The Pentathlon - The Ancient Events Versus The Present

The History of the pentathlon

The history of the pentathlon stems from the complete physical training of the Greeks. The pentathlete was the product of training in five events, unlike those athletes who were trained in specialized areas. It began as an athletic competition to determine the best all-around athlete. The pentathlon was introduced into the Olympic Games around 708 B.C. Each pentathlete was superior in strength and activity, which was the ideal physical beauty. The ideal pentathlete should be tall, well built, long legs, flexible hips, and preferably with long hands and fingers.

In the ancient pentathlon, not only were women excluded from participating in the events, but they were also not allowed to watch the events, unless they were unmarried. All married women were banned from the games under the penalty of death.

The ancient pentathlon was composed of two types of events. The light events, which were jumping, running, and the javelin, were the first type. The second type of events were the heavy events, which werethe diskos and wrestling. There is a controversy surrounding the order of events in the ancient pentathlon, but from ancient texts, it is known that wrestling was last.

As legend has it, the modern pentathlon is based on the feats of a soldier messenger during his journey to deliver his general's orders. Supposedly, his horse was killed behind enemy lines and the soldier had to fight his way through first with a sword, then with a pistol before swimming across a river, and finally running four hundred meters through the woods to his destination. It was a test of speed, stamina, skill, and steadiness under pressure.

The pentathlon's reintroduction w...

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...rder to even out each horse's ability in the event. This makes the event a test of the athlete's skill, because each athlete studies the course beforehand and creates his/her own plan of approaching jumps and taking turns. The main concern of each competitor is keeping control of the horse.

Modern Running

The modern running event is the last event of the modern Olympic pentathlon. This event is a cross-country race of 4,000 meters. The starting position of each competitor was a staggered one based on their rank in the pentathlon competition. They start from a couching position toward the ground unlike that of the Greeks who started from a standing position. The starting time of each competitor was based on how many points he/she is behind the leader. The leader of the event starts first. The first to cross the line wins the individual gold medal.