Athletes who have to climb walls, jump over ditches or climb along scaffolding – the future of modern pentathlon could look like this or something similar. Because a kind of obstacle course should replace horseback riding.
The world association finds a discipline that would go well with the modern pentathlon. Inventor Pierre de Coubertin combined several disciplines from the military more than 100 years ago – and the steeplechase has its roots in military training. The German national coach Kim Raisner can also understand why an obstacle discipline is favoured:
A touch of “Ninja Warrior”
“We will also fight to stay in the Olympic program and this ‘obstacle run’ or this variation – there are very different runs from Ninja Warrior to military runs. We actually come from the military and that’s why he’s Coubertin “Compatible, so to speak. Of course you also look across the pond in the direction of popularity, because things like this are already popular, they’re spectacular. And I think that’s the approach: People say we could do that too attract people.”
More audience, but also more pentathletes. Because show jumping is expensive and elitist. This is also the main argument of the world association UIPM: riding excludes many nations and athletes. In the sense of the Olympic idea, the new discipline of modern pentathlon should become more accessible. But that doesn’t mean you have to abolish horseback riding, says former British pentathlete Kate Allenby, who works with the interest group Pentathlon United to keep horseback riding alive.
“It’s not about the horseback riding. It’s the UIPM that decided that the horseback riding is the problem, that it doesn’t fit what the IOC requires of an Olympic sport: universality, ticket sales, social media presence. These are all failures of an international association. It is not a problem of the product.”
Modern pentathlon – trying to keep up with the times
The product “modern pentathlon” has been changed many times in recent years: shooting and running have been combined into laser runs, competition times have been shortened again and again. That’s how it works for other sports, too, Raisner notes:
“Everything is becoming more fast-paced. A lot is being shortened. You can see that when walking, the long distance is eliminated. When swimming, the long distances always have problems, and everything is always being shortened a bit more. And our format of five days more than three in one day. There’s always change. It’s just getting faster and faster. And at some point, I think, you have to think: yes, is it still a sport? Everything has to be doable.”
uncertainty in practice
The summer will show how feasible the initiated change is for the modern pentathlon: a test phase is to start after the World Cup final in Ankara. Two variants of the obstacle discipline are to be tested in test competitions in Europe, Asia and America. There is no more detailed information, not even for the national associations. That left you hanging in the air, according to coach Raisner:
“We know it’s going to be an ‘obstacle run’. We don’t yet know in detail what it’s supposed to look like. That means we can’t start training with anyone yet. We can now that we know okay, riding is out, that should be it, we can start thinking about how we want to proceed.”
Criticism of the world association UIPM
In total, there were 60 suggestions from nations and athletes for new disciplines to replace show jumping. The world association had initiated the process after the games in Tokyo. However, Allenby doubts whether that would have been necessary at all.
“The information we have from the IOC says that the IOC has never asked the UIPM to abolish horseback riding. That is the first point. The second is that the IOC also told us that it would not agree if a new sport they believe is being introduced into the Olympic program through a back door. The IOC has very strict criteria and pathways for the inclusion of new sports in the Olympic program. And that would be a back door entry. It has never happened before .”
Allenby and Pentathlon United have therefore written a letter to the IOC and demand that not only the decision-making process for the new fifth discipline be examined. But also the entire World Federation of Modern Pentathlon. There has been a lot of mismanagement in recent years, says Allenby:
“If the UIPM wins this case, a precedent will be set that will allow force majeure to be used again to cancel one of the other disciplines. The most obvious example is fencing because it is outside of the continuous format that the UIPM promotes So if you throw in another sport, it’s not Modern Pentathlon anymore.”
Modern pentathlon and society’s perspective
So for Allenby it’s not just about riding, but about the general question of what modern pentathlon could look like in the future. But reputation in society is also important for survival, says Raisner. And recalls that riding was criticized even before Tokyo 2021.
“Society is changing, the demands are different. People might want to see something different. And well: if riding is no longer so up-to-date or you say: no, we don’t want these pictures anymore. Then maybe you have to accept.”