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.
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 1980 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 which were held in 4 venues:
- Equestrian held on July 20 at the Trade Unions Equestrian Centre situated in the Bitsa forest park
- Fencing held on July 21 at the Sports Palace of the Central Sports Club of the Army
- Shooting held on July 22 at the Dynamo Shooting Range in Mytishchi
- Swimming held on July 23 at the Swimming Pool of the Olympiski Sports Complex
- Cross-country held on July 24 at the Trade Unions Equestrian Centre
The modern pentathlon at the 1972 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:
The modern pentathlon at the 1968 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:
The modern pentathlon at the 1976 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:
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:
Egypt, which is represented by the Egyptian Olympic Committee (EOC), competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States from July 19 to August 4, 1996. Twenty-nine Egyptian athletes, twenty-seven men and two women, competed in boxing, handball, judo, rowing, shooting, swimming, weightlifting, and wrestling, but the nation did not win any medals.
Israel competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States. The nation returned to the Summer Games after participating in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. 32 competitors, 24 men and 8 women, took part in 46 events in 11 sports.
Olga Aleksandrovna Rukavishnikova is a Soviet athlete who mainly competed in the women's pentathlon event during her career.
Finland competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 64 competitors, 63 men and 1 woman, took part in 62 events in 14 sports.
At the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, a single modern pentathlon event was contested. The event was held at the Aldershot Lido outdoor pool in Hampshire.
Guatemala competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. In what was the country's fourteenth Summer Olympics since its debut at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. A total of twelve athletes competed in nine sports and twelve distinct events. It was the lowest number of participants for Guatemala since the 1980 Games in Moscow, USSR. Three of the twelve athletes were taking part in their second Olympics, and one of them, race walker Luis García, participated in his fourth. In any event that involved a progression through rounds, the Guatemalan athletes did not advance past the first round; as of the Beijing Olympics, there had yet to be a Guatemalan medalist. At the opening ceremony, badminton player Kevin Cordón bore Guatemala's flag.
Chen Qian is a female Chinese modern pentathlete who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London finishing in 5th place on both occasions.
Veikko Salminen is a Finnish modern pentathlete and épée fencer. He won a bronze medal in the team modern pentathlon event at the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Egypt competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012, sending one of its largest delegations ever. A total of 110 Egyptian athletes participated in 83 events across 20 sports, with more women taking part than ever before. The nation's flagbearer in the opening ceremonies was Hesham Mesbah, a judoka who was Egypt's only medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Egypt won two medals during the course of the Games: Alaaeldin Abouelkassem earned silver in the men's foil, becoming the first competitor from an African nation to win a fencing medal, while Karam Gaber captured silver in the men's 84 kg Greco-Roman wrestling event. Two Egyptian weightlifters were awarded medals retroactively, after higher-ranked competitors were disqualified for doping: Abeer Abdelrahman took silver in the women's 75 kg event, while Tarek Yehia, received bronze in the men's 85 kg event. Among other achievements, Mostafa Mansour was the nation's first competitor in sprint canoeing while fencer Shaimaa El-Gammal became the first Egyptian female to appear in four editions of the Olympics.
Saint Lucia competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's fifth consecutive appearance at the Olympics.
Sarolta Kovács is a Hungarian modern pentathlete. An individual and team World Champion, she competed in the modern pentathlon at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics.
Natalie Dianová is a Czech modern pentathlete. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed in the women's competition, finishing in 22nd place.
At the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the men's individual modern pentathlon event was contested. It was the ninth appearance of the event, which had been featured at every Summer Olympics since 1912. The individual scores were also used for the men's team event.
