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 United States of America (USA), represented by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. U.S. athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, except the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, which was boycotted by the American team and 65 other countries in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The USOC sent a total of 588 athletes to Beijing (310 men and 286 women), and competed in all Olympic sports except handball.
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 fifth Olympiad in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1912, comprising the contemporary sports of pistol shooting, fencing, swimming, horse riding and running, which embraced the spirit of its ancient counterpart.
Vakhtang "Vaho" Iagorashvili is a Soviet modern pentathlete, who has been a member of three different Olympic teams during his sporting career.
Samuel 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 retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
The women's Individual competition of the modern pentathlon events at the 2011 Pan American Games was held on October 15 at the Hipica Club. The defending Pan American Games and the Pan American Championship, champion was Yane Marques of Brazil.
Margaux Isaksen is a modern pentathlete from the United States who competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She placed 4th at the London Olympics after coming from behind but missed a medal.
Mhairi Spence is a British modern pentathlete. She has won a series of medals at European and World Championships, but was not selected for the 2008 Summer Olympics by the British team due to the limited number of places available. After considering retiring in 2009, she returned to the sport and in 2012 she won gold medals in both the individual and the team events at the 2012 World Championships, and qualified to be chosen for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
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, London, in the modern pentathlon and won the gold medal in the same event at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro.
Amro Abdulrahman Ali El-Geziry is an American modern pentathlete. He competed for Egypt at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics and placed 32nd, 33rd and 25th, respectively. His brothers, Emad and Omar, are also Olympic pentathletes.
Peter Samuel Konrad Sacksen is an American modern pentathlete from Somerset, Pennsylvania. He is currently ranked no. 56 in the world by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).
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).
Leila Gyenesei is a Hungarian modern pentathlete and cross-country skier. She is a five-time medalist at the World Championships, and is currently ranked no. 19 in the world by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM). She is also the daughter of István Gyenesei, former Minister of Local Government and chairman of the Association for Somogy party.
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.
Andrea Valentini is an Italian modern pentathlete. He won a bronze medal in the men's team event at the 2004 World Championships in Moscow, Russia. Valentini is a member of the modern pentathlon team for Gruppo Sportivo Fiamme Azzurre, and is coached and trained by Luigi Filipponi.
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.
Angie Darby is an Australian modern pentathlete. As of August 2011, Darby was ranked no. 141 in the world by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).
Charles Fernandez is a Guatemalan modern pentathlete. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's event and finished fifteenth. Fernandez won the men's modern pentathlon at the 2015 Pan American Games. He also won a gold medal at the World Junior Championships. Fernandez has competed in three World Modern Pentathlon Championships as well as multiple youth and junior world championships and a Central American and Caribbean Games.
