The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in London, United Kingdom from 29 July to 14 August 1948.
The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport that comprises five different events; fencing, freestyle swimming (200 m), equestrian show jumping, and a final combined event of pistol shooting and cross country running (3200 m). This last event is now referred to as the laser-run, since it alternates four legs of laser pistol shooting followed by an 800 m run. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the ancient Olympics; as the original events were patterned on the skills needed by an ideal Greek soldier of the era, the modern pentathlon is similarly patterned on events representing the skills needed by cavalry behind enemy lines.
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event that was held from August 25 to September 11, 1960, in Rome, Italy. The city of Rome had previously been awarded the administration of the 1908 Summer Olympics, but following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906, Rome had no choice but to decline and pass the honour to London.
The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which were held in Stockholm, Sweden in June 1956.
A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente (five) and -athlon (competition). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games. Five events were contested over one day for the Ancient Olympic pentathlon, starting with the long jump, javelin throwing, and discus throwing, followed by the stadion and wrestling. Pentathletes were considered to be among the most skilled athletes, and their training was often part of military service—each of the five events in the pentathlon was thought to be useful in war or battle.
Modern pentathlon is a sports contest created especially for the Summer Olympic Games by the founder of the modern Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, and was first contested in 1912. Coubertin was inspired by the pentathlon event in Ancient Olympic Games, which was modeled after the skills of the ideal soldier at the time.
The women's modern pentathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held on Friday, August 22. Three venues were used: Olympic Green Convention Center, Ying Tung Natatorium (swimming), and the Olympic Sports Center Stadium.
The 2011 Military World Games, officially known as the 5th CISM Military World Games, was hosted from July 15–24, 2011 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, commonly known by the acronym UIPM, has been the international governing body of modern pentathlon since its foundation in London in 1948. Its headquarters are in Monte-Carlo, Monaco and it has 115 national federation members. Modern pentathlon was introduced at the 5th Olympiad in Stockholm (SWE) in 1912, comprising the contemporary sports of pistol shooting, fencing, swimming, horse riding and running, which embraced the spirit of its ancient counterpart.
Brazil' participated in the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore.
The modern pentathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London was held from 11 to 12 August 2012. The men's and women's events each involved 36 athletes. The venues for the events were the Copper Box (fencing), the Aquatics Centre (swimming), and Greenwich Park.
Nicholas Lloyd "Nick" Woodbridge is a British modern pentathlete. The modern pentathlon includes the disciplines of shooting, swimming, fencing, equestrian, and cross country running. Woodbridge competed for Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics, in Beijing, China, and finished 25th in the men's modern pentathlon. He also competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. where he finished in 10th place. In 2013 he achieved his best career result when he took the silver medal in the World Championships.
Samuel "Sammy" Weale is a British modern pentathlete who has competed at the Olympic Games. Weale competed for Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics, in Beijing, China, and finished 10th in the men's modern pentathlon. He also competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. His identical twin Chris is a goalkeeper who has played for Leicester City F.C. and Bristol City F.C. as well as home club Yeovil Town F.C.
Yane Márcia Campos da Fonseca Marques is a modern pentathlon athlete from Brazil. She became nationally known despite the obscurity of her sport in the country after winning a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, the first Latin American to medal and the only woman to do so.
The Commonwealth Paraplegic Games were an international, multi-sport event involving athletes with a disability from the Commonwealth countries. The event was sometimes referred to as the Paraplegic Empire Games and British Commonwealth Paraplegic Games. Athletes were generally those with spinal injuries or polio. The Games were an important milestone in the Paralympic sports movement as they began the decline of the Stoke Mandeville Games' dominating influence. The event was first held in 1962 and disestablished in 1974. The Games were held in the country hosting the Commonwealth Games for able-bodied athletes.
The Modern Pentathlon Association Great Britain is the national governing body for the sport of modern pentathlon in Great Britain, recognised by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne. Modern Pentathlon, the sport Baron Pierre de Coubertin called ‘the veritable consecration of the complete athlete’ comprises five events: fencing, swimming, riding, shooting and running. Today’s competition involves fencing épée for a single hit against each of the other competitors; swimming 200 metres freestyle; riding an unknown horse round a show-jumping course, and then running four 800 metre laps each preceded by shooting at five targets with a laser pistol. First appearing in the Olympic Games of 1912 at the specific request of de Coubertin, founder of the Modern Olympic Games, the same five sports have comprised this greatest of all Olympic challenges and the sport completed one hundred years of unbroken Olympic participation in 2012. Despite technological changes the five events have remained essentially the same. In Stockholm in 1912, competitors brought their own horses, fenced outdoors without electric equipment, used military pistols and swam and ran outdoors. The Stockholm event took six days to complete while the super-athletes of today finish in a single day; in 1912 only men competed while today women share equal billing; the 1912 competitors were nearly all military men while today civilians generally dominate the sport. The recent changes in the sport which combine shooting and running in a single event and make use of laser pistols are some of the exciting new developments that put Modern Pentathlon at the forefront of 21st century sporting advances. Even after one hundred years of Olympic competition, Modern Pentathlon’s ability to move with the times has made it the true test of the all-round Olympic super athlete.
Chloe Esposito is an Australian shooter and modern pentathlon competitor. She competed at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in the 10 m air pistol. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the modern pentathlon and won the gold medal in the same event at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
