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The most perfect sportsmen, therefore, are the pentathletes because in their bodies strength and speed are
combined in beautiful harmony. Modern pentathlon owes its existence to a legend, the pentathlons of Ancient Greece and the tireless efforts of Baron Pierre de Courbertin, founder of the Modern Olympics and chairman of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for over three decades. The legend of modern pentathlon is of a Napoleonic cavalry officer who is sent to deliver an urgent dispatch. Given an unfamiliar horse, he rode across challenging terrain under enemy fire shooting a number of his pursuers. His ammunition expended, he was then confronted by a soldier with his sword drawn. He won the duel and remounted his horse only to reach a river which his steed could not cross. Our gallant hero swam the river and then ran the rest of the way to deliver his message successfully. Baron Pierre de Courbertin sought to include in the Modern Olympics an event which embraced the spirit of the ancient pentathlon where pentathletes competed in the diverse disciplines of discus, javelin, jumping, running and wrestling. He achieved his goal in 1912 when modern pentathlon was introduced at the Olympic Games in Stockholm with the five disciplines of shooting, fencing, swimming, riding and running reputedly influenced by the tale of the cavalry officer. Recklessy swiped from Modern Pentathlon World Champs Website. |