The Military Pentathlon is a multisport. It resembles the

modern pentathlon The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anci ...

but updated to skills used by the modern military.

History of the Military Pentathlon

The

was originally designed to include the ideal skills of a soldier of the time. By the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, some of those skills (

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

and

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, Driving (horse), driving, and Equestrian vaulting, vaulting ...

) were irrelevant to the modern soldier. In 1946 a French officer, Captain

Henri Debrus Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...

(later promoted Colonel and President of the

Conseil International du Sport Militaire The International Military Sports Council (IMSC) or Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM), is an international sports association, established in 1948 and headquartered in Brussels. It is the world's second-largest multi-discipline sport ...

(CISM)) conceived the idea of organising a sports competition reserved exclusively for the army. It was during discussions held at

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

which led to the setting up of the Allied Forces Sports Council, that his attention was drawn to an original military physical training technique used, at that time, by the Netherlands airborne units. After being dropped over a given zone, parachutists had to travel a distance of twenty kilometres from the dropping point, crossing over a number of obstacles and performing combat operations (

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

fire and

grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

throwing). Captain Debrus took the Dutch method as a guide, eliminated the parachute jump and modified the other tests in order to form a system, which he thought, would constitute an ideal way of ground training. A first trial competition organised by himself was held at the Military Physical Training Centre, at

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

, in the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

occupation zone Germany was already de facto military occupation, occupied by the Allies of World War II, Allies from the real German Instrument of Surrender, fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 Octo ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, in August 1947. Only

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, and French teams took part in the competition. Since 1950, annual world championships have been held. The sport has grown in popularity, and now over 30 countries participate. The sport's governing body, the

International Military Sports Council The International Military Sports Council (IMSC) or Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM), is an international sports association, established in 1948 and headquartered in Brussels. It is the world's second-largest multi-discipline sport ...

(CISM), now also organise

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

s aimed at

naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

and

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

personnel.

Events of the military pentathlon

Shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...

: At a distance of 200 metres, competitors are tested separately for precision (10 shots in 10 minutes) and rapid-fire (10 shots in one minute) shooting. * Obstacle running: Competitors navigate a 500-metre obstacle course with 20 obstacles. * Obstacle swimming: Competitors must swim a distance of 50 metres, including four obstacles. *

Throwing Throwing is an action which consists in accelerating a projectile and then releasing it so that it follows a ballistic trajectory, usually with the aim of impacting a remote target. This action is best characterized for animals with prehensile l ...

: Competitors are tested separately for precision and distance throwing. In the precision test, competitors throw 16 projectiles (inactive

s) at targets on the ground at varying distances. *

Cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

: Competitors undertake an 8 km cross country run.

Shooting

The shooting discipline consists of sighting shots and competition shooting. The shooting competition consists of: * Precision fire: 10 rounds in 10 minutes. If

electronic scoring system Electronic scoring systems or electronic targets are automated scoring systems used for sport shooting where the shot placement and score is automatically calculated using electronics and presented on screens to the organizer and shooters. The sco ...

s are not used, the time available is 12 minutes. After the announcement of "15 seconds remain" the signals "start" and "stop" are given by short whistle blasts. The precision fire is started at the same time for all shooters participating in the same heat. * Rapid fire: 10 rounds in one minute. The competitors do not get information on the result of their individual shots during the rapid fire series. Therefore, the monitors are turned away or off. The rapid fire is started in two rounds (every second shooter, first the uneven numbers followed by the even numbers) in the same heat. Competitors in the non-shooting round must remain absolutely still. * Distance is 200m, 300m or 50m. * Weapons and ammunition: 300m Standard Rifle. All types of ammunition can be used that may be fired without danger to competitors and range personnel. Tracer, armour-piercing and incendiary ammunition are prohibited. Weapons and ammunition must be provided by the team. * Target:

Electronic target Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal * Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device * Electronic ...

s or paper targets may be used. The 300-metre rifle target (according to ISSF General Technical Rules par. 6.3.2.1) will be used. Separate targets will be used for precision and rapid fire.

Obstacle run

The length of the course is 500 metres and consists of 20 standardised obstacles. The contest is to be held on one or several lanes, provided that all lanes are identical. Each competitor must follow his own lane. Obstacles: the obstacles are constructed and placed on the track. Obstacles of men's event consist of: # Rope ladder (6m high) # Double beam (.95m high, 1.35m high, .65m apart, competitors have to touch the ground between the beams) # Trip wire (5 elasticated 'wires' .55m high, 2m apart) # Network of wire (wires .45 to .5m high for 20m, to crawl under) #

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

(5 stepping stones over 8m) #

Espalier Espalier ( or ) is the horticultural and ancient agricultural practice of controlling woody plant growth for the production of fruit, by pruning and tying branches to a frame. Plants are frequently shaped in formal patterns, flat against a struct ...

(3 bar 'fence', 2.2m high, to climb over) #

Balance beam The balance beam is a rectangular artistic gymnastics apparatus and an event performed using the apparatus. Both the apparatus and the event are sometimes simply referred to as "beam". The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring i ...

(1m high, 10.4m long) # Sloping wall with rope (3m high) # Horizontal beams (over 1.2m, under 0.6m, over 1.2m, under 0.6m, 1.6m apart) # Irish table (2m high) # Tunnel and twin beams (.5m wide, .5m high, 1.1m long tunnel, # Four steps of beams (.75m high, 1.25m high, 1.8m high, 2.3m high and 1.45 m apart) #

Banquette A banquette is a small footpath or elevated step along the inside of a rampart or parapet of a fortification. Musketeers atop it were able to view the counterscarp, or fire on enemies in the moat. A typical size is a foot and a half (approximate ...

and pit (1.8m ramp,.5m ditch) # Assault wall (1m high) # Pit (2m deep) # Vertical ladder (4m high) # Assault wall II (1.9m high) # Zigzag balance beam (15m long, .15m wide, .5m high) #

Chicane A chicane () is a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is ...

(8m long with two 180 degree turns, covering 24m in total) # Three assault walls in succession (1m high, 1.2m high, 1m high, 6m apart) In the women's event, the rope ladder, sloping wall with rope, four steps of beams and vertical ladder are not negotiated.

Obstacle swimming

50 metres with four obstacles.

Throwing

The weight of projectiles is 575 grams (weight tolerance +/- 25 grams) for men and 375 grams (weight tolerance +/- 25 grams) for women. Throwing consists of precision throwing at distances of 20, 25, 30 and 35 metres (five metres shorter for each target for females). The targets consist of an inner circle with radius of one metre, and an outer circle with radius of two metres. The time allotted for precision throwing is three minutes, 16 projectiles with four inactive

s on each target. Distance throwing is also included, where competitors throw three grenades in two minutes. Only the longest throw will count toward the score, which combines points for both distance and precision.

Cross-country running

The cross-country running is the last event and for men the distance is 8000m and for women the distance is 4000m.

References

{{Reflist

External links

https://www.military-pentathlon.info/cms/