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.
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 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney was held from 30 September to 1 October 2000. The men's and women's events each involved 24 athletes. The venues for the events were The Dome and Exhibition Complex, the Sydney International Aquatic Centre (swimming), and Sydney Baseball Stadium. For the first time in Olympic history, modern pentathlon at these Olympic games had the highest ratio of NOC representation with respect to its quota out of all the sports, and also, the women's event was officially included in the program.
The modern pentathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held from 26 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.
Modern pentathlon is a sport contested at the Summer Olympic Games.
Modern pentathlon competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held on August 21 and August 22 at the Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Ying Tung Natatorium (swimming), and the Olympic Green Convention Center. Modern pentathlon contained five events; pistol shooting, épée fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a 3 km cross-country run.
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.
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 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.
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.
The modern pentathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo took place in 2021 at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza and Ajinomoto Stadium.
The men's modern pentathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was held on 19 August. Three venues were used: Deodoro Aquatics Centre (swimming), Deodoro Stadium and Youth Arena (fencing).
Modern pentathlon was introduced at the Youth Olympic Games at the inaugural edition in 2010 for both boys, girls and mixed relay. In the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore it consisted of four of the five modern pentathlon disciplines: fencing, swimming, running and shooting. There was no riding. In 2014 Summer Youth Olympics and 2018 Summer Youth Olympics it consisted of five modern pentathlon disciplines: fencing, swimming, running, shooting, and horse riding.
Great Britain, the team of the British Olympic Association (BOA) which represents the United Kingdom, is scheduled to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024. British athletes have appeared in every Summer Olympic Games of the modern era, alongside Australia, France, Greece, and Switzerland.
This article details the qualifying phase for modern pentathlon at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Thirty-six athletes for each gender must qualify for the Games, with only a maximum of two each per NOC. Qualification methods are similarly applied to both men's and women's events.
The Czech Republic is scheduled to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024. It will be the nation's eighth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics after splitting from the former Czechoslovakia.
Switzerland is scheduled to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024. Swiss athletes have appeared in every Summer Olympic Games edition of the modern era, except for a partial boycott of Melbourne 1956 as a protest to the Soviet invasion of Hungary.
Italy is scheduled to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024. Italian athletes have appeared in every Summer Olympics edition of the modern era, with the disputed exception of St. Louis 1904 in which one Italian may have competed.
Ukraine is scheduled to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024. It will be the nation's eighth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era and the first since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Egypt is scheduled to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024. Since the nation's debut in 1912, Egyptian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games except for two occasions: the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles because of the worldwide Great Depression and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, as part of the United States-led boycott.
