Latest on Modern Pentathlon

[teapot]

This is an interesting read, not least because the focus is on cost and accessibility over welfare.

https://www.insider.com/modern-pentathlon-inside-sports-bid-to-stay-in-the-olympics-2022-9

 

[SOS]

I thought it was a fairly well rounded article considering it is about modern pentathlon as a whole sport and its bid to stay in the Olympics. There is a whole section on why the showjumping at Tokyo caused (rightly) such backlash.

 

[MagicMelon]

Its not choosing "the most convenient sports" though, the only massive issue with the showjumping was the disgraceful riding by the vast majority. Its about welfare and nothing else IMO. I dislike how they say the backlash was from "animal welfare activists" - no I think that actually it also included most of the equestrian world who looked on with horror as well and dont want to be judged under the same sort of banner with any links to the awful riding and behaviour of those competitors, presumably something which happens regularly if that was meant to be their top athletes too!

 

[teapot]

Its not choosing "the most convenient sports" though, the only massive issue with the showjumping was the disgraceful riding by the vast majority. Its about welfare and nothing else IMO. I dislike how they say the backlash was from "animal welfare activists" - no I think that actually it also included most of the equestrian world who looked on with horror as well and dont want to be judged under the same sort of banner with any links to the awful riding and behaviour of those competitors, presumably something which happens regularly if that was meant to be their top athletes too!

I thought it was a fairly well rounded article considering it is about modern pentathlon as a whole sport and its bid to stay in the Olympics. There is a whole section on why the showjumping at Tokyo caused (rightly) such backlash.

Except that instead of upping the standard, improving welfare and running under FEI rules which is what one group of competitors want and have suggested, the official bodies have decided to ditch it completely in favour of a cheaper, more accessible sport.

The UIPM has literally buried their head in the sand about the criticism and have gone ‘fine then, don’t like how we do it, we won’t do it at all’, and may well kill the sport in the process, and the subsequent impact on the other three Olympic disciplines.

 

[Fred66]

The new sport is not Modern Pentathlon. MP is running, shooting, swimming, fencing and equestrianism. Therefore this new format should lose its place at the Olympics and reapply as a new sport.

They could have changed the riding element to include slip rails, gates, and maybe lower level arena eventing. Or kept show jumping and they could have given the riders longer to familiarize themselves with the horses. They could have graded the competitors on their riding skills and those not meeting the required skill could be either excluded fully or competed over lower, simpler fences (dependent on how deficient their riding was) with a lower maximum score.

This new sport may well be good but MP it certainly isn’t.

I will watch MP at the Paris Olympics and mourn its passing

 

[stangs]

I wonder if making the showjumping into an equitation style class would have worked better: if they wanted to score well, they'd have to actually learnt to ride, not just sit on a horse and yank its head around. I can see why they picked the obstacle course, as it can similarly be traced back to the military, but it almost feels a little gimmicky given the long history of the sport. The point about accessibility is a good one though.

 

[Fred66]

I wonder if making the showjumping into an equitation style class would have worked better: if they wanted to score well, they'd have to actually learnt to ride, not just sit on a horse and yank its head around. I can see why they picked the obstacle course, as it can similarly be traced back to the military, but it almost feels a little gimmicky given the long history of the sport. The point about accessibility is a good one though.

Triathlon is accessible, or Heptathlon or Decathlon if people want to compete at multi discipline events that are based on the individual athlete.
Modern Pentathlon combined the need to work with a horse as one of its events.
It will no longer be the same. It might well be a good sport in itself but the skills required will be so different that your current medalists may well drop out of the running altogether.
You might as well make the triathletes ride unicycles.

 

[ElectricChampagne]

Super interesting how it's the most expensive Olympic sport to compete in, costing over €13k at entry level to participate and get equipment, and by removing the equestrian section it drops by over €10k. I also find interesting that they are struggling to get people to participate, probably due to the cost.

Is it a dying art then? Especially with the bad press and high expense to compete?