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Modern Pentathlon (Olympic sport since 1912)
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History |
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Equipment |
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Glossary |
About
A young French cavalry officer of the 19th century was sent on horseback to deliver a message. He rode across the uneven terrain, through enemy lines, and was confronted by a soldier with his sword drawn. Challenged to a duel, the officer won, only to have his horse shot out from under him by another enemy soldier.
After felling that soldier with a single shot, the officer ran on. He swam across a raging river, and then finally he delivered the message. So, legend has it, was born the modern pentathlon.
The brainchild of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, the event was based upon the unlucky officer and introduced into the Stockholm Games of 1912. Only remotely resembling the ancient pentathlon inspired by the warmongering Spartans, modern pentathletes shoot, fence, swim, compete in show jumping and run - five events testing endurance as well as athletic versatility.
Competition
Previously held over four to five days, the modern pentathlon reverted to its true character at the Atlanta Games in 1996 with a one-day event. The pattern continued at Sydney and will be the same during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
Shooting comes first. The pentathletes have 40 seconds to fire 20 shots from an air pistol at a 17cm-square target from 10 metres. Fencing follows, with a round-robin competition between each participant. Swimming is third, a freestyle race over 200 metres, with athletes seeded in heats according to their personal best times. Once they have dried off, the pentathletes head to the show jumping ring, where they have 20 minutes to get to know the horse before riding. The final event is the 3000m run, with the pentathletes set off at intervals corresponding to their points so the first person across the line wins the gold medal.
Both women and men compete in this sport.
List of events
-- Individual competition Men
-- Individual competition Women
History
Discipline's origin
Modern pentathlon was devised by the founder of the modern Olympic Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin (second president of the International Olympic Committee). He envisioned a competition that would determine the greatest all-around sportsman, similar to the pentathlon of the ancient Olympic Games. In Aristotle's words: "The most perfect sportsmen, therefore, are the pentathletes because in their bodies strength and speed are combined in beautiful harmony."
The modern pentathlon consists of shooting, fencing, swimming, riding, and running. Initially called "military pentathlon", the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) described the choice of events as follows: "The choice of the five diverse and unrelated sports which make up the Modern Pentathlon arose out of the romantic, rough adventures of a liaison officer whose horse is brought down in enemy territory; having defended himself with this pistol and sword he swims across a raging river and delivers the message on foot."
Olympic history
The sport first appeared on the Olympic programme in 1912. The order of the events is as follows: shooting, fencing, swimming, riding and running. The riding is a cross-country steeplechase course. Fencing is a series of one-touch bouts with ¨¦p¨¦e swords. For many years, the shooting was done with a rapid-fire pistol, but this was changed in 1992 to an air pistol. Until the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, the swim was 300 metres freestyle and the run was a 4000 metre cross-country event. In Sydney, however, the distances were changed to 200 metres for swimming and 3000 metres for running, and women competed for the first time.
Modern pentathlon was originally dominated by the Swedes. Since World War II the Hungarians and the Soviets have become the top countries. Scoring was originally done by a points-for-place system with the lowest score winning, but since 1956 the competition has been scored using points tables for each of the five events.
Equipment
Airgun
A rifle or pistol that uses compressed air or carbon dioxide to discharge lead pellets.
Barrel
The tube of a gun.
Chamber
The rear portion of the gun barrel into which a cartridge is inserted for firing.
Magazine
A metal receptacle for a number of cartridges which is inserted into a weapon and which must be removed when empty and replaced.
Pistol
A short firearm intended to be held and fired with one hand.
Primer
The explosive which sparks the gunpowder, which in turn propels the projectile.
Target
A board marked with concentric circles which is aimed at in shooting events.
Trigger
In shooting, a small projecting tongue which when pressed by the finger liberates the mechanism and discharges the weapon.
Fencing
Blade
The flat cutting part of a sword.
Epee
A thrusting sword descended from the duelling sword, similar in length to a foil but heavier, with a larger guard and a much stiffer blade.
Grip
The handle of a sword; also called the "hilt".
Guard
The perpendicular part of a sword between the blade and handle that protects the duelling hand.
Point
The end of the blade, which must touch the opponent's target area to score a point in fencing.
Hilt
The handle of a sword; also called the "grip".
