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Modern Pentathlon entered the Olympic program in Stockholm
in 1912. The sport was the invention of Pierre de Coubertin who had
twice tried unsuccessfully to convince the International Olympic
Committee to agree to its inclusion as an Olympic sport prior to
receiving the “green light” in 1911.
In de Coubertin’s words, the sport of modern
pentathlon would result in “a veritable consecration of the complete
athlete”. The ancient Olympics had the pentathlon, from which the
victor was regarded as a true all-rounder. In those times, the
pentathlon comprised jumping, discus, javelin, running and wrestling.
The components of the modern pentathlon are based
on the skills required by a military messenger, in pre-mechanised
times, delivering vital orders in battle. The messenger needed to be
able to ride a horse over obstacles and, when separated from the horse,
was required to defend himself using his sword and revolver whilst
needing to swim and run to avoid capture and to ensure the message
reached its destination.
From 1912 until London
1948, the event was only for individuals. During that time, the Swedes
dominated by winning six of the seven gold medals and 15 out of the
possible 21 medals awarded. In Stockholm,
a young American was the only non-Swede to finish in the top seven.
That young man probably would have won the gold medal had he performed
better with his shooting. His name was George Patton, and he became the
famous World War II General with the nickname of “Old Blood and Guts”.
In Helsinki
in 1952, a three-man team event was added to the individual event. Both
events were contested until the team event was dropped after Barcelona in 1992. Atlanta in 1996 saw the duration of the event drop back to one day, from the previous four or five days.
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