Games and Rings
  • A Blog for Olympic Sports Fans

What Is Going On With Modern Pentathlon?

8/2/2022

 

Will Modern Pentathlon Stay 'Modern Pentathlon'?

PictureGen. George Patton was a Stockholm 1912 modern pentathlete (UIPM)
The conclusion of the UIPM Pentathlon World Championships this past weekend had me thinking of the sport and its future. Namely, will modern pentathlon stay 'modern pentathlon'? That's a key question these days, as the sport is under the gun to drastically reform - become more viewer-friendly, more accessible, more...well..."modern" in order to survive as an Olympic sport. How did it get here?

A multi-discipline pentathlon competition featured prominently in the Ancient Olympics. Inspired, Baron Pierre de Coubertin worked to create a 'modern' version to fit into his new modern Olympics. The sport made its Games debut at Stockholm 1912, and has featured in the Summer Games since. With its mix of fencing, swimming, show jumping, shooting, and running, legend has it that the sport was developed around the theme of a wayward soldier fighting his way through various challenges to return to his side of the battlefield. In fact, the majority of the earlier competitors were military men.

The first world championships were held in 1949, and today, the annual competition features events for individuals, teams, and relays for men and women, and a mixed gender relay. And it is a truly global sport, with over 90 national federations spanning all continental regions. These last championships featured ten medal-winning nations across seven event, and spanningEurope, Asia, Americas, and Africa.

Cut to Tokyo 2020, and the sport experienced perhaps its most prolific Olympic coverage yet. Unfortunately, that was thanks to dire (to say the least) problems in the women's equestrian portion. In more than one instance, horses - which are assigned blindly to athletes - balked at jumping at an unusual rate, creating havoc in the standings, images of horse abuse, tears from athletes,  and unwanted attention from PETA. This certainly was the catalyst for the Olympic powers-that-be to renew a demand to change.

Picture
Annika Schleu had an infamous ride at Tokyo 2020 (PA)
The sport has seen reform before. Long criticized as too obscure and with too un-TV-friendly a competition, it's shrunk from five days to one (not including qualifying and semifinal rounds), and integrating the shooting portion to within running - now a 'laser run'. But now, the change requested - er, required - is to completely drop the equestrian portion. And, in order to stay true to the 'pentathlon' meaning, replace it with a new element. So...here comes obstacle racing. That's obstacle racing a la Tough Mudder, Spartan Race, Ninja Warrior, or Tough Guy events - the latter being credited as the first 'official OCR' event.

This is not change on a scale the sport has seen before. This is not akin to basketball introducing a three-point line, or American football introducing a two-point conversion, or canoeing adding in a new extreme slalom event. This is completely removing one core element and replacing it with another that has no history in nor connection to the sport. It's as if triathlon were to drop its cycling portion for climbing instead - a complete different skill set, and a whole new sport made up. Granted, all sports are 'made up'...modern pentathlon's origins certainly being no exception.

I get it. Remaining on the Olympic program could very well be crucial to the sport's overall survival. As a sport with limited visibility and limited viewing attraction, modern pentathlon  - not unlike its winter cousin Nordic combined - may not be able to exist at all for long without the Games. But doesn't the fact the sport is currently the only sports created for the Games count for something? That this sport is the personal project of the modern Olympics' founder? Was the Tokyo 2020 debacle really that disastrous, and not just a one-off? Couldn't refinements to the equestrian portion be made? 

I have no stake in this, other than as an Olympic sport fan who tends to veer on the side of traditionalism of the Olympic program and appreciates a slow, measured 'reward' of a sport's inclusion into the Games. The rapid rise and inclusion of sport climbing, surfing, skateboarding...and (jnsert face-palm emoji here) breaking...give me pause when far more established, global sports such as squash never get a chance, or others like karate and softball get pushed in and out, while still popular. I know, I know...the Olympic program can't fit everyone in, and sports come and go in fashion (everyone remembers that tug-of-war and polo were in the Games once, right?). Plus, marketing is a necessary component of the Games, and a marketer prioritizes what brings in the kids and the TV money, and evolution is good, right? But, still...

In response to the coming change, some of the leading athletes of the sport formed Pentathlon United, to (attempt to) counter the "unfounded, unnecessary, and reckless" decision to change the sport. It's likely all for nought. The UIPM - International Modern Pentathlon Union, the governing body - has held an official obstacle course test event, with plans for more, soon. And, its representative voices are increasing their call for the ever-increasing-in-popularity obstacle-style racing to be included somehow. The change to modern pentathlon is certainly a way to bring 'ninja warriors' into the Olympics without the formality of a new sport application.

Modern pentathlon's new look may be approved for Los Angeles 2028, so we'll still have Paris 2024 to appreciate what the sport is now...and to contemplate modern pentathlon life's questions. Will current obstacle race specialists take on fencing, swimming, running enthusiastically? Will the obstacle race overshadow the other elements? Will this still be 'modern pentathlon', even if that's still the name? Surely, it will be a sport consisting of five events. And it will be 'modern'. But will it be 'modern pentathlon'? What's in a name, after all?

I suppose that wayward soldier of lore could have faced an obstacle course along the way back home. Maybe that is just an undiscovered piece of the legend. Maybe that soldier just doesn't need a horse anymore, after all.
Picture
Contestants try out an obstacle course test competition (UIPM)
Updated 08.03.22 with clarification on the "increasing the call" reference in third to last paragraph.
JR
8/2/2022 10:08:08 am

Thanks for your thoughtful interest in pentathlon.

However, that ‘growing voice’ you link to on Twitter is one of the UIPM’s paid marketing consultants. He’s not an independent voice by any means and he’s not part of the sport. He’s doing what he’s paid to do.

