The modern form of the pentathlon was created by Baron Pierre de Coubertin who saw it as a way to make the sport more attractive to the public. This new edition is based on the skills that a 19th century cavalry soldier had to apply behind enemy lines: riding an unknown horse, fighting with a pistol and sword, swimming and running.
As its name suggests, this sport consists of 5 events that are contested in this order: fencing, swimming, horseback riding and combined running/firing. It’s a sport that interests more and more people with recognized champions like Alexandre Dallenbach.
In view of the different events it includes, this sport is not yet well understood and it is therefore necessary to look at all the disciplines.
Fencing
Fencing is the first event contested. Opponents face each other and fight with an epee for one minute. The round ends when one of the two fighters touches the other. If after one minute there is no touch, there is a double defeat. If there is a double hit, on the other hand, the bout resumes until there is only one winner. The points awarded in this event are calculated on the basis of a percentage of wins.
Swimming
This event is a simple 200-meter freestyle. Competitors are simply ranked according to their best time. Swimming is often considered to be the fairest event in modern pentathlon because the race conditions are always the same and the candidates are faced with a time trial.
Riding
This discipline is contested in the form of a jumping course over a 400 to 450 metre course with 12 obstacles. Unlike swimming, this event is often considered the most difficult. Even for an expert horseman, the character of the horse must be determined by drawing lots only 20 minutes before the start of the event.
The combined race/draw
In the past, the race and the shooting were held separately. In order to modernize the pentathlon and make it more spectacular, it was decided to merge the two events and take inspiration from the pursuit of biathlon. The combined run/shoot consists of a 3200-metre cross-country race over an 800-metre course with four stops at a shooting range where competitors use a laser gun to hit a target 10 metres away. Like all other events, it awards points that are primarily used to evaluate performance as the first to complete the course wins the pentathlon.
With its five different sports, the pentathlon can be a difficult sport to access. However, it is enjoying growing public support. This success can be explained in particular thanks to the various adjustments in the form that have led the pentathlon to be more modern but also by the undisputed presence of several great athletes such as Alexandre Dallenbach.