Swimming
Goggles
Used to protect the eyes and improve visibility underwater
Lap card
A card displayed by a turn judge at each end of a lane to inform swimmers in the longer races how many laps remain.
Nose clip
A small clip of hard plastic or of wire with a thin rubber coating, used to stop water from entering the nose during underwater movements.
Starting blocks
Swim cap
Used to keep hair clear of eyes.
Swim suit
Touch pad
The pad at the end of each lane in the pool where a swimmer's time is registered and sent electronically to the timing system.
Equestrian
Blinkers
The flaps on a bridle which stop a horse from seeing backwards or sideways.
Breeches
Trousers worn specifically for riding.
Bridle
A harness that fits around a horse's head.
Fence
In the riding discipline, a vertical obstacle usually no higher than 1.97 metres but involving substantial width, constructed of colourful poles, planks, hedges, fake stone or brick, or flowers.
Gate
A vertical fence used in riding, made with planks, balustrades, gates or other items, to present a solid obstacle.
Obstacle
An object a horse must clear to complete the course, such as a fence, gate or water jump.
Oxer
A single fence consisting of two elements which make a spread jump, such as parallel oxers or triple bars.
Parallel oxer
An obstacle featuring front and back rails of equal height set wide apart to produce a spread, creating a difficult jump.
Rail
In the riding discipline, a pole which makes up a part of some obstacles.
Saddle
Spur
A pointed device attached to a rider's boot heel, used to encourage a horse.
Triple bar
A relatively easy jump in the riding discipline featuring three sets of rails at varying heights that produce a spread.
Vertical
In the riding discipline, an obstacle which is difficult to jump because of its height.
Vertical fence
A straight up-and-down fence without width, creating a relatively difficult obstacle in the riding discipline.
Water jump
An obstacle requiring a horse to jump over a wide expanse of water, usually with a low hedge or fence at the leading edge.
Shoes
Glossary
10 ring: The preferred Australian term for the black centre ring of the target, worth 10 points; also known as "bull" and "bullseye".
Aid: A prompt that a rider gives a horse, using the hands, legs, voice or body weight.
Beat: In fencing, a sharp tap on an opponent's blade to initiate or threaten an attack.
Black card: A card from the referee signifying a fencer has been expelled.
Bore: The interior diameter of a gun barrel.
Bout: A contest in its entirety between two fencers.
Bull: The black centre ring of the target, worth 10 points; also known as "bullseye" and "10 ring".
Bullseye: A common American term for the black centre ring of the target, worth 10 points; also known as "bull" and "10 ring".
Calibre: The unit of measure for the bore a of gun.
Calibre: The unit of measure for the bore a of gun.
Canter: An easy gait of a horse (between a trot and a gallop in speed) where, in the course of each stride, three legs are off the ground at once.
Centre line: A line across the piste, or playing strip, dividing it into two equal halves.
Combination: In the riding discipline, a series of jumps one or two strides apart.
Compound: In fencing, an attack or counterattack involving several moves.
Corps-a-corps: Any position, often involving body contact, where two fencers are engaged in a way that allows neither to use his or her weapon.
Counter-parry: A defensive move where a fencer goes around the opponent's blade and moves it away.
Counter-riposte: A counterattack by a fencer who just blocked the opponent's counterattack.
Crawl: A swimming stroke made in the prone position characterised by alternate overarm movements and a continuous up-and-down kick; originally known as the Australian crawl.
Cross country: A race run across mostly rough terrain, as opposed to a pristine track.
Disengage: To break contact between blades, done by one fencer passing his or her blade under the opponent's blade.
Disobedience: In the riding discipline, a general term for a horse's refusal, run-out, resistance, turning in a circle or deviating from the course.
Double hit: Successful contact with the sword by both fencers recorded within .04 of a second of each other, cancelling out the hit by each except in epee competition.
En garde: French for "on guard", the position that fencers take before a bout begins.
Engage: To make contact blade-to-blade in fencing.
False start: An illegal beginning to a race in which a competitor begins before the starter's pistol is fired. (In the swimming and running disciplines, the athlete who causes a second false start is penalised 40 points, whether or not they caused the first false start.)
Fault: In the riding discipline, a unit of scoring equal to each point a rider is penalised for committing an error.
Feint: In fencing, a false attack designed to force an opponent into a reaction that opens the way to a genuine attack.
Fleche: A running attack in fencing.
