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PENTATHLON FACTS

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The foundation of the modern pentathlon is disputed. On the one hand Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, claimed authorship. On the other hand, Viktor Balck, the President of the Organizing Committee for the 1912 Games showed that he made use of the long tradition of Swedish military multi-sports events, to create a manageable modern pentathlon. The name derives from the Greek péntathlon "contest of five events".

The addition of modern to the name distinguished it from the original pentathlon of the ancient Olympic Games, which consisted of the stadion foot race, wrestling, long jump, javelin, and discus. The modern pentathlon has been on the Olympic program continuously since 1912.

Except for the fencing competition, athletes do not directly compete against one another in the five events. Athletes gain points for their performance in each event and scores are combined to give the overall total. This is similar to the procedure for the decathlon in track and field athletics.

However, an innovation was introduced in 2009 to make the finale of the pentathlon more exciting. The last event is the Combined event: laser pistol shooting and cross-country running. Competitors are ranked according to their score from the first three disciplines and given start times accordingly, with the leader going first, and other starting times being dependent on the number of points already scored.

The first person to cross the finish line, therefore, will be the overall points leader and win the pentathlon.