Athletes invited to test new Olympic Games Modern Pentathlon format in Budapest (HUN)

Athletes have been invited via their National Federations to participate in the third test of the new Modern Pentathlon format proposed for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The official four-day test event will take place in Budapest (HUN) from April 22-25, 2021 and UIPM has asked member federations to send as many athletes as possible in the context of Olympic Games and continuing COVID-19 Coronavirus restrictions.

The scheduling of the third test event – following tests undertaken in September 2020 in Budapest (HUN) and Cairo (EGY) – is one of the recommendations set out by the dedicated task force appointed by the UIPM Executive Board in December 2020.

The establishment of the task force followed positive feedback from the International Olympic Committee about the new format, which includes a compelling showpiece featuring all five Modern Pentathlon disciplines in 90 minutes.

The task force, led by UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann, was charged with finalising the rules of the format based on further evaluation and testing, with a view to presenting a set of competition rules to the UIPM 2021 Congress.

The event in Budapest (HUN) will provide ideal the testing ground for sports operations, media/TV operations and logistics, as well as the on-site survey that will enable athletes to provide feedback.

The competition will comprise three stages. In both the women’s and men’s categories, 36 athletes will compete first in a Fencing Ranking Round, with points going forward to two semi-finals, each containing 18 athletes.

Eighteen athletes will proceed to the Women’s Final with the other 18 eliminated. The Men’s Final, however, will include only 12 athletes, enabling both options to be assessed.

Different scoring models will also be explored for men and women, including marginal distinctions in the number of Riding obstacles, the value of a touch in the Fencing Ranking Round and the number of laps in Laser Run.

A report will be presented to the task force within five days of the end of the competition (April 30), with the task force then meeting on May 5 to determine recommendations for consideration by the UIPM Executive Board.