In the modern pentathlon, in which one athlete competes in five events, the ‘obstacle race’ was selected as a candidate to replace horseback riding, which was excluded from the fairness controversy.
The International Federation of Modern Pentathlons (UIPM) announced in a statement after an executive committee meeting in Budapest, Hungary that it had selected the Obstacle Discipline as an event to be tested as an alternative to horseback riding.
UIPM has nominated two obstacle races out of more than 60 proposals related to equestrian alternatives, adding that it will test run immediately after the World Cup final in Ankara, Turkey in June, and make a final decision at a later general meeting. The specific content or method of the event was not introduced.
Even if a new event is confirmed right away, the existing swimming, fencing, horseback riding, track and field competitions will be held until the 2024 Paris Olympics, and then five categories including the new event will be officially applied.
The modern pentathlon is known to have been devised by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, modeled after a young French equestrian officer in the 19th century carrying a messenger.
The Olympic Games have been held as an official event since the 1912 Stockholm Games.
It is an event with such symbolism as Baron de Coubertin said that ‘only a modern pentathlon can be called a true Olympic athlete’, but it is in danger of being expelled from the Olympics because it requires several stadiums and takes a long time. I did.
The framework of the five sports has been maintained despite repeated changes, such as the introduction of ‘Laser Run’, a combination of track and field, and shooting.
A decisive moment was that Annika Schroy (Germany), who participated in the women’s division at the Tokyo Olympics, received a ‘0’ score in an equestrian event because her horse refused to jump over obstacles.
At that time, after fencing and swimming, Schroy was pushed out of the top 30 due to his riding performance and moved away from the medal. It has been argued that this is not the case.
When the horse didn’t move as intended, Schloy’s coach shouted for a stronger whip and hit the horse with his fist.
After that, UIPM formalized the exclusion of horseback riding in November of last year and started discussing an alternative sport, and the introduction of a new sport was virtually declared after six months.
As an alternative event, cycling was initially mentioned as a strong candidate, but it is known that it was excluded due to the fact that triathlon, which already includes cycling as a detailed event, exists.
The UIPM reported that the obstacle event was selected as a candidate in consideration of cost and universality while maintaining the basic spirit of the modern pentathlon in consideration of the requirements of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
In the announcement that day, UIPM said that players’ opinions were also reflected in this decision, but there are also objections surrounding the discussion process.
According to the British daily The Guardian, athletes such as Joseph Chung (UK), the men’s gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, sent a letter to IOC President Thomas Bach to protest the selection process of alternative sports ahead of the executive committee.
In the letter, the athletes claimed, “The IOC previously said that it expected athletes to play a central role in the process of judging the 5th event to replace horseback riding among the modern pentathlon events, but that was not the case in reality.”
They also urged the IOC to intervene, saying that the UIPM set the results and only carried out a formal discussion process, even though the majority of the players did not agree with the UIPM’s decision as a result of the investigation by the athletes’ group.
(Photo = UIPM Facebook capture, EPA, Yonhap News)