Modern Pentathlon
History
The origin of modern pentathlon is very much linked to military activities. In Ancient Greece, Spartans used the sport to select the most versatile soldiers. The sport was included by the Greeks in the Ancient Games and as the winner of the pentathlon was seen as the great winner, it held a position of prestige.
The sports involved and the way the competition was held was different than it is currently. Pentathlon consisted of long and high jump events, as well as discus, javelin, running and wrestling. Each stage worked as a qualifier and only two athletes would make it to the end, when they’d wrestle between each other to establish the winner.
The sport changed and it became what we know as modern pentathlon today at the end of the 19th century thanks to a Swedish military officer. He had the idea of adapting the sport so that it would portray a military simulation. The intention was to recreate situations where soldiers had to deliver messages behind enemy lines. The so-called adventure started on a horse, went past shooting, fencing and swimming, finishing with a race.
A modern pentathlon enthusiast, the Baron of Coubertin managed to include the sport in the Olympic programme of the 1912 Games in Stockholm. For him, the sport should have a similar position to the one it enjoyed in the Ancient Games, becoming one of the main Olympic competitions. However, the Baron’s wish did not materialise itself and modern pentathlon is still fighting for its place in the sun among much more successful sports.
In Atlanta 1996, modern pentathlon underwent an important change. Up until then, the competition lasted several days, however, this was changed and now, athletes have to complete all the events in just one day. The aim behind this was to make the competition more dynamic and thus, increase its audience. In the first edition of the Games after the changes were implemented, Aleksandr Parygin from Kazakhstan won the gold medal with a total of 5,551 points, scored after 13 hours of competition.
Curiosities
From Hollywood to the Olympics
Actor Dolph Lundgren is known the world over for the role he played as boxer Drago – Rocky’s rival - in the film Rocky IV. However, there are other interesting facts about the actor that are not as well known. Some examples: Lundgren is a karate black belt and won the European championship twice. In addition, he has a chemical engineering master’s degree and took part in the 1996 Games in Atlanta, as coordinator of the USA modern pentathlon team.
The actor’s ties to pentathlon started because of the movies. In 1994, the film ‘Pentathlon’ was released, where the main character (Lundgren) gets involved with neo-Nazis after winning the Olympic gold medal for East Germany at the Seoul Games in 1988. The contact with the sport led to an invitation for the actor to lead the USA team in Atlanta, drawing attention to the sport, which was running the risk of being excluded of the Olympic programme.
The partnership did not work out too well. In Atlanta, US athlete Michael Gostigian - only representative from the country at the Games - finished the competition in a modest 16th position, scoring a total of 5,305 points.
See also
Confederação Brasileira de Pentatlo Moderno (CBPM)
Site: www.pentatlo.org.br
E-mail: pentatlo@pentatlo.org.br
Federação Internacional de Pentatlo Moderno (UIPM): www.pentathlon.org
