Outcry at the axing of riding element
Modern Pentathlon chiefs have confirmed that horse riding will be removed from the sport after the Paris 2024 Olympics, with the search already under way for a suitable replacement.
In a letter to athletes, the sport’s world governing body said the decision, which was ratified this week by its executive board, was designed to keep its Olympic place intact.
The sport - which blends riding with running, shooting, fencing and swimming - was conceived by the founder of the modern Games, Baron Pierre De Coubertain, as a means to identify the complete sportsman, and has been contested at every Olympics since 1912.
However, the riding element - in which athletes are paired with unfamiliar horses - came in for criticism at Tokyo 2020, after a German coach was sent home for punching a horse whose refusal eliminated leader Anika Schleu from the competition.
And with the sport facing a battle to sustain its place on the Olympic programme for Los Angeles in 2028, UIPM officials say they aim to identify a replacement which is “relevant to global youth” and which “fit(s) inside the new pentathlon stadium and urban settings.”
In its letter, the UIPM wrote: “We know that this information will be surprising and even shocking to you.
“It is not very long since we made a commitment to review and protect the riding discipline in the wake of the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
“But life within the Olympic movement changes fast. 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.
“We would be making a mistake if we were to take our place in the Olympic programme for granted past Paris 2024. It is not granted for us, it is not granted for anybody.
“Our sport continues to lag behind in development and growth due to a number of circumstances - and one of them is, very importantly, the horses. We have to finally take a decision on that matter - it is necessary to save modern pentathlon in the future.”
Leading athletes have criticised the development with Britain’s Olympic champion Joe Choong intimating he could quit the sport which “wouldn’t be the same” without the riding element.
Sydney 2000 bronze medallist Kate Allenby accused the UIPM of launching a “clandestine” campaign to rid the sport of equestrian and told the PA news agency: “It is not modern pentathlon without riding.
“It is a feeling of shock and anger at the lack of a consultation process. The athletes feel utterly let down and betrayed by the sport’s administration.”
Meanwhile David Armstrong, the chairman of Pentathlon GB, also criticised the suddenness of the decision, saying: “This is a sad day for Modern Pentathlon.
“Many of our athletes came into the sport from an equestrian background and have a proud tradition as accomplished and keen riders.
“We are aware that this decision will come as a significant shock to them and we will be supporting them through this unsettling time.
“We are, of course, disappointed at the suddenness of this decision and the lack of consultation until now but we also understand that Modern Pentathlon’s place in the Olympic Games is very important and was under threat.”
London 2012 silver medallist Samantha Murray was leading the Acapulco World Cup and had no regrets over the athletes’ collective decision to force its abandonment, intimating that a similarly strong sentiment exists today.
“They were awful scenes at Tokyo 2020 and something needed to change,” Murray told PA. “But the UIPM has known equestrian has been of a very poor standard for years and has done nothing about it.
“We went all the way to Mexico for the World Cup in Acapulco in 2014 and we boycotted it because the horses were totally incapable. We sat and protested and the officials tried to make us compete, and in the end it was scrapped.
“Everybody is up in arms about what is going on. The athletes want to know why they haven’t been consulted and why their voices haven’t been heard.”
Both Allenby and Murray concur that the answer lies not in axing the horse-riding element, which is integral to the sport’s origins, but in raising standards, impelling a higher level of riding through increased opportunities, and changing the format, including how horses are paired with each rider.
“It’s madness, and it undermines the meaning of the sport,” added Murray, who proceeded to mock reports - since denied by the UIPM - that horse riding will be replaced by cycling: “It’s based on the story of a soldier, and soldiers don’t really ride bikes.
“Tokyo was a joke, and someone has panicked and made a decision that ruins the values and the legacy of the sport and the story of Baron Pierre de Coubertin.”