The Modern Pentathalon

The Modern Pentathlon

The Pentathlon is a contest of 5 sports- jumping, running, wrestling, throwing the discus and hurling the spear or javelin that occurred between the same contestants on the same day. The contestant who won three events was considered the victor; but that was in the Ancient Greek times, now the modern day Pentathlon is very different. The sports The sports that make up the modern Pentathlon became part of the Olympic Games in 1912 at Stockholm, Sweden. The modern contest includes pistol shooting, fencing, swimming, show jumping and cross-country running. Only the equestrian event (the show jumping) has changed significantly since the 1912 Olympic Games. It has changed from a 5000 metre cross-country course to a 600 metre stadium-jumping event. In the modern Pentathlon points are awarded for each individual performance and the contestant with the highest point total is declared the winner. Modern Pentathlon competitions were open exclusively to men until 1977, when the women’s modern Pentathlon was officially introduced at the World Championships is San Antonia, Texas. The Modern Pentathlon is not just for the Olympics; competitions are held regularly the lowest age group is under 14’s and you cannot compete in the Olympic modern Pentathlon until you are eighteen or above. Shooting Air pistols are used in this part of the modern Pentathlon. Competitors must stand at a distance of 10 m away from the target and fire 20 shots on command at the target they have 40 seconds to aim and fire at the target before they have to shoot again. Scoring Shooting targets vary in size but most are marked out concentric rings to give scoring zones ranging from 1 point on the outside ring to 10 points on the 2 inner rings (show target and describe it). The targets have 2 different background colours white on the outside and black in the middle. If a shot hits between 2 lines it scores the higher point. Fencing Competitors use йpйe swords; they have a stiff, triangular, fluted blade, which have a maximum length of 110mm and they are wired at the point for scoring. Athletes face every other competitor in the competition and the first person to score a point within the time limit wins the fight. The Piste Fights take place on a piste a mat that covers an area of floor of 1.8m wide and 14m long. Along side the mat is an electronic scoring kit. All this makes up the piste. Scoring You can tell when a hit has been scored because a light lights up on the scoring equipment. The prйsider (referee) says halt when a hit has been scored or when a weapon has hit the floor. Clothing (Take out helmet and put it on)! Fencers wear white, protective clothing, including a wire mesh face guard (show helmet) a under plastron (a half jacket with no seem that covers the main fencing arm (the arm you write with) so that a foil can’t get through to pierce your skin) a white jacket is worn over everything to protect you and show where part of the scoring area is, girls also wear a chest protector. Swimming (Take out goggles and put them on)! The swimming is 300m freestyle that is swum in heats according to your personal best time. After all the heats the fastest 8 go through to the final and out of those 8 the fastest 4 are placed in the middle lanes which has a slight advantage of having less water turbulence. Electronic touch pads are placed at either end of the swimming pool to time the competitors. Horse Riding (Take out whip and hold it firmly) Competitors draw lots for a horse and only have 20 minutes to get to know it. They then face 12 obstacles over a 600m course. Riders start with 1,100 point and get points deducted for Knockdowns (knocking a pole of a jump 30 pts deducted) Refusals (the horse refusing to go over a jump 40 pts deducted) Falling off (the rider falling off the horse 60 pts deducted) if the rider falls off more than once they are eliminated from the event. Time Penalties (going over the time allowed 3 pts per second over the time limit are deducted) if the finishing time is twice the time limit the rider is eliminated from the event. Running This is the final event of the modern Pentathlon and is a 3,000m course marked out over a undulating terrain. The event winner is the first person over the finish line. The contestants run times of 10 minutes for men and 11 minutes 20 seconds for women which earns them 1,00 points, every half second above or below this standard will gain or lose the 2 points. That is the five sports of the modern Pentathlon and all include very different skills! Running-Stamina and speed Horse Riding-Control and balance Swimming-Stamina and speed Fencing-Stamina and hand eye co-ordination Shooting-Hand eye co-ordination.