured, the average velocity (based on the algebraic sum of the wind velocities, as measured for each individual event, divided by the number of such events) shall not exceed plus 2 metres per second.
(Previously there was a wind-speed limit of 4 m/s per event, something totally absurd, as I point out in my article on Wind Effects. Fortunately the old (1969) proposal of the federation of New Zealand was accepted and the current wind-speed limit is 2 m/s albeit obtained as an average over the three events where wind velocity is measured).
So, for Gray the mean wind velocity, up to that point, was above the allowed maximum. It was that essential that in the 100 m hurdles the headwind compensate that. Fortunately for her the event was run in a 2.5 m/s headwind bringing thus the mean wind velocity below 1.4 m/s and thus her record could be homologated. (Corinn Brewer aiming at the high school record was less lucky. He had a tailwind of 2.3 m/s in her long jump and just 0.5 m/s of headwind in her 100 m hurdles pushing the mean wind velocity just over the allowed limit. So, although her final score was better than the previous record it could not be homologated).
Jordan Gray made an impressive appearance in the pole vault, improving her personal best twice, ending at 3.91 m (and barely missing at the 4.01 m height).
In the end she scored 8246 points (a new US record), just 112 points shy of A. Skujyte's world record (and 96 points more than M. Collonvillé's inaugural world record of 8150 points). Her performances were: 11.86-6.12-14.25-1.71-57.27-14.43-39.84-3.91-41.14-5:28.27.
Can she do better than this and break the world record? First, let us deal with the wind effect. Compared to her personal bests the tailwind gave her a 57 (979-922) point advantage in the 100 m, but the headwind in the 100 m hurdles made her lose 89 (918-1007) points. She could probably win a few points in non-windy conditions. Second, her progress in the pole vault is the proof that she is gradually assimilating the technique. If she can master, say, a 4.15 m height she can win an extra 100 points. An extra metre in the discus or the javelin could bring 20 additional points and a world record at the end of the day.
Over the same week-end an ultra-combined event competition was held in France. It was a competition of eicosathlon, which was also open to women. L. Kuntz, who had participated in the 2019 decathlon was present in Epinal and completed the extenuating competition obtaining 10941 points, missing the world record (11090, K. Rodmell, 2004) by 150 points. Had she had only slightly better throws she would have shattered the existing record. Be that as it may, her decathlon points, 5418, registered during the eicosathlon, do surpass her previous, 2019, personal best of 5293 points. But, as far as I am concerned, women should concentrate on the decathlon and ignore the more "exotic" combined events which do not stand a chance of joining the major championships' program one day.
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