About Modern Pentathlon
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What Is Modern Pentathlon?Modern pentathlon is an exciting diverse sport, dating back to the ancient Olympic Games in Greece. Back then, the pentathlon consisting of running the length of the stadium, jumping, throwing the spear, throwing the discus and wrestling was introduced for the first time at the 18th Olympiad in 708 BC. The earliest recorded winner of the pentathlon was Lampis of Sparta, nearly 3,000 years ago. The founder of the modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, introduced Modern Pentathlon to the Games at the 5th Olympiad in Stockholm, Sweden, 1912. It comprised the sports of pistol shooting, fencing, swimming, horse riding and running. De Coubertin believed that this event "tested a man's moral qualities as much as his physical resources and skills, producing thereby the ideal, complete athlete". The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM), founded in 1948, is the guardian of modern pentathlon and in cooperation with the national and continental organisations, ensures consistency and unity in modern pentathlon around the world. |
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Modern Pentathlon Association of WA At the Sydney Olympics, for the first time in Games history, women were able to compete in the modern pentathlon. Not only did this promote equality, it also gave women the opportunity as modern pentathletes to pursue the dream of an Olympic medal. Today both men and women contest all five events of the Modern Pentathlon in one day. A points system for each event is based on a standard performance earning 1000 points. The winner is the pentathlete who has accumulated the most points after the five events. At official UIPM competitions, there is some flexibility in the order of events, but the running must always be the final event. The Western Australian Modern Pentathlon Association Inc (MPAWA) is the state governing body for Modern Pentathlon. Australia has qualified to be represented in this sport at every Olympic Games since 1952, sending men’s and women’s teams to every World Championship in the last four years and qualifying male and female athletes for all the available representative places at the Sydney, Athens and Beijing Olympic Games. MPAWA aims to:
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