Modern pentathlon has undergone radical change in recent times, with the introduction of obstacle as one of its five core disciplines after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. However, the innovations are not stopping there.
The sport’s global governing body, the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM), made the change in a bid to attract new and younger audiences and be more cost-effective, with the ninja-style courses replacing showjumping.
The UIPM also believes obstacle is the key to modern pentathlon retaining its cherished and unbroken 113-year spot on the programme for the summer Olympics, with the Los Angeles Games in 2028 bringing the reimagined sport to a global audience.
Obstacle made its debut at a senior modern pentathlon competition in February at the UIPM Pentathlon World Cup event in Cairo, Egypt. Building on this momentum, the UIPM is looking to amplify the sport’s overall entertainment offering even further.
In this vein, UIPM President Rob Stull said April’s Pentathlon World Cup event in Budapest, Hungary “raised the bar for organisers worldwide” as the first competition under the new format to be held almost entirely indoors.
A show event
The competition featured dramatic mood lighting, stirring music and a spotlight on athletes that led to the American describing it as a pentathlon event with more entertainment value than anything seen outside of the Olympic Games.
The decision by local organisers to hold the competition indoors was acclaimed by Stull, given the opportunities to unlock potential for media partners, commercial affiliates, and the athletes themselves.
“We’re very versatile and we can handle any venue,” says Stull. “So, put us in any location, whether it’s an arena, an outdoor sports complex, an open space such as a park or a beach, and we’ll make it work with a product that looks great for viewers on TV and online.
“Our sport becomes a show, and sport is entertainment. You have to entertain. We have to capture the youth, and we also have to entertain audiences of all ages. With an indoor venue, organisers have much more say over what goes on and can stage an event under optimum conditions.
“In an indoor venue, we control the entertainment value. We also control the weather, the temperature and the lighting. At the moment, the more controllable indoor environment is what is most exciting, and that’s what I’m characterising as a show event.”
Following the implementation of obstacle, and the evolution of fencing into a shorter, more viewer-friendly knockout format, Stull states that the UIPM has had unprecedented levels of interest from sponsors.
At LA 2028, modern pentathlon is set to take place in a temporary venue at the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Center in the San Fernando Valley. Also being hosted in the Center are urban sports 3×3 basketball, BMX racing and freestyle, and skateboarding.
“As a result of adding obstacle, we have had more commercial interest than we’ve ever had and we are recognised as a compelling property now,” Stull says. “We’re in LA and we’re with the cool kids as part of the urban sports cluster.”
Prize money boost
Earlier this year, the UIPM introduced an increase in the total athlete prize money pot for the 2025 season.
For the first time, those who finish in the top six in each of the women’s and men’s individual categories at the World Championships, set to take place from August 26-30 in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas, will be rewarded with prize money.
The initiative aligns with the UIPM’s aim to enhance recognition of its athletes, while the body has committed to distributing as much new revenue as possible among its athlete community.
The move was facilitated by a recent contract extension with RAM Swiss Watches, which is one of the governing body’s four global partners, alongside Xiangxing Group, Absolute Fencing and UIPM Asia-Pacific Development Centre.
“We’ve announced a new prize money deal because we just expanded our relationship with RAM Watches and those dollars are going straight into prize money for the athletes,” says Stull. “So we’re an athletes-first organisation and that’s what we did with the first new money – give it to them. There will also be prize money available when we go to Beijing for the first of four annual Obstacle World Championships in October.”
The partnership with RAM Swiss Watches, which has been a partner for more than 13 years, will now run until 2028 – demonstrating how modern pentathlon’s new offering is resonating with commercial supporters.
“We are much more commercial now, with the addition of ninja-style obstacle racing opening up new audiences that brand partners can connect with through Pentathlon,” Stull says.
Adapting athletes
While athletes have taken to obstacle well throughout in recent months, it remains to be seen how the sport’s established athletes will fare with the new discipline on the UIPM’s biggest stage – the annual Pentathlon World Championships.
However, Stull is not only convinced that the action will be compelling; he raises the prospect of the obstacle course being adapted to become progressively more challenging over time, given the skillsets of the athletes.
“I think our athletes will adapt very quickly and we won’t have any issues,” he says. “Our athletes are better than the course is currently and they are very, very good at it. So now it’s time to make it a little more difficult, so we’ll go up in the degree of difficulty.
“These are not going to be major changes like what we had over the last three years, going from horses to obstacle. These are more tweaks. These are more adjustments. But the goal is all about the show. Because right now we have a great sport, and we need to have a great show.”
Perfect conditions
As a starting point, next month’s World Championships in Kaunas’ €50m Žalgirio Arena will provide the perfect conditions.
The venue, which can typically host between 12,000 and 15,000 fans for sporting events, hosted basketball’s EuroLeague Final Four two years ago and is equipped with a range of state-of-the-art technology designed to heighten the senses – from advanced audio equipment installed by Yamaha to a renovated giant central video cube.
It is also capable of facilitating the swimming discipline at its arena pool, which opened three years ago, ensuring a compact set-up for modern pentathlon’s flagship event. For the UIPM, the 2025 World Championships represent a significant opportunity to put down a marker for the sport’s new era after an encouraging start in the first half of this year. While many obstacles have already been overcome in this evolution, the chance to create compelling competition content that captures the imagination of fans, athletes, commercial partners and media companies in Lithuania, Eastern Europe and worldwide represents a truly tantalising opportunity.
To find out more, head to the UIPM’s website.
