Art: Jan Saudek's picture for Dukla Praha Calendar (featuring Svoboda and Polívka)

Picture by Jan Saudek for 2011 Dukla Praha Calendar. Featuring David Svoboda (left), Tomas Klus (musician, center) and Ondrej Polívka (right).

For more pictures of calendar, check at idnes.cz: http://sport.idnes.cz/bauer-jako-musketyr-kovboj-sebrle-saudek-potreti-nafotil-dukle-kalendar-1o5-/sporty.asp?c=A101025_123527_sporty_bur

Coming soon on pentathloncircuit blog....

I'm still working on this year's stats. Just like last year, I'll bring the best scores for World Cups and World Championships. I'm also working with the year review on junior and youth A and B levels. I'll wait for the next competitions to make a year-end ranking post too and also a year review, something more qualitative than quantitative (beyond the numbers). I said something about making a ranking watch during the season but I've realized it wouldn't make much sense, since some competitions from last year weren't dropped yet when the new one was computed in the system, and with only best of 3 going to the ranking it makes it more meaningless.

The future of modern pentathlon: the next steps

Featuring: laser fencing!























Featuring: swimming pools replaced by wave tanks!























Featuring: mechanical horses!















Combined event now featuring running-roller shoes!


Trying to solve the dichotomy of future and past (by maybe ruining the present?), just when the sport is about to complete 100 years, the decisions now will be made in old style, like in the 30's:

Next UIPM Congress:




















The next board in charge:







Please note this is NOT a serious post and I apologize in advance if someone feels offended, it was made with the sole intention of critic humour.

Pentathletes lookalikes

Edvinas Krungolcas (LTU) and Spanish tennis player Juan Carlos Ferrero.







































Steffen Gebhardt (GER) and British actor Paul Bettany



















David Svoboda (CZE) and - surprise- his twin Tomas. David recently won the award of pentathlete of the year in Czech Republic and Tomas replaced his brother since David couldn't go because he was recovering from an operaion on his tonsils. That's a multi-task family, Tomas is a triathlete.


Do you have any other suggestion of lookalike?

Holy Shoot! The laser pistol implementation

The annual UIPM Congress took place in Riga, Latvia (it was scheduled for Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, and for unknown reason it was suddenly changed to Riga). Surely this wasn't the turn of events that most impressed the pentathlon community. First, the implementation of the laser pistol wasn't approved for the next Olympics and its qualification (they needed 2/3 of the votes) and so it would be implemented only for Juniors and Youth A and B (it was expected that UIPM's will would win). Then, the board used a prerogative to make it real, despite the defeat in the poll. I guess a lot of discussion happened in Riga, and I can understand both points of view. The laser guns are the future of modern pentathlon, environmentally friendly and surely much more safer for athletes and viewers (also is supposed to make easier the travels and the problems in the airports), I guess it was a consensus, but when and how to make the change was the issue. I know the costs play an important role and are a challenge for a sport that is at the same time so expensive and have such a lack of sponsors - we can also question the lobby of those companies that detain the technology. The change in the middle of an Olympic cycle is surely saw as reckless. When FINA changed the swim suits rules, UIPM followed the decision. Now UIPM is ahead of another international federation - I can't say if it's good or not.

Just like it happened with the combined event, the test events that should have happen during the year didn't happened as planned. They will say it didn't happen because they were careful, I think it's actually because of poor planning and poor talk between UIPM and national associations, athletes and coaches. The sport has to move on, try a balance of keeping the tradition and becoming more popular so can save its ass (sorry for the vulgar word). The board probably knows the consequences of overruling a Congress decision and also considered it politically safe as they narrowly missed the 2/3 of votes (or was that a huge mistake?). I just hope it wasn't a shoot -and I mean a shoot in old-fashioned gun - at their own feet.
Well, that's my 2 cents on the issue.

