The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the ancient Olympics. The modern pentathlon was first held in 1912, and its rules have changed several times over the years. The latest structure, as of the 2020 Olympics, consists of three separate events for fencing, swimming, and equestrian, which determine each athlete's starting time in the final event. The last event, called the laser-run, alternates four legs of laser pistol shooting followed by an 800 m run.
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.
The modern pentathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 19 to 20 August 2016 at Deodoro Aquatics Centre, Deodoro Stadium, and Youth Arena.
Aleksander Leonidovich Lesun is a Belarusian-born naturalized Russian modern pentathlete. He is a multiple-time medalist at the World and European Championships, and was a top-ranked male modern pentathlete in the world by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).
Esteban Bustos Rodríguez is a modern pentathlete from Chile. He was born in Santiago. He won a bronze medal at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, and received an automatic qualifying berth for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, following the footsteps of his brother Cristián, who had previously competed in Beijing, four years before.
Jean Maxence Berrou is a French modern pentathlete. He is also a two-time champion at World Cup circuits, two-time silver medalist at the European Junior Championships, and is currently ranked no. 26 in the world by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).
John Zakrzewski is a French modern pentathlete. He is currently ranked no. 179 in the world by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).
Bartosz Majewski is a Polish modern pentathlete. He won a silver medal for the relay at the 2010 European Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, and is currently ranked no. 63 in the world by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).
Marcin Horbacz is a Polish modern pentathlete. He is also a two-time champion at the 2007 and 2009 World Cup circuit, and is currently ranked no. 106 in the world by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).
Galina Dolgushina is a Kazakhstani modern pentathlete. As of 2011, she is ranked no. 194 in the world by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).
Omnia Abdel Khalek Fakhry is an Egyptian modern pentathlete. Fakhry qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where she competed in the women's modern pentathlon, along with her teammate Aya Medany. During the competition, Fakhry made a strong performance in the early rounds, when she finished fifth in pistol shooting, and eighteenth in a one-touch épée fencing. She placed second in the third heat in the 200 m freestyle swimming, but displayed a poor performance in the show jumping, when her horse Naonao repeatedly stopped short, veered left before the obstacles, and nearly tossed her over the barrier. In the end, Fakhry finished the event with cross-country running in thirtieth place, for a total score of 4,996 points.
Lucie Grolichová is a Czech modern pentathlete. She is a six-time medalist at the World Championships.
Nam Dong-Hong is a South Korean modern pentathlete. He is also a silver medalist at the 2008 Korean Open & Asian Championships in Seoul, and is currently ranked no. 123 in the world by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).
Yun Cho-Rong is a South Korean modern pentathlete. She also won a gold medal for the women's individual event at the 2006 Asian Modern Pentathlon Championships in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Belinda Schreiber is a Swiss modern pentathlete. She is currently ranked no. 63 in the world by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).
Sara Bertoli is an Italian modern pentathlete. She won two medals, silver and bronze, in the women's relay event at the 2002 and 2004 World Championships in San Francisco, California, United States and in Warsaw, Poland, respectively. Bertoli is a member of the modern pentathlon team for Gruppo Sportivo Fiamme Azzurre, and is coached and trained by Luigi Filipponi.
Karla Marlene Sánchez Rodríguez is a Mexican modern pentathlete. She is currently ranked no. 82 in the world by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).
Angie Darby is an Australian modern pentathlete. As of August 2011, Darby is ranked no. 141 in the world by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).
The modern pentathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo took place in 2021 at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza and Ajinomoto Stadium.
The modern pentathlon at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris is scheduled to take place from 8–11 August 2024 at the Palace of Versailles and the Vélodrome National. The Palace of Versailles will host all the modern pentathlon events, excluding the fencing ranking rounds which will occur at the National Velodrome. Two events will be contested, one for men and another for women.
Italy 
