UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann issues statement on COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic

UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann has made a statement to the global UIPM Sports community in the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

Dear colleagues and friends of the UIPM movement,

I am writing to share some reflections on the COVID-19 Coronavirus and the way it is affecting our global sporting movement and our lives.

I have been involved in Modern Pentathlon for 58 years and I have never experienced such a difficult situation as the one we are now facing. But this is true for all global society.

Our normal way of life has been interrupted. This applies to all walks of life across education, business and sport. It affects our everyday work, our social lives and of course, our sporting ambitions.

But while we are interrupted, we are also united. Our countries are working together to contain the pandemic. And I would like to ask you all to play your part. Please, follow the advice of your Government and your health authorities and try to do everything you can to stop the virus from spreading.

If we all do this, we will all feel safer and more protected, and soon we will be able restore our normal way of life and our UIPM Sports movement, which means so much to us.

To our athletes, coaches and support teams … I would like to say thank you for your patience. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will now take place from July 23 to August 8, 2021. That means you will have 16 months to prepare, which I hope will give you some comfort. Today, we realise that you cannot train properly for the Modern Pentathlon. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The Olympic flame is still burning brightly in Tokyo and waiting for us.

To our National Federations, I promise you that we are working hard within the UIPM Executive Board to create a new competitions schedule for later in 2020 and for 2021. I know this is a difficult time for you, as the Tokyo 2020 Olympic cycle has been extended from four years to five. Soon you will have the information you need to continue planning your programmes. Please remember that the entire world of international sport is facing the same challenge.

To everybody in our UIPM Sports community, whether you are involved in Triathle, Laser Run or Para Pentathlon, whether you are a judge or a team manager or a development officer, I want to say hold on to your goals and hold on to your dreams. By standing together against this virus we will defeat it, and after we have defeated it we will be stronger.

Take care of yourselves and your loved ones, and remember we are all one family in Modern Pentathlon and Olympic sport sharing responsibility for the legacy of our founder, Baron Pierre de Coubertin.

Let us all continue to provide solidarity and strong support for IOC President Dr Thomas Bach and everyone who is committed to the success of the Olympic movement.