UIPM adds top media and marketing executives to guide them on new fifth discipline strategy

With an eye firmly set on reentering the LA28 Olympic program, modern pentathlon’s governing body announced the hiring of four experts to participate in the fifth discipline consultation.

The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) is adding former International Olympic Committee (IOC) director Michael Payne, Olympic specialist Terrence Burns, television executive David Hill and Meta director Peter Hutton to provide insight and guidance.

Earlier in December the IOC dropped modern pentathlon from the LA28 program, and told them they must remove horse riding as one of the five disciplines if they want to be included in future Olympic Games. The IOC said the new discipline “must be more inclusive and accessible to young people worldwide.”

No decision has been made by the UIPM regarding the new discipline to replace horse riding, but they did inform all modern pentathlon athletes in November, before the IOC’s decision, that horse riding would be replaced after the Paris 2024 Games.

In a statement UIPM president Klaus Schormann said, “Now more than ever we must keep our doors open, and use the guidance of external professionals who can help us to future proof the sport Pierre de Coubertin created especially for the Olympic Games more than 100 years ago.”

The UIPM’s decision to eliminate horse riding has created a great deal of backlash from current and former modern pentathletes. The group Pentathlon United was formed to resist the removal of horse riding, despite the IOC’s warning, and has called for the entire UIPM leadership to resign. They also were against the UIPM submitting any proposal to the IOC which did not include horse riding.

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