The Centennial Olympic Games is the first Games to hold the modern pentathlon event in a single day. Getting five sports in one all in one day has attracted more than just modern pentathlon aficionados, resulting in modern pentathlon being one of the first sports to sell out in 1996.
A one-day competition is not only spectator-friendly, but great for athletes. Pentathletes like the one-day format partially for its quick results, but also for the extra challenge. From 1912 to 1980, the Olympic modern pentathlon competition was held over five days with one event per day. Between 1984 and 1992, organizers experimented with the format of the sport, holding competition over four days with either running and shooting or swimming and shooting on the same day.
Only the men's individual event will be contested at the Centennial Olympic Games. To compete, these 64 pentathletes each must have achieved the minimum score of 5,100 points in a qualifying competition and be one of the top two athletes from his country sanctioned and supervised by the Union International de Pentathlon Moderne et Biathlon (UIPMB). This means that in countries where the sport is popular and highly competitive, such as Italy, Hungary and Poland, it will be a tough fight for the chance to go for the gold. Watch the former Soviet countries political changes will allow some tough new faces to emerge.
This is an official publication of The Atlanta Committee
for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Jennifer Knight. Special thanks to the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne et Biathlon.
| The volunteer staff of the 1996 Olympic Games totaled 50,152. They worked an estimated 850,000 shifts. |