The Modern Pentathlon

The modern pentathlon is the only sport created for the Olympics. Debuting in 1912, pentathlon was the brainchild of Baron Pierre de Cubriton, the founder of the modern Olympic movement. Cubriton envisioned a sport that tested both the mind and body of an athlete, a sport that would showcase the best all-around sportsmen.

To create this sport, Cubriton looked to the Napoleonic courier and the skills this soldier would need to deliver his message. First, he needed to be an accomplished horseman, utilizing the most reliable form of transit at the time. Then he needed to be able to shoot and fence his way out of any enemy attacks. He needed to swim across rivers and run if all else failed. These same skills are displayed today in the modern pentathlon.

In today's format, athletes compete in all five disciplines in one day. The athlete receives a point score in each discipline before proceeding to the next. The disciplines are competed one at a time in the order of shooting, fencing, swimming, horseback riding, and running. The final discipline is running in which athletes are handicapped or penalized based on their cumulative point totals from the previous four events. The result is that the first athlete who crosses the finish line is the winner of the pentathlon.

Shooting

Athletes shoot a 20-shot course with high power air pistols at 10 meters (33 feet). With one hand and 40 seconds per shot, athletes aim for a 10 ring (bull's-eye) about 0.33 inches in diameter. Out of a possible 200 target points (20 bull's-eyes), athletes can gain or lose 12 pentathlon points per target point (or the equivalent of 3 seconds of running). From a par score of 1000 pentathlon points for 172 target points, athletes try to start the day with a solid score of between 1000 and 1200.

Fencing

Each athlete fences every other athlete to a duel of one touch with an epee. There are virtually no rules except that whoever touches the opponent first wins the match. This creates a fun free-for-all type of duel where athletes can try to hit hands, feet, or bodies of their opponents. Athletes who score 70% victories achieve 1000 points while athletes who make 50% victories will score approximately 800 points. Each fencing touch is worth 28 points (or the equivalent of 7 seconds of running).

Swimming

Athletes compete in a 200-meter swim in a competition pool. A 2:05 swim is typical for today's athletes, and results in 1300 points. For every second faster or slower than 2:05, athletes gain or lose 12 points per second (or the equivalent of 3 seconds of running) respectively.

Stadium Jumping/Riding

Athletes draw for a horse provided by the competition organizers. All horses must be qualified on the course before the event. Each athlete has only 20 minutes to warm-up on the horse (including a maximum of five jumps) before completing a course of 15 jumps set 4 feet high and 4 feet wide. From a maximum score of 1200 points, athletes are given deductions for knocking down rails, stopping before a jump, falling off, going off course, and going over the allowed time.

Running

In the pentathlon, athletes conclude the competition with a 3000-meter (1.82 mile) cross-country course. Based on their performance in the first four disciplines, athletes are ranked and handicapped. The leader after four events starts first. Every other athlete starts behind the leader based on how many points behind the leader they are. For instance, an athlete 20 points behind the leader will start 5 seconds after the leader as every second in running is worth 4 pentathlon points. Because of this, whoever crosses the finish line first wins the modern pentathlon competition.

Pentathlon as a Worldwide Sport

While not a mainstream sport in the USA yet, pentathlon is competed in many countries around the world. There are typically representatives from 4 continents on the podium every year in major World Cup competition and at World Championships. Nearly 50 countries compete in pentathlon's World Championships, and more countries are developing programs to qualify for international-level competition. Historically, Eastern Europe has dominated pentathlon; but Egypt, the USA and Asian countries have recently put up impressive results as well. Countries as diverse as Libya, Cuba and Panama are starting pentathlon programs and could break into the international scene within the next decade.