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Modern pentathlon made it’s competitive debut at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. The sport was introduced by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who is the father of the modern Olympic Games. read more
 "Modern pentathlon- history, rules, defending champions")
Great Britain's Joseph Choong is the defending champion of the men's individual event of the modern pentathlon in Olympics. Reuters
The history of pentathlon goes back to the ancient Olympic Games. Initially, pentathlon was introduced in order to determine the strongest athletes and soldiers of the ancient times. The ancient pentathlon included five sports —Long jump, javelin throw, discus throw, running race and wrestling.
The sports were included in such a away that at that time, these competitions were considered to be beneficial for soldiers in order to prepare for wars. Modern pentathlon came much later, during the modern Olympic Games.
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What is modern pentathlon’s history at the Olympics?
Modern pentathlon made it’s competitive debut at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. The sport was introduced by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who is the father of the modern Olympic Games. Initially, the events of modern pentathlon included shooting, swimming, equestrian, fencing and athletics, but later, shooting was combined with running to reduce the number of sports in modern pentathlon to four.
Initially, just one event of the modern pentathlon was held per day, but in order to make the sport more spectacular, all the events began being contested on the same day. The women’s event wasn’t introduced into the Olympics till the 2000 Sydney Games. European countries have dominated modern pentathlon events at the Olympics, with most notably Sweden winning 13 medals between the 1912 Stockholm Games and the 1932 Los Angeles Games.
What are the rules?
A total of four events from five sports make up the modern pentathlon competition:
Show jumping: In show jumping, an athlete is assigned to ride on an unfamiliar horse via a draw that takes place just 20 minutes before the competition.
Fencing: Fencing is split into two rounds. The first one is a ranking round. In the ranking round, each athlete competes against the other in a bout that either goes on for a minute or the till the first blow is initiated by an athlete. The second round is then held based on the results of the first round. The duration of each bout in the second round, a knockout round, is 45 seconds. Players earn points winning each bout in fencing.
Swimming: The swimming event at the modern pentathlon in Olympics is a 200m freestyle event. Athletes are seeded based on their personal best time as per the Pentathlon World Ranking.
Running and shooting: The running and shooting event at the modern pentathlon is the final event of the competition. The starting position of every athlete is based on the total scores of the first three events, with the highest scorer starting from first place. The distance of the race varies from 3,000 to 3,200 metres. The athletes are required to alternate between running and shooting at five given targets from a distance of 10m.
The winner of the modern pentathlon in both men’s and women’s categories is determined in a simple way. The first athlete who surpasses the finish line in the laser-run event wins the gold medal.
Who are the reigning champions?
Men’s individual: Joseph Choong (Great Britain)
Women’s individual: Kate French (Great Britain)
How many athletes have qualified for the modern pentathlon events at the Paris Olympics?
A total of 72 athletes (36 men and 36 women) have qualified for the modern pentathlon events at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
When and where will modern pentathlon take place at the Olympics?
The modern pentathlon events at the 2024 Paris Olympics will take place between 8 August and 11 August. The fencing ranking rounds will be held at the North Paris Arena, whereas the remaining events will take place at the Palace of Versailles.
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English (US) ·