UIPM President’s Activities: June 2023

06.06. – 09.06.2023: Riyadh, KSA

Immediately after the UIPM 2023 Pentathlon World Cup Final in Ankara (TUR), UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a site visit and series of meetings with key stakeholders as UIPM Sports continues to develop in the Middle East Asia region.

President Dr Schormann had a productive meeting with Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdul Aziz, Vice-President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee (SAOC). They discussed the future of Modern Pentathlon in Saudi Arabia and explored avenues for collaboration between the SAOC and the Saudi Modern Pentathlon Federation (SMPF).

Prince Fahd, also a member of the executive office and chairman of the education committee of the Olympic Council of Asia, expressed his full support for the development of UIPM Sports and praised the progress of the Saudi team. They also discussed the possibility of hosting international events in Saudi Arabia in the near future.

President Dr Schormann said: “My visit to Saudi Arabia from June 6-8 was highly successful in furthering the growth and development of Modern Pentathlon in Saudi Arabia. The discussions and meetings with key stakeholders demonstrated a shared commitment to advancing the sport and creating opportunities for Saudi athletes to compete at the highest level.

“We hope that with the support of partners including the NOC Vice President, Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdul Aziz, the KSA Modern Pentathlon Team will become more and more motivated to continue achieving remarkable results in both regional and international competitions.”

President Dr Schormann’s visit included extensive meetings with SMPF officials, led by President Nasser Mohammed Aldugether and Secretary General Badr Balobaid. Again, the focal point was the future of UIPM Sports in Saudi Arabia, including infrastructure development, talent identification and training programs, promoting the sport at grassroots level and increasing participation in competitions.

Besides meeting key members of the federation, the UIPM President visited training venues and met with Marian Gheorghe, UIPM Instructor and Head Coach of the KSA Modern Pentathlon team. Dr Schormann congratulated the athletes on their remarkable results in their inaugural participation in the UIPM Southeast Asia Championships in Pattaya (THA), encouraging them to continue their hard work and dedication.

President Dr Schormann’s site visit included an inspection of the training venues used by the KSA Modern Pentathlon Team, where a tour was provided by Sultan Hussain Alauazi, Director of the MAHD Sports Academy. They had deep discussions about new training strategies for young talent across various sports.

21.06. – 02.07.2023: Krakow, POL

UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann visited the 3rd European Games in Krakow (POL) – a very successful multi-sports event organised by the City of Krakow and the Malopolska Region with support of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) and the Polish Olympic Committee.

During his stay in Krakow, UIPM President attended various sport competitions where he met their representatives to discuss matters of sporting politics during this challenging time of military conflict in Ukraine and post-pandemic recovery. He discussed with EOC President Spyros Capralos the importance of the Games in a member nation of the European Union. The Games connected people, generations and whole nations in Europe.

The UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann, together with Executive Assistant Lena Nussbaumer, had meetings with numerous National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to discuss the advantages of the new Modern Pentathlon that will be fully integrated after Paris 2024, underlining that already in 2023 all Youth and Junior competitions are integrating Obstacle as a replacement discipline for Riding.

Intense discussions took place with President Ismet Krasniqi and Secretary General Besim Aliti of the Kosovo NOC, and Macedonia NOC President Daniel Dimevski.

In Kosovo, the NOC wants to extend the partnership with the Kosovo Modern Pentathlon Federation based on the integration of obstacle racing, which gives them much more opportunities to train and compete in future UIPM international events. Furthermore, North Macedonia NOC President Dimevski was very interested to accelerate the development of Modern Pentathlon in his country.

With the new NOC President of Poland Radoslaw Piesiewicz and Janusz Peciak OLY (UIPM EB Member & Polish Modern Pentathlon Federation President), UIPM President Dr Schormann led a briefing about new strategies of sport development in Poland linked to Modern Pentathlon as well as general matters of the Olympic Movement and how niche sports can be supported in the future.

Former world champion and Sydney 2000 Olympian, Dorota Idzi, visited the Modern Pentathlon Semi-finals and Finals with her husband Jaroslaw Idzi, also a former pentathlete. Both were excited at the speed of the sport’s development and growth.

All Members of the European Modern Pentathlon Confederation (EMPC) who attended the European Games joined UIPM President Dr Schormann to discuss their responsibilities around the potential neutral status of athletes with Russia or Belarus passports. Dr Schormann briefed the Board Members about the ongoing discussions between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Federations (IFs).

All were very thankful to the EMPC under the leadership of President Tatiana Ardabieva and Vice President Anna Bajan, as well as Janusz Peciak, for their strong support to LOC President Marcin Nowak and his team of staff and volunteers.

President Dr Schormann also had a meeting with Spanish NOC President Alejandro Blanco Bravo, Secretary General Victoria Cabezas and the Spanish Modern Pentathlon Federation President and Secretary General, Carlos Jimenez del Castillo and Jaime Gonzalez Almaraz.

In their meeting, they discussed the potential of Spanish youth projects and their strong partnership with UIPM based on the new format of Modern Pentathlon. During the Games, Laura Heredia became the first female pentathlete from Spain to qualify for an Olympic Games.

During a reception held by the PMPF President Peciak and EMPC Vice President Bajan, Dr Schormann thanked Krakow 2023 President Nowak and Secretary General Marek Palus for the high-class organization, stating that the Games had been a strong pillar for all NOCs and the whole continental sporting movement to unite European society in pursuit of a freer and more peaceful future.