Modern Pentathlon takes the stage at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games

Forty eight athletes, 24 men and 24 women, will battle it out in the Men’s Individual, the Women’s Individual and the Mixed-Relay Competition for the three Gold medals on offer.

The spotlight will be firmly on these talented young athletes as they showcase the sport of Modern Pentathlon to a global audience from the Nanjing International Expo Centre and the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre.

Dr hc Klaus Schormann, President of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, said: “There is something very special about watching live world class sporting action and we are sure you will be both amazed and excited by the talented array of young athletes on show here in Nanjing at the Youth Olympic Games.

“The best young male and female pentathletes in the world will push themselves to the limit both mentally and physically as they tackle the disciplines of Fencing, Swimming and the Combined Event of Running and Shooting.

“The Youth Olympic Games gives us the opportunity to present Modern Pentathlon on a global stage and show the skills and endurance of our athletes to a worldwide audience.

“This competition also shows participation in Modern Pentathlon is continually growing across the world and points to a bright future for only for our sport, but for sport in general.”

Although Modern Pentathlon is traditionally a five discipline event, at the Youth Olympic Games it has just four (called “Modern Tetrathlon”) which are – Fencing, Swimming and the Combined Event of Running and Shooting.

There is one change to the competition format from the Singapore Youth Olympic Games of 2010 in that the fencing has been divided into two rounds – a ranking round and a final round.

The Men’s and Women’s Round Robin individual events get things underway on August 22nd with the Women’s Final on August 23rd, the Men’s Final the following day and the Mixed Relay bringing the Modern Pentathlon competition to a close on August 26th.

Competition across all three events is very strong and there are no out and out favorites, which will make all three events here in Nanjing nail-biting competitions right to the finish line.

The order of disciplines in Men’s, Women’s and Mixed Team Relay events will be – the Fencing Ranking Round; Swimming (200m Freestyle); Fencing Final Round; Combined Running and Shooting.

As part of the Cultural and Education Programme, today, 21 August, UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann hosted an exhibition of Modern Pentathlon in downtown Nanjing to promote the sport within the local community.

One hundred children from a local school met the UIPM family and competed in their own mini-version of the Modern Pentathlon to encourage them to consider taking up the sport.