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The “historic move” was made after an incident at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo exposed the risks of pairing up riders with unfamiliar horses.
Currently, themodern pentathloncontains five different events: fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, and a final combined event of pistol shooting and cross country running. For show jumping, the athletes do not use their own horses but rather draw one at random and are given 20 minutes to warm up with it before the competition.
The UIPM Executive Boardaddressed the “surprising” newsin an open letter to pentathlon athletes.
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“While our sport is confirmed for Paris 2024 with our exciting new format in place (including Riding), Los Angeles 2028 is a different matter and we must be flexible and embrace change once again,” they added.
At the time, the German Olympic Committeesaid in a statement to CNNthat the incident highlighted “an urgent reason for the international association to amend the rules. It needs to be changed so that the horse and the rider are protected.”
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In Thursday’s statement, Schormann confirmed that the sport will still include five disciplines and “continue to provide the ultimate moral and physical examination of an athlete.” Now, the search is on for a replacement.
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“A new discipline will provide fresh impetus to our sport and strengthen the position of Modern Pentathlon within the Olympic movement,” he said.
source: people.com