Check the UIPM clarification on laser shooting: http://www.pentathlon.org/inside-uipm/2010-congress/644-press-release-clarification-on-uipm-laser-shooting
and a video made by UIPM explaining the laser shooting: http://www.pentathlon.org/media-centre/video-highlights?video=laser-shooting_4371

since the clarification was not that clear, a more comprehensive view on what happened by Great Britain's performance director (and Olympic medallist by former Czechoslovakia) Jan Bartu: http://insidethegames.biz/sports/summer/modern-pentathlon/11056-exclusive-bartu-hits-out-at-london-2012-laser-gun-confusion-

And from British Pentathlon website, a very honest report on the Congress and its main discussion, the laser pistol: http://www.pentathlongb.org/

Continental competitions: Panamerican Championships and Asian Games

The season is almost over, with few competitions left.

The Panamerican Championships will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 19 to 21 November. The event is also a test event for the 2011 World Military Games and the same venue of 2009 World Cup Final and pentathletes can secure a spot in 2011 Panamerican Games (Gadalajara, Mexico). After the World Military Games, the place (Complexo Esportivo Deodoro) will start the changes for the 2016 Olympic Games - the place is supposed to host not only modern pentathlon, but also shooting, mountain bike and canoe and kayak slalom.

Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Cuba, United States, Guatemala and Mexico will have pentathletes in the men's and women's field, while Panama, Dominican Republic and Venezuela will take part only with male athletes.

The first day of competition will see the men in action, with individual and team prizes. In the second day, it's the ladies' turn to duel, swim, ride, run and shoot. In the final day we will have the relay competition.

The defending champions are Andrei Gheorghe, from Guatemala, and Yane Marques, from Brazil.

Check out the competition website (Only in Portuguese for now): http://www.pentatlomoderno2010.com.br/index.html

Unfortunately I can't go to Rio de Janeiro to watch the competition live.

The XVI Asian Games are going to take place in Guangzhou, China. Modern pentathlon is for the third time in the event (first time was 1994, the competition is held every 4 years but modern pentathlon has been in the program only every 8 years).

China, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kyrgyztan and Uzbekistan are the participating countries and medals will be handled for individual and team competition (it looks like there's no relay in this event, even though it had in 2002). The women's competition will be on Tuesday, November 23 and the men's competition in the following day.

The current champions are Kim Mi-Sub, from South Korea, and Lada Jiyenbalanova, from Kazakhstan. They both helped their teams to win the team competition too, 8 years ago in Busan, South Korea, while local pentathletes grabbed both relay medals (no mixed relay in 2002).

Check out the participating athletes: http://www.gz2010.cn/info/ENG_ENG/ZZ/ZZE132C_MP@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ENG.html

Latest international senior competitions: Central American and Caribbean Games, Open Swiss and Grand Prix Slovakia

XXI Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe (21st Central American and Caribbean Games) - Mayagüez, Puerto Rico (MP at Guatemala)
Dates: Individual (July 29) and Relay (July 30)

The modern pentathlon was one of the sports in this regional Games. The competition was held in Ciudad de Guatemala (Instituto Austriaco Guatemalteco). There was only the men competition and team competition (relay) and 8 pentathletes took part in this event. Oscar Soto, from Mexico, won the competition with 5564 points. Ismael Hernadez, also from Mexico, was second, while local hope Nikkos Papadopoulos finished in third position. In the following day, Guatemala took the gold in team competition; Mexico took the silver and Dominican Republic took the bronze. The absences were the team from Cuba (didn't take part in the Games at all) and current Pan-American champion Andrei Gheorghe (Guatemala) - note: there's a difference between Pan-American Championships (annual, this year it will be in Rio de Janeiro) and Pan-American Games (every 4 years, next will be in Guadalajara, Mexico).

Click here for individual results (PDF file).

Click here for relay results (PDF file) and here for more info.


Open Swiss Championships - Burgdorf, SUI - September 11-12

Local pentathletes Yves Walz and Belinda Schreiber were the winners. Nice to see Schreiber still active.
Click here for results (PDF file).

Vel'ká Cena Slovenska - Banská Bystrica, SVK - September 24-25

Lukasz Klekot from Poland was the winner, Marek Szmek from Czech Republic was second and Tomas Dolezel from Slovakia was third.

Click here for results.