Modern pentathlon

The modern pentathlon is an Olympic multisport that consists of five events: fencing (one-touch épée followed by direct elimination), freestyle swimming, obstacle course racing, laser pistol shooting, and cross country running.

The sport was first held in 1912, inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the ancient Olympics, and designed to model skills needed by a soldier of that time. It has been a continuous part of the Summer Olympics since 1912, and a world championship has been held annually since 1949.

The rules of the modern pentathlon have changed several times, especially in recent decades. Most notably, equestrian show jumping was one of the five events for more than 100 years, but was replaced by obstacle course racing in senior competitions as of 2025. The event has been condensed from five days to one day, and further down to two hours. The latest structure, as of the 2024 Olympics, consisted of separate events for fencing, swimming, and equestrian, points from which determine each athlete's starting time in the final event, a combined laser-run. Egypt has achieved consistent success across multiple age-group world championships, culminating in Ahmed El-Gendy winning the first Olympic gold medal by an African pentathlete at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Hungary has won the most Olympic gold medals after Michelle Gulyas became its second women’s Olympic champion at Paris 2024.  

The initial program of the 2028 Olympics did not include modern pentathlon, but the 141st International Olympic Committee Session in Mumbai, India, voted to approve the inclusion of the sport with its new format where obstacle racing replaces equestrian.

Modern pentathlon's governing body, Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM), administers the international sport with member federations in more than 130 countries.