Flutter-kick: A kick, usually performed as part of the crawl swimming stroke, where the legs are held straight and moved up and down alternately.
Freestyle: A race where the swimmers may use any stroke they choose, which typically is the crawl.
Gait: Any of a horse's characteristic motions, including, in order of speed, a walk, trot, canter or gallop.
Gallop: The fastest gait of a horse, essentially equivalent to running.
Gauge: The internal diameter of a gun bore.
Gunlock: The mechanism of a firearm by which the charge is exploded.
Heat: An early race of an event, with the top finishers advancing to the finals or semi-finals of the competition.
Hit: 1. A target that has been hit and broken by the shooter. 2. In fencing, a point scored by a touch with the tip of the blade of a foil or epee or the edge of the blade of a sabre against any part of the opponent's body in the target.
Hunting stock: A broad band worn around a rider's neck.
Kick: A burst of speed saved for the final stretch of a long race.
Lane lines: The dividers used to delineate the individual lanes of the pool, now constructed to dissipate surface tension waves.
Lath: In the riding discipline, the thin strip that defines the boundary of a water jump.
Leading edge: The edge of a water jump nearest where a horse jumps.
Lunge: The basic attack in fencing where a fencer closes the distance with his or her opponent by moving the front leg forward while the back leg remains stationary and straightens out.
Movement: A single characteristic style of motion of a horse, several of which make up a dressage performance.
Offhand: A term used the describe the standard shooting position.
On the bit: A term used for a horse being restrained by pressure on the bit.
One-metre penalty: A penalty where the action is moved a metre further back on the piste for the offending fencer before a bout is restarted.
On-guard line: A line on each side of the centre line where a fencer stands to begin or resume a bout.
Parry: A defensive action where a fencer blocks the opponent's blade.
Pass: To thrust or lunge in fencing.
Penalty hit: A hit credited to a fencer when the opponent, after a warning, commits a serious offence.
Penalty point: A point added to a rider's score for committing an error.
Piste: French for the playing strip where a fencing bout occurs; also called a "strip".
Recover: In fencing, to return to the en garde position after lunging.
Red card: A card from the referee signifying a penalty hit has been charged against a fencer for a rules violation.
Redouble: To attack an opponent a second time in fencing, after the opponent fails to counterattack.
Refusal: A horse's act of stopping in front of an obstacle, penalised unless the horse then clears the obstacle without having to improve its run-up.
Remise: To attack again immediately after the opponent has blocked an initial attack in fencing.
Resistance: A horse's act of refusing to continue, rearing, stepping back or making a half-turn.
Riposte: A counterattack by a fencer who just has blocked an attack by the opponent.
Run-out: A horse's attempt to escape the rider's control and avoid an obstacle it is supposed to jump.
Show jumping: An Olympic equestrian event where each horse must clear a number of obstacles on a set course within a specified time.
Sighters: Practice shots fired at the beginning of a match to check sight adjustments, which do not count towards the final score.
Split: A swimmer's intermediate time in a race, registered every 50 metres, to judge the swimmer's pace.
Spread: A show jumping obstacle with an element of width, not just height.
Stop-thrust: A sudden counterattack in fencing made by extending without lunging.
String: A series of shots, normally five or ten.
Strip: The playing strip where a fencing bout occurs; also called a "piste".
Take-off point: The optimum point before an obstacle for a horse to jump.
Target: The portion of the opponent's body which may be touched with the sword to score points.
Thrust: To stab or pierce with a sword.
Touch: 1. In fencing, a hit with the point of the weapon, scoring a point. 2. In swimming, to touch the end of the pool with the hand or hands, completing a race or relay.
Trot: An easy gait of a horse (between a walk and a canter in speed) where the legs move in diagonal pairs alternately.
Tumble turn: An underwater roll at the end of a lap, allowing the swimmer to push off from the end of the pool with the feet.
Turn: The turnaround by a swimmer at the end of the pool following each lap.
Turn judge: An official at each end of the lane responsible for ensuring a swimmer turns correctly.
Walk: The slowest gait of a horse where the legs move individually in a diagonal pattern.
Wall: A jump in the riding discipline, simulating an actual solid wall and made of brick or stone.
Warning line: A line two metres inside the rear line warning a fencer he or she is near the end of the piste.
Yellow card: A card from the referee signifying a warning has been issued to a fencer for violating a rule.
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