New 5th Discipline update: UIPM President and Secretary General visit IOC President in Lausanne (SUI)

UIPM leaders briefed Dr Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), on UIPM’s New 5th Discipline reforms during a meeting in Olympic House, Lausanne (SUI).

UIPM President, Dr Klaus Schormann, and Secretary General, Shiny Fang, gave a detailed presentation to President Dr Bach and Kit McConnell, IOC Sport Director on June 7.

They also answered questions about the two variations of Obstacle Discipline that will be tested for the first time in Ankara (TUR) on June 27-28, and how UIPM proposes to transform Modern Pentathlon into one of most popular, accessible and exciting sports on the Olympic programme.

On Friday (June 10) the UIPM leaders and members of the UIPM Athletes Committee will sit on the panel for an Open Athletes Meeting in Ankara (TUR), enabling athletes to have open dialogue on the proposed reforms.

President Dr Schormann said: “We were delighted to meet with the IOC President and Sport Director in Olympic House and provide them with a comprehensive update on the New 5th Discipline as we enter the testing phase.

“The meeting went well and we are very excited about the possibilities for the future of Modern Pentathlon in the Olympic Games. We look forward now to our meeting with athletes in Ankara on Friday.”

The IOC announced in December 2021 that Modern Pentathlon would not be on the programme for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games unless UIPM could provide a compelling case for inclusion, and President Dr Bach described the New 5th Discipline consultation as a “critical reform”.

In November 2021, UIPM launched a consultation aimed at identifying a suitable replacement for Riding in Modern Pentathlon. UIPM 2021 Congress voted overwhelmingly in favour (81%) of the removal of Riding from Modern Pentathlon after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

A New 5th Discipline Working Group was created, with 21 members combining internal and external expertise, including three members of the UIPM Athletes Committee elected by their peers in June 2021.

The working group considered and debated more than 60 proposals before selecting two variations of Obstacle Discipline for testing in May.