Modern Pentathlon is a sport practiced by men and women, can be in teams or individually. The sport consists of five different modalities: equestrianism, fencing, swimming, shooting and running. The origin of the modern pentathlon is basically linked to militarism. In Ancient Greece, the Spartans used the modality to select the most versatile and complete soldiers.
He made his debut at the 1912 Games in Stockholm. The podium places went to three Swedes, but fifth place went to future general George S. Patton. The women's event was introduced at the Sydney 2000 Games.
The pentatlon consisted of evidence of distance and height jumping, discus and dart throwing, running and fighting. Each stage was eliminatory, until only two athletes left to fight each other, thus defining the winner. The modality underwent transformation to the way we know today, as a modern pentathlon, at the end of the 19th century thanks to a Swedish official. He had the idea of adapting the sport to a military simulation. The intention was to create the situation of a soldier who had to deliver messages behind the enemy lines. The "adventure" began on horseback, through shooting, fencing and swimming, ending in the race.
In Atlanta-1996, the modern pentathlon underwent a major change. Until then disputed in several different days, the athletes happened to fulfill the tests in just one day. The goal was to make the dispute more dynamic and attractive to the public.
The results obtained in the swimming, equestrian and fencing tests determine the start of the race and shooting race.
In fencing:
It is necessary for the player to touch the opponent with the sword to score points. The winner of 70% of the matches wins a thousand points.
In swimming:
In a pool of 50 meters, the disputed race is 200 meters free.
In equestrianism:
In a course of 350 to 450 meters, the test contains 12 obstacles, with pre-established time. The horse used is drawn at the start of the competition and all errors made during the race have discounted points.
Running and Shooting:
Last step. The athletes intersperse the race with the shot. In total there are 3.2 kilometers, but there are four stops every 800 meters for the shots. The target is 10 meters, and the athelet is back running if the time of 50 seconds burst or hit the target 5 times.
In the overall medal picture of the modern pentathlon on the last Olympic Games Rio 2016, the countries of the American continent best positioned is the United States, in the thirteenth place, with 6 silver and 3 bronze medals. Tied for the 21st place are Brazil and Mexico, both with a bronze medal.
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