Overview

Modern pentathlon is a uniquely composite sport, conceived by the founder of the modern Olympic movement, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, to embody the skills required of a nineteenth-century military horseman. It has been part of the Olympic Games since Stockholm 1912 for men, with women's competition added at Sydney 2000.

The pentathlon brings together five entirely different sports, all contested in a single day. They are: épée fencing, 200m freestyle swimming, show jumping on a horse drawn by lot just twenty minutes before the event, and the laser-run, which combines running with laser pistol shooting in a relay format. Each event's results are converted into points, with which the competitor starts the closing combined race under an individual handicap-start system.

The sport is governed by the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM), which has announced a fundamental change to the sport's composition after Paris 2024: an obstacle course event will replace show jumping from Los Angeles 2028 onward — a historic shift responding to the sport's development needs and concerns over horse welfare. With this change, the pentathlon preserves its original philosophy of testing versatility and endurance, while replacing one of its most contested elements.