Surveys show that 92% of pentathlon athletes want to keep riding but reform the rules. The UIPM board is loathed by the actual sport community for their cronyism, self-dealing and long-standing refusal to update the riding and welfare standards.

To learn more about the internals of UIPM, I suggest the recent publication “Athletes Pressing Changes: Fighting for the Future of Modern Pentathlon’ by Jorg Krieger.

Games and Rings
8/2/2022 08:10:04 pm

Thanks for the comment! Yes, noted on the "growing voices" source. I'm rooting for the sport to remain true, but not hopeful.


Comments are closed.
    Above: Athens' Kallimarmaro, the site of the 1896 Summer Olympics


    About This Blog

    An Olympics fan blog celebrating all things Olympic sport athletes

    Picture
    Read about me.

    Navigate It

    Celebrating Olympic sport athletes with news links, social media peeks, and more, seen through the cheeky lens of this particular, passionate fan.

    ​Check out:
     A Little Roundup
    Get caught up on the athletes of Olympic sports with a collection of links to recent news and feature stories

    Let's Get Social
    Taking a look at what some of your favorite Olympic sport athletes are up to on social media away from competition.

    They are the Champions
    Congratulations to the world champions of Olympic sports!

    Athletes Worth Watching
    Who are some emerging Olympic sport athletes worth keeping an eye on for the future?

    ​Ramblings and Things
    ​
    I have my own comment and opinions sometimes!

    A Quick Review
    Quick thoughts on Olympic sports-related films, art, books, TV, etc. that I've come across .
    p.s. see my Bookshop!

    Picture
    Me at Rio 2016's Barra Olympic Park


    Follow Me

    Twitter
    Instagram
    ​
    Spotify
    Medium
    ​
    Bookshop
    Post.
    Mastodon
    Tumblr

    Favorite Sites

    The IOC
    The Olympic Museum
    Olympic World Library
    ​Intl Olympic Academy
    ​Team USA
    World Athletics
    ​Athletics Integrity Unit
    WADA
    Court of Arbitration
    Around the Rings
    Inside the Games
    GamesBids.com
    The Sports Examiner
    ​AP Olympics
    ​AP Winter Olympics
    NBC Olympic Talk
    NY Times ​Olympics
    USA TODAY Olympics
    Wiki Summer Olympics
    Wiki Winter Olympics
    ​Athlete365
    ​
    Global Athlete
    ​Olympic Historians
    World Olympians Assoc.
    ​Games Architecture​
    Art of the Olympians
    Olympic.org Results
    ​Olympedia
    ​Olympstats
    ​
    Olympian Database
    ​On This Day in Sports
    ​Coubertin Speaks
    ​Olympic City Project
    ​
    Keep the Flame Alive
    Off The Podium
    The Games Odyssey
    ​Totallympics
    ​Qualifying to the Games
    ​Lost Olympians
    ​
    Olympians 1964 to 2020
    All Sports Books Reviews
    Outsports
    ​
    Queerstory Files
    ​Paris 2024
    ​Milan Cortina 2026
    Los Angeles 2028


    Categories

    All
    A Little Roundup
    Alpine Skiing
    Amsterdam 1928
    Ancient Olympics
    Aquatics
    Archery
    Artistic Swimming
    Athens 1896
    Athens 2004
    Athlete Spotlight
    Athlete Worth Watching
    Atlanta 1996
    Badminton
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Basketball 3x3
    Beach Volleyball
    Beijing 2008
    Beijing 2022
    Berlin 1936
    Biathlon
    Bobsled
    Boxing
    Breaking
    Canoe/Kayak
    Cross Country Skiing
    Curling
    Cycling
    Cycling BMX
    Cycling Mountain Bike
    Cycling Road
    Cycling Track
    Demonstration Sports
    Diving
    Equestrian
    Fencing
    Field Hockey
    Figure Skating
    Freestyle Skiing
    Golf
    Gymnastics
    Handball
    Helsinki 1952
    Ice Hockey
    Innsbruck 1976
    IOC
    Judo
    Karate
    Let's Get Social
    London 1908
    London 1948
    London 2012
    Los Angeles 1932
    Los Angeles 1984
    Los Angeles 2028
    Luge
    Melbourne 1956
    Mexico City 1968
    Milano Cortina 2026
    Modern Pentathlon
    Montreal 1976
    Moscow 1980
    Munich 1972
    Non-Olympic Sports
    Nordic Combined
    Olympics
    Olympic Sports Media
    On This Date
    Other
    Paralympics
    Paris 2024
    Pyeongchang 2018
    Rhythmic Gymnastics
    Rio 2016
    Rome 1960
    Rowing
    Rugby Sevens
    Sailing
    Salt Lake City 2002
    Sarajevo 1984
    Seoul 1988
    Shooting
    Short Track Speedskating
    Skateboarding
    Skeleton
    Ski Jumping
    Ski Mountaineering
    Snowboarding
    Soccer (football)
    Sochi 2014
    Softball
    Speed Skating
    Sport Climbing
    Squash
    Stockholm 1912
    Summer Olympics
    Surfing
    Swimming
    Sydney 2000
    Table Tennis
    Taekwondo
    Tennis
    They Are The Champions
    Tokyo 1964
    Tokyo 2020
    Track And Field
    Trampolining
    Triathlon
    Volleyball
    WADA
    Water Polo
    Weightlifting
    Winter Olympics
    Wrestling


    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014


    To opt-out of cookies, and to read this site's privacy policy, read the Policy page.

    The following link is listed for Mastodon site verification purposes only:
    Mastodon

    RSS Feed


Proudly powered by Weebly