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Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Triathlon and Modern Pentathlon

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Welcome to the Tokyo Olympics 2020! :biggrin:

~This thread is all about Triathlon and Modern Pentathlon~


The Olympic triathlon contains three components; swimming, cycling, and running. This year, on top of the usual medal events for individual men and women, there will be a mixed relay event!

Modern pentathlon was created especially for the Summer Olympics by the founder of the modern Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin. It is designed to simulate the experience of a 19th-century cavalry soldier behind enemy lines, and its five components are épée fencing, pistol shooting, freestyle swimming, show jumping, and running.

The schedule for triathlon can be found here.

The schedule for modern pentathlon can be found here.

Use this thread to make your predictions about these sports, and discuss the events as they happen. :smile:
Gundam, Unicorn Gundam!!!

During the cycling portion of the triathlon they kept going past the unicorn gundam statue in odaiba. The director even focused on it quite a lot (looks prettycool on tv. Shame they didnt make it go destroy mode... Unless they were afraid of sunrise suing for showing a gundam face)

Shame about alex yee but the best guy won in thw end. Plus alex is young and will undoubtedly get better. Curious to see if jonny brownlee will compete again
(edited 2 years ago)
German coach kicked out of Olympics for punching a horse. Classy.
Poor saint boy :frown: such a whingy entitled rider and horrible coach
Original post by Trilobite.
German coach kicked out of Olympics for punching a horse. Classy.

Absolute disgrace, i havent ridden since i was about 14 but even i can see this horse is terrified. Crying and kicking him will aggravate him more. Nevermind punching him

Original post by CoolCavy
Absolute disgrace, i havent ridden since i was about 14 but even i can see this horse is terrified. Crying and kicking him will aggravate him more. Nevermind punching him



Yep. I've got no interest or knowledge in horse riding but I can see that the horse is stressed and the rider made no attempt to calm the horse.
@CoolCavy and @Trilobite.

I just agree with you two. Both the coach and the contestant Schleu treated badly on the horse. An animal abuse I can't accept, even if it is about a medal. The ban by the German Olympic Associaiton was the right sign. Animals deserve to treat with respect!

But don't forget to criticize the IOC: horse and riders need time to build confidence to each other. 20 minutes to get used to a horse that is randomly assigned to a contestant, is pathetic. Either the equestrians get the permission to use their own horses who they known for years, or the equestrian part should be replaced by another sport, cycling for instance. It is not fair for both the contestants and the horses. The contestants, because they are subjected to the sympathies of a strange horse, and for the horses because they have different riders and thus not the chance to build a relationship to those.
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by Trilobite.
German coach kicked out of Olympics for punching a horse. Classy.

Original post by CoolCavy
Poor saint boy :frown: such a whingy entitled rider and horrible coach

I honestly think the equestrian leg of the modern pentathlon should be replaced - the riders are for the most part severely under-qualified and it's a horrible show of horsemanship. The way a lot of the horses were treated was just unacceptable, and it's an awful example to be setting. I'm glad the Olympics took action against the German team, but it's not going to be enough long-term. As far as I know, the modern pentathlon equestrian events don't use the same FEI rulebook that the stand-alone jumping event uses, and the FEI rules would allow riders to be disqualified for excessive use of whips and spurs like two riders were in the show jumping qualifying in 2016. I don't think the FEI is even vaguely affiliated with the jumping in pentathlon, which would explain why the welfare standards seem to be so wildly different.
(edited 2 years ago)
If they insist of having an equestrian phase, it could be interesting to replace show jumping with a basic dressage test for a couple of reasons. 1) It requires a calm and gentle approach, and you're not able to just gallop through the course and hope the horse saves your skin, 2) the horse's level of relaxation directly impacts the marks, 3) it arguably requires a higher base level of riding skill, and 4) there is less danger of injury for both horse and rider.

If they're going to put relatively unexperienced riders on horses they shouldn't be allowed spurs at all, just as would be the case outside of the olympics, and they really should be able to build some kind of relationship with the horses on the ground and in the saddle before the competition. It's outrageous that the same horses are used multiple times too. The FEI should absolutely be involved to set some better welfare standards, because from the outside it looks like the event has been arranged by people who don't know much at all about horses or the equestrian sport, particularly at higher levels
This year's modern pentathlon will be the last of its kind. In Paris it is changing to a much faster sport, where all disciplines will be completed within 90 minutes. I presume the equestrian involvement has already been axed, given this information.
Reply 10
Original post by Kallisto
@CoolCavy and @Trilobite.

I just agree with you two. Both the coach and the contestant Schleu treated badly on the horse. An animal abuse I can't accept, even if it is about a medal. The ban by the German Olympic Associaiton was the right sign. Animals deserve to treat with respect!

But don't forget to criticize the IOC: horse and riders need time to build confidence to each other. 20 minutes to get used to a horse that is randomly assigned to a contestant, is pathetic. Either the equestrians get the permission to use their own horses who they known for years, or the equestrian part should be replaced by another sport, cycling for instance. It is not fair for both the contestants and the horses. The contestants, because they are subjected to the sympathies of a strange horse, and for the horses because they have different riders and thus not the chance to build a relationship to those.

