Modern pentathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Modern pentathlon
at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad
Modern pentathlon; at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad
Venue	Deodoro Aquatics Centre; Deodoro Stadium; Youth Arena
Dates	18–20 August
Competitors	72
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The modern pentathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro is scheduled to take place from 19 to 20 August 2016 at Deodoro Aquatics Centre, Deodoro Stadium and Youth Arena. Thirty-six athletes will compete each in the men's and women's events.^[1] Initially the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) proposed that all five events be staged in the same arena. While this did not eventuate, all venues are within approximately 300 metres of each other.^[2]^[3]

Format

Modern pentathlon contained five events; pistol shooting, épée fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a 3.2 km cross-country run.^[4] The combined running and pistol shooting events remain unchanged; athletes face four rounds of shooting each followed by an 800 m run. In each of the four rounds of firing, they must shoot five targets, loading the gun after every shot, and then being permitted to resume their running. Misses are not penalized, but staying inside the shooting range over a maximum total time of 70 seconds would result to a penalty.^[4]

Unlike previous games, the fencing action will place on one piste in a ladder, knock-out system. It is specifically designed to rank the fencers based on the results from the traditional round-robin stage held the day before, and then battle against each other to improve their standing and determine the overall winner. Commonly called the "bonus round", the sport's new format offers all fencers a chance to earn bonus points and accumulate their scores.^[5]

Qualification

Thirty-six athletes must qualify for each of the two events; a maximum of two per gender from any nation. Qualification methods are the same for both the men's and women's events.^[6]

The host nation Brazil has been guaranteed a single place each in the men's and women's events, while two invitational places would be allocated by UIPM once the rest of the qualifiers are decided.^[6]

Between January and August 2015, the initial distribution of quotas to the athletes have taken place based on the competition results. Five continental championships afford twenty places each per gender: one each from Africa and Oceania, five from Asia, eight from Europe, and five from the Americas with a maximum of one quota per NOC (winners from NORCECA and South America, and top three from the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada).^[6] Qualified athletes will also be the winner of the 2015 UIPM World Cup final (held in Minsk, Belarus from June 12 to 14) and the top three finishers at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany, held between June 28 and July 6, 2015.^[6]

The top three ranked athletes, having not qualified by any means, will be awarded a place at the 2016 UIPM World Championships in Moscow, Russia, while the remaining seven will be based on the pentathlon's world rankings as of June 1, 2016.^[6]