The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport that comprises five different events; fencing, freestyle swimming (200m), equestrian show jumping, and a final combined event of pistol shooting and cross country running (3200m). This last event is now referred to as the laser-run, since it alternates four legs of laser pistol shooting followed by an 800m 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.
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.
The modern pentathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held from 26 August to 27 August 2004, at the Olympic Modern Pentathlon Centre at the Goudi Olympic Complex. The men's and women's events each involved 32 athletes, an increase of eight from the previous games.
Kazakhstan competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's third appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era.
The modern pentathlon at the 1984 Summer Olympics was represented by two events: Individual competition and Team competition. As usual in Olympic modern pentathlon, one competition was held and each competitor's score was included to the Individual competition event results table and was also added to his teammates' scores to be included to the Team competition event results table. This competition consisted of 5 disciplines:
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.
At the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, a single modern pentathlon event was contested.
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.
The UIPM Senior World Championships is an annual global international competition in modern pentathlon. It was first held in 1949 under the organization of the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM).
Modern pentathlon was one of the many sports which was held at the 1994 Asian Games in Mihara, Hiroshima, Japan on 9 to 11 October 1994.
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.
European Modern Pentathlon Championships is main modern pentathlon championships in Europe.
Lada Vladimirovna Jienbalanova is a female modern pentathlete from Kazakhstan. She competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where she finished fourteenth in the women's event with a score of 5,076 points. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Jienbalanova fell off her horse during the riding segment, and decided not to run in the 3 km-cross country race, finishing only in last place.
Kazakhstan competed at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics, in Nanjing, China from 16 August to 28 August 2014.
The modern pentathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo will take place from 6 to 8 August 2020 at Musashino Forest Sports Plaza and Ajinomoto Stadium.
Modern triathle competition at the 2014 Asian Beach Games was held in Phuket, Thailand from 20 to 21 November 2014 at Naiyang Beach, Phuket.
Max Esposito is an Australian modern pentathlete. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's event. He was the youngest athlete in the race and finished seventh. Esposito has also competed in one Youth Olympic Games and one World Modern Pentathlon Championships.
This article lists the main modern pentathlon events and their results for 2018.
This article lists the main modern pentathlon events and their results for 2013.
This article lists the main modern pentathlon events and their results for 2007.
