“We want to make modern pentathlon more dynamic and more appealing to young audiences.” Does obstacle hold the key to future success?

Change or be left behind.

That was the clear message from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to modern pentathlon’s governing body last year after the sport was left off the LA28 Olympic program.

IOC president Thomas Bach didn’t entirely close the door on modern pentathlon being a part of the Games in 2028, but it was clear to the higher ups at the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM), the sport’s governing body, the current status quo was no longer acceptable.

The core of the issue with the sport was the equestrian or horse riding discipline. It was seen as being elitist, expensive, exclusive and not sustainable for future Olympic Games by the IOC. It could stay for Paris 2024 but not afterwards.

With that warning in mind, the UIPM quickly entertained many new options for a fifth discipline to replace equestrian, and after much deliberation and speculation, obstacle emerged as the clear choice.

Yasser Hefny, Chairman of the UIPM Athletes’ Committee, said there were doubts at first, but the feedback has been very encouraging from the athletes.

“Everyone had a great time, full of excitement and fun. We were like children enjoying their time on a large and challenging playground,” he recently told Around the Rings.

Hefny was talking about the recent obstacle test event in Turkey, where athletes competed over a 100 meter long course with obstacles like monkey bars, rope swing, balance beam, climbing and more.

While it was a certainly a change of pace for many modern pentathletes, it was a change they can support.

“I really liked it. As a child I climbed trees and jumped through everything. It was good, interesting and enjoyable,” said one of the participants.

He wasn’t the only one, as Hefny pointed out a survey conducted by UIPM after the event found 92 percent of pentathletes and 93 percent of observers were satisfied or very satisfied with the obstacle competition.

The next step is to present obstacle as a viable, long-term discipline to the IOC, which told the UIPM they must “demonstrate a significant reduction of cost and complexity, and improvement across the areas of safety, accessibility and appeal for youth and general public.”

Hefny told Around the Rings he is confident the UIPM can deliver on all counts with obstacle as the new discipline.

“There are 20 million obstacle course racers worldwide and a billion people in 148 countries have access to obstacle broadcasts,” he pointed out.

“With 30,000 permanent obstacle courses and training gyms worldwide, and hundreds of thousands of obstacle playgrounds, not to mention hundreds of millions of views on social media, we can conclude obstacle will significantly broaden the number of potential athletes in our sport, and make modern pentathlon more dynamic and more appealing to young audiences worldwide.

“It’s relatable, affordable and accessible for kids everywhere.”

With change comes conflict and the UIPM has not been immune to that. There are many modern pentathletes upset with the IOC’s decree to change the sport, and are loathe to accept any form of the sport which doesn’t include equestrian. The group Pentathlon United, led by Sydney 2000 bronze medalist Kate Allenby, has done their own survey of 213 people from 40 countries. They asked the question, “what is your favorite choice as the fifth discipline?” Most of the respondents favored keeping equestrian, while obstacle finished much further down the list.

Hefny understands their concerns, and respects their passion and love of all things modern pentathlon, but the winds of change are blowing and the sport needs to change with the times.

“If we want our sport to not just survive, but to thrive, we must make transformative change,” he said. “To grow our sport it must become more accessible for young people globally. Access to equestrian is not the case for the majority of our National Federations.

“If we don’t adapt and grow, our sport will die.”

When the flame goes out at the end of the Paris 2024 Games, will modern pentathlon as an Olympic sport be extinguished too? Nobody can say right now, but Hefny and the UIPM absolutely believe this 2.0 version of modern pentathlon will be around for 2028 and beyond.

“I am confident that we will present a new, exciting, and dynamic modern pentathlon that both existing and new fans will love around the world.

I believe the ‘new’ modern pentathlon has excellent potential to add tremendous value, excitement, and an entirely new audience to the Olympic Games. This makes me optimistic about seeing a new generation of pentathletes competing in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.”

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