World elite to compete in modern pentathlon test event for Rio 2016 Olympic Games
All six medallists from London 2012 Games in town for World Cup stage at new Olympic venue
Five in one: fencing, swimming, riding, shooting and running make up modern pentathlon (Getty Images)
An all-star line-up will compete in the second stage of this year’s modern pentathlon World Cup in Rio, starting on Thursday (10 March), with all six medallists from the London 2016 Olympic Games in town. Doubling up as the Rio 2016 test event for the sport, the competition will give athletes the chance to compete at the new Olympic venue and, for those not yet qualified, earn crucial ranking points.
Of the 49 modern pentathletes already qualified for Rio 2016, only five will not compete at Deodoro Olympic Park in the event that runs until Monday (14 March). The sport, which was created by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, sees competitors do battle in fencing, swimming, horse riding and a combined running and shooting final event, with the first to cross the finish line taking gold.
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Among the highlights in the men’s field are London 2012 champion David Svoboda (see Instagram post below) of the Czech Republic, silver medallist Cao Zhongrong of China and bronze medallist Adam Marosi of Hungary. Italy’s Riccardo de Luca, France’s Valentin Belaud, Egypt’s Amro El Geziry and Russia’s Ilia Frolov – who are ranked from second to fifth in the world rankings – will also compete. World no.1 Pavlo Tymoshchenko of Ukraine is injured, although is expected to recover in time for the Olympic Games.
The women’s event features the top-five ranked pentathletes in the world, including London 2012 champion Laura Asadauskaite (the current world no.1) of Lithuania, silver medallist Samantha Murray of Great Britain and bronze medallist Yane Marques of Brazil. Germany’s Lena Schoneborn, Hungary’s Zsofia Foldhazi and Russia’s Donata Rimsaite – ranked second to fourth in the world – are others to watch out for.
In all, 185 athletes from 37 countries will compete in the 31st Rio 2016 test event. Competition will begin with the fencing section in the recently inaugurated Youth Arena before moving to the nearby Deodoro Aquatics Centre for the swimming part. Medals will be decided at the Deodoro Stadium, which was unveiled along with the Youth Arena and recently hosted the rugby test event, and will stage the horse riding and combined events in modern pentathlon.
“It will be fascinating to see the world’s greatest pentathletes doing battle here in a state-of-the-art venue”
Dr Klaus Schormann, UIPM president
Deodoro Stadium (left), Youth Arena (top right) and the Deodoro Aquatics Centre (Photos: Brasil2016/Rio City Governmeny)
Organised by the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) and Brazilian Modern Pentathlon Confederation (CBPM), the event will see Rio 2016 test operations across 21 departments of the organising committee, with 285 staff and 82 volunteers in action. The main aspects to be tested will be the competition area, results systems, energy and security.
With 12 places (six in each gender) at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games up for grabs via the world rankings (as they stand on 1 June) the World Cup event will give those athletes who have yet to qualify for the Olympic Games the chance to earn crucial ranking points. The women’s and men’s qualification stages of the test event (which do not include horse riding) will take place on Thursday and Friday respectively, with the best 36 in each gender proceeding to the finals on Saturday and Sunday. Monday is reserved for the mixed relay competition, which is not an Olympic event.
The event is not open to the public but fans can watch the action the UIPM’s live stream.
