 Shooting during a laser-run | |
| Highest governing body | Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne |
|---|---|
| First played | 2015 [1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Mixed-sex | mixed relay only |
| Equipment | Laser pistol |
| Venue | Outdoor on grass, dirt or track and field stadium |
| Presence | |
| Country or region | Worldwide |
Laser-run (also known as laser run) is a multisport competition consisting of running and shooting. It is a sport in its own right and the last event of the modern pentathlon where it was formerly known as combined.
Laser-run is a competition that involves cross country running and laser pistol shooting in multiple sequences. Laser-run competitions are held under rules of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM). [2]
The sequence of a laser-run is as follows:
The number of repetitions and the distances depend on the age group of the competitors. [2] Running distances range from 300 to 600 m. Distance to the target is 5 or 10 m. On senior level, a competitor runs five 600 m laps with four series of hitting five targets at a distance of 10 meters.
There are different rankings according to gender and age group.
From 2015 to 2021 the running distances were 200 m, 400 m and 800 m. [3]
The laser-run uses laser pistols and targets that have to be homologated by the UIPM. Laser pistols are usually also provided by the organizers at regional competitions to enable an easier entry into the sport. In national or international competitions, the participants compete with their own pistols. The laser pistols are safe for spectators and participants. They are almost noiseless and they are not subject to weapons legislation.
The laser-run uses electronic targets with five green and red lights as indicators. The target is similar to the one of 10 Meter Air Pistol competitions with the dimension of 17 x 17 cm and a black target area of 59,5 mm in diameter. The distance from floor level to the centre of the target is 140 cm.
There are no special requirements for running equipment.
The first Laser Run World Championships were held in 2015. [1] The Laser Run City Tour aims to introduce the sport to audiences in different cities all over the world. [4] Furthermore, Laser-run was a showcase event at the 2019 World Urban Games in Budapest [5] and was part of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. [6]
Host cities of the Laser Run World Championships:
| No. | Year | Host city | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2015 | Perpignan [7] |  France |
| 2 | 2016 | Lisbon [8] |  Portugal |
| 3 | 2017 | Cape Town [8] |  South Africa |
| 4 | 2018 | Dublin [9] |  Ireland |
| 5 | 2019 | Budapest [10] |  Hungary |
| cancelled | 2020 | cancelled: Xiamen [11] cancelled: Weiden [11] |  China  Germany |
| 6 | 2021 | cancelled: Minsk [12] Cairo [13] |  Belarus  Egypt |
| 7 | 2022 | Lisbon [11] | Portugal |
| 8 | 2023 | Bath [14] |  United Kingdom |
| 9 | 2024 | Zhengzhou [15] | China |
Host nations of the Laser Run City Tour since 2017:
| Continent | Country |
|---|---|
| Africa | Burkina Faso, [16] Egypt, [17] Gambia, [18] Ghana, [19] Ivory Coast, [20] Mali, [21] Niger, [22] Nigeria, [23] South Africa, [24] Togo, [25] Uganda [26] |
| Americas | Argentina, [27] Bolivia, [28] Chile, [29] Colombia, [30] El Salvador, [31] Guatemala, [32] Haiti, [33] Mexico, [34] Panama, [35] Peru, [36] United States, [37] Venezuela [38] |
| Asia | Afghanistan, [39] China, [40] India, [41] Kazakhstan, [42] Malaysia, [43] Mauritius, [44] Oman, [45] Pakistan, [46] Philippines, [47] Singapore, [48] Sri Lanka, [49] Turkey, [50] Uzbekistan [51] |
| Europe | Armenia, [52] Belarus, [53] Denmark, [54] France, [55] Finland, [56] Germany, [57] Georgia, [58] Greece, [59] Great Britain, [60] Hungary, [61] Italy, [62] Kosovo, [63] Latvia, [64] Moldova, [65] Poland, [66] Portugal, [67] Russia, [68] Spain, [69] Ukraine [70] |
| Oceania | Australia, [71] New Zealand [72] |
Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms and bows/crossbows.
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.
Modern pentathlon is a sport contested at the Summer Olympic Games.
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 2011 World Modern Penthathlon Championship was held in Moscow, Russia from September 8 to September 14, 2011. The event was supposed to take place in Cairo but because of the 2011 Egyptian revolution it was moved to avoid any further political instability. The event includes pistol shooting, fencing, 200m swimming, show jumping and a 3 km run. For the first time laser pistols were used.
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.
Obstacle course racing (OCR) is a sport in which a competitor, traveling on foot, must overcome various physical challenges in the form of obstacles. Races vary in length from courses with obstacles close together to events of several kilometers which incorporate elements of track, road and/or cross country/trail running. Courses may include climbing over walls or up ropes, monkey bars, carrying heavy objects, traversing bodies of water or mud, crawling under barbed wire, and jumping through fire.
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.
Anastasiya Prokopenko, nee Samusevich is a Belarusian modern pentathlete who competed at three Summer Olympics.
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.
Ondřej Polívka is a modern pentathlete from the Czech Republic. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, along with his teammates David Svoboda, who eventually won a gold medal in the men's event, and his girlfriend Natálie Dianová in the women's event. During the men's competition, Polívka made a disastrous start, with a disappointing score in one-touch épée fencing, but managed to keep his pace in swimming and horse-riding. His best competition result happened in a first ever combined running and pistol shooting, where he set two Olympic records for hitting five shots each in three sessions, with a score of 33.6 target points. Polívka finished the last segment in fourth place, despite his staggered start with a handicapped time and his accomplishment in laser pistol; however, he finished the event only in fifteenth place.
The modern pentathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo took place in 2021 at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza and Ajinomoto Stadium.
South African Modern Pentathlon Association (SAMPA) is the governing body for the sport of modern pentathlon in South Africa recognised by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM). Modern pentathlon of the current era is an Olympic sport that is made up of five events: fencing, freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a final combined event involving laser pistol shooting, and cross-country running.
Triathle is a sub-sport of modern pentathlon consisting of running, swimming and shooting.
Volha Silkina is a Belarusian modern pentathlete. She won the gold medal in the women's individual event at the 2019 World Modern Pentathlon Championships held in Budapest, Hungary. She also won the gold medal in the women's team event together with Anastasiya Prokopenko and Iryna Prasiantsova.
Elena Micheli is an Italian modern pentathlete.
The National Federation of Modern Pentathlon of Armenia, is the regulating body of modern pentathlon in Armenia, governed by the Armenian Olympic Committee. The headquarters of the federation is located in Yerevan.
The laser pistol is a piece of sports equipment used to imitate firearms and is used in some sports including modern pentathlon, laser-run and triathle competitions. Laser pistols do not fire projectiles and can therefore be safer for spectators and participants. They can also be used in more places since the requirements for a backstop are not as strict except for laser eye safety. Regulation varies between jurisdictions, but they are usually not subject to laws concerning air guns or firearms and are often sold freely.
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.