Modern Pentathlon at Paris 2024 Olympics: Preview, full schedule and how to watch live
Picture by Dan Mullan/Getty Images 2021
If mastering one sport is difficult, then mastering five must be nearly impossible. Yet 72 athletes, 36 men and 36 women, will accept that challenge and display a broad range of athletic skill, mental discipline and fighting spirit during modern pentathlon at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 from 8 to 11 August.
They’ll compete across five sports — athletics, equestrian, fencing, shooting and swimming — as they attempt to complete a test devised by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games.
Meant to reward the “ideal, complete athlete,” modern pentathlon will be an exam worth watching, as the sport takes up residence at the world-famous Château de Versailles.
Below, we take a closer look at the stars to watch out for in Paris, a full schedule and how to watch the action.
Modern Pentathlon stars to watch at Paris 2024 Olympics
Joseph Choong knows how to handle himself at major competitions. The British Olympic champion followed up his victory at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 with two consecutive world titles. However, he’ll enter Paris 2024 in pursuit of another world champion in Hungary’s Csaba Bohm.
The 24-year-old Hungarian has stormed to the forefront of modern pentathlon, with back-to-back world records and victories at the 2024 UIPM Pentathlon World Cup Final and 2024 UIPM Pentathlon World Championships.
Bohm will enter Paris 2024 as the prohibited favourite, but he’ll need to hold off a slew of pentathletes, including Choong, three-time World Cup final winner Valentin Prades (FRA), Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Ahmed Elgendy (EGY), Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Jun Woong Tae (KOR) and Hungarian countryman Balazs Szep.
Hungary will also be well represented in the women’s competition, with 2024 UIPM Pentathlon World Championships silver medallist Blanka Guzi making her Olympic debut at Paris 2024.
She will line up alongside a pair of experienced Olympic champions, which includes Great Britain's Kate French and Lithuania’s Laura Asadauskaite.
French will enter Paris 2024 as the reigning Olympic champion, but she has yet to find the form that won her that distinction. Nonetheless, a strong series of results could see French crowned champion once more.
Likewise, Asadauskaite will hope for a replay of her victory at the Olympic Games London 2012. The 40-year-old Lithuanian will set out to prove experience is superior to youth as she takes on athletes half her age in her fifth Olympic appearance.
2024 world champion Seong Seung-min of the Republic of Korea will lead the youthful resistance, while Rio 2016 silver medallist Elodie Clouvel of France will hope to deliver the home crowd a golden gift at the Château de Versailles.
Marie Oteiza (FRA) and other competitors dive at the start of the 200m freestyle swimming leg of the women's modern pentathlon at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Full modern pentathlon schedule at Olympic Games 2024
Modern pentathlon is due to take place from 8 to 11 August during Paris 2024. Click here for a detailed schedule.
How to watch modern pentathlon live at Paris 2024
All the action from Paris 2024, including modern pentathlon, can be watched via media rights holders (MRHs).
MRHs include Nine in Australia, Globo in Brazil, CBC in Canada, CCTV in People's Republic of China, Fuji TV/NHK/Nippon TV/TBS/TV Asahi/TV Tokyo in Japan, SKY NZ in New Zealand, SuperSport in South Africa, NBC in the United States and Discovery Eurosport across Europe, alongside France Télévisions in France, ARD/ZDF in Germany and BBC Sport in the United Kingdom, among others.
Check listings in other regions for your local broadcaster.
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