Individual athletes are assigned a points score best on an average of their best recent competition performances.
The performance scoring is primarily based on the time or mark of the athlete, plus additional points for their placing within the competition, and some minor modifications based on the conditions.
[1] The world rankings are updated each Wednesday.
As of 31 March 2020, the number one ranked male athlete is Armand Duplantis with 1515 points,[2] and the number one ranked female athlete is Sifan Hassan with 1528 points.
IAAF World Rankings, as of 17 September 2019.