20 minutes is more than enough. In IEA/ISHA, an association in the lower level of the sport in America, riders sometimes dont even get 20 minutes to get used to the horse they're put on before getting into the show ring. If an amateur can get on a random horse an Olympian should be more than capable of doing it too.
The issue with the pentathlon is that everyone is mediocre at all 5 sports and it becomes unfair when living animals are brought into it. None of the riders should be jumping at all, much less 4ft+, they cant even sit the canter properly... You look back at previous years and see the same thing, the riders look awful and the horses look like they're in pain. Its only finally getting attention...
Original post by Foxehh
20 minutes is more than enough. In IEA/ISHA, an association in the lower level of the sport in America, riders sometimes dont even get 20 minutes to get used to the horse they're put on before getting into the show ring. If an amateur can get on a random horse an Olympian should be more than capable of doing it too.
The issue with the pentathlon is that everyone is mediocre at all 5 sports and it becomes unfair when living animals are brought into it. None of the riders should be jumping at all, much less 4ft+, they cant even sit the canter properly... You look back at previous years and see the same thing, the riders look awful and the horses look like they're in pain. Its only finally getting attention...

So, you are for the abolition of the equestrian part in order to replace this part by a proper sport. That is okay.
Reply 12
Original post by Kallisto
So, you are for the abolition of the equestrian part in order to replace this part by a proper sport. That is okay.

Not because it's not a proper sport, but because show jumping is a sport that needs highly skilled riders and the pentathlon doesnt seem to attract them.
Original post by 04MR17
This year's modern pentathlon will be the last of its kind. In Paris it is changing to a much faster sport, where all disciplines will be completed within 90 minutes. I presume the equestrian involvement has already been axed, given this information.

Looks like I was wrong, there will still be a 20 minute equestrian leg in the next olympic modern pentathlon. Despite the major changes to the event;
https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1107148/uipm-paris-2024-format-test-event
Original post by Foxehh
20 minutes is more than enough. In IEA/ISHA, an association in the lower level of the sport in America, riders sometimes dont even get 20 minutes to get used to the horse they're put on before getting into the show ring. If an amateur can get on a random horse an Olympian should be more than capable of doing it too.
The issue with the pentathlon is that everyone is mediocre at all 5 sports and it becomes unfair when living animals are brought into it. None of the riders should be jumping at all, much less 4ft+, they cant even sit the canter properly... You look back at previous years and see the same thing, the riders look awful and the horses look like they're in pain. Its only finally getting attention...

It's true the it's very common for riders to ride unknown horses - even children at the lowest beginner levels in riding schools will ride a huge variety of ponies that they have absolutely no prior knowledge of.

BUT in other shows and in riding schools, the horses are appropriate for the rider's level as well as the level of competition. I've been trying to find the background of these horses, and first of all many of them are stallions which is just asking for trouble. A lot of them have good pedigrees and have obviously been bred with high-level competition in mind, but I can't find any records of them competing internationally or in an area which is anywhere near as intimidating as on olympic one, even with few spectators.

Obviously the riders are horrifically under-qualified, but if anyone had cared about the safety of the show jumping and wanted it to even vaguely resemble the actual sport, there are a lot of areas they could improve to mitigate the risks. The 20min period is definitely one of them, and perhaps if they'd been allowed a few training sessions together before the event, with none of the pressure of the final phase of the pentathlon, there wouldn't be so many panicked and frustrated responses. If I were the IOC I would've put them all on scruffy cob ponies from a local riding school with no spurs and a course made purely of 50cm cross poles, but somehow I don't think they'd like that haha
Reply 15
Original post by umbrellala
It's true the it's very common for riders to ride unknown horses - even children at the lowest beginner levels in riding schools will ride a huge variety of ponies that they have absolutely no prior knowledge of.

BUT in other shows and in riding schools, the horses are appropriate for the rider's level as well as the level of competition. I've been trying to find the background of these horses, and first of all many of them are stallions which is just asking for trouble. A lot of them have good pedigrees and have obviously been bred with high-level competition in mind, but I can't find any records of them competing internationally or in an area which is anywhere near as intimidating as on olympic one, even with few spectators.

Obviously the riders are horrifically under-qualified, but if anyone had cared about the safety of the show jumping and wanted it to even vaguely resemble the actual sport, there are a lot of areas they could improve to mitigate the risks. The 20min period is definitely one of them, and perhaps if they'd been allowed a few training sessions together before the event, with none of the pressure of the final phase of the pentathlon, there wouldn't be so many panicked and frustrated responses. If I were the IOC I would've put them all on scruffy cob ponies from a local riding school with no spurs and a course made purely of 50cm cross poles, but somehow I don't think they'd like that haha

Stallions are bat**** crazy but good for jumping height, its an understatement to say they have some 'go' to them :tongue: In this particular situation the horse didnt seem to be terribly stressed from outside factors, had his head bent into the center of the ring and looked as focused as he could be in the situation. Any sort of other issues the rider -who supposedly should be at the top of their sport, given that they're competing where they are- should be able to figure out by listening to the horse. The pentathlon relies on the assumption that riders know how to read their mount's behavior and I think its a fair one as its such a basic concept to being around horses. Here Saint Boy couldnt move properly or jump because his rider's reins were so incredibly tight which he was showing her by prancing and kicking out and then smashing through the fences. I imagine it wouldnt have gone any better even with such tweaks to it, a couple of extra rides wouldnt change the fact that shes unwilling to listen and has zero idea what shes doing!

Heh that I agree with, could you even imagine :colone: Better yet you could have them practice some seemingly much needed ground work, they can lead their ponies through some cones... would make for a riveting competition :yep:
(edited 2 years ago)

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