Gestion des compétitions et fédérations de Pentathlon

The modern pentathlon is an Olympic multisport that consists of five events: fencing (one-touch épée followed by direct elimination), freestyle swimming, obstacle course racing, laser pistol shooting, and cross country running.

The sport was first held in 1912, inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the ancient Olympics, and designed to model skills needed by a soldier of that time. It has been a continuous part of the Summer Olympics since 1912, and a world championship has been held annually since 1949.

The rules of the modern pentathlon have changed several times, especially in recent decades. Most notably, equestrian show jumping was one of the five events for more than 100 years, but was replaced by obstacle course racing in senior competitions as of 2025. The event has been condensed from five days to one day, and further down to two hours. The latest structure, as of the 2024 Olympics, consisted of separate events for fencing, swimming, and equestrian, points from which determine each athlete's starting time in the final event, a combined laser-run. Egypt has achieved consistent success across multiple age-group world championships, culminating in Ahmed El-Gendy winning the first Olympic gold medal by an African pentathlete at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Hungary has won the most Olympic gold medals after Michelle Gulyas became its second women's Olympic champion at Paris 2024.

The initial program of the 2028 Olympics did not include modern pentathlon, but the 141st International Olympic Committee Session in Mumbai, India, voted to approve the inclusion of the sport with its new format where obstacle racing replaces equestrian.

Modern pentathlon's governing body, Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM), administers the international sport with member federations in more than 130 countries.

The format of the modern pentathlon has changed frequently through the sport's history. Obstacle course racing will make its debut in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as part of the modern pentathlon, replacing the equestrian show jumping event at the Olympics. This shift aims to modernize the sport and make it more accessible and relatable. Described below is the format that will be used:

Fencing, ranking round: In the first round of the fencing, every athlete faces every other athlete in one-on-one fencing bouts. Bouts use an electric épée with the target being the whole body, and end after one hit, though if neither athlete scores a hit within one minute the bout ends with both registering a defeat. Athletes that win 70 percent of their bouts score 250 points; each win above is worth 5 more points, each below is 5 points less.

Obstacle: Athletes compete head-to-head over a 60–70 meter course featuring eight obstacles. Obstacles include elements such as steps, big wheels, walls, rings, balance beams, and monkey bars. Each athlete must traverse the course in their lane without touching the ground outside designated areas. Falls, failures to complete an obstacle, or stepping outside of lanes result in penalties or disqualification. Athletes' finishing times are converted into points toward their overall modern pentathlon score, with each second worth three points.

Swimming: This is a single 100 meter freestyle swim. A time of 1:10.00 through 1:10.19 scores 250 points; each fifth of a second faster gains 1 point while each fifth of a second slower loses 1 point.

Fencing, bonus round: In the second round of fencing, athletes are ordered based on the first round's results. The last-place athlete goes against the next-placed athlete. The winner receives 2 points and advances to compete against the next best-ranked athlete; the loser is eliminated from this round of fencing (for double-defeats, the winner of the bout is the athlete who was higher-ranked going into the round). This continues until all but one athlete is eliminated. (The athlete who enters this round in the top of the fencing order can only have one bout; if they won the fencing ranking round they can earn 4 points if they win that bout.)

Laser-run: At this final event, athletes' starting times are determined by their total scores from the first three events, so that the highest scorer starts first, and each successive athlete then starts with a delay of one second for each point by which they trail the leader. Athletes run 3000 meters, stopping four times to shoot at targets with a laser pistol. In each round, they must remain at the target until they score five hits (with an unlimited number of shots) or until 50 seconds have elapsed. Final placement in the overall modern pentathlon is determined by order across the finish line.

At the 2024 Olympics, the event was run twice for each gender. The first, the semifinals, determined which athletes could participate in the finals. The finals then determines the medallists. However, the fencing ranking round was only run once and its results were used for both the semifinals and finals.

Most sources state that the creator of the modern pentathlon was Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games. One alternative view is provided by researcher Sandra Heck, who concluded that Viktor Balck, the President of the Organizing Committee for the 1912 Games, made use of the long tradition of Swedish military multi-sports events to create the modern pentathlon.

The name derives from the Greek πένταθλον (péntathlon) "contest of five [events]". The addition of modern to the name distinguishes it from the original pentathlon of the ancient Olympic Games, which consisted of the stadion foot race, wrestling, long jump, javelin, and discus. The location of the first Olympic Games was Olympia in 708 BCE. As the events of the ancient pentathlon were modelled on the skills of the ideal soldier to defend a fortification of that time, Coubertin created the contest to simulate the experience of a 19th-century cavalry soldier behind enemy lines: he must ride an un