By Muhammed Aladdin
A sport, or more accurately a collection of sports, the Pentathlon is as old as time; it traces its origin to the ancient Greek Olympics, where participants underwent five challenges to prove their worth. Nowadays, the Modern Pentathlon is fashioned after its older form; comprised of five different events; fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running.
Egypt has been announced as the host of the International Modern Pentathlon Union’s (UIPM) 2019 Pentathlon World Cup I at the Platinum Sports Club in the heart of the Fifth Settlement. The opening ceremony kicked off on Wednesday, the 27th of February, and the games will continue until the 3rd of March.
The President of the Egyptian Modern Pentathlon Federation (EMPF) Sherif El-Arian has announced that the event will be free of charge and open to the public. “All are most welcome to attend the competition,” he stated.
With representatives from 31 countries and 150 pentathletes, the 2019 Pentathlon World Cup I will be one of the most diverse and unified thus far. Each country is allowed a team of eight athletes, four men and four women, except the host nation, Egypt, which is allowed to have a maximum of twelve athletes.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports has released an official briefing stating that Egypt is organizing and hosting more international sporting events than ever and that the ministry will stand firm behind its athletes, giving them all the needed support.
“The UIPM has major events and world championships every year in Egypt. Competitors are aiming at the 2020 Olympic Games. I believe competitions will be much more exciting than before. We have a lot of fans in Egypt,” UIPM secretary-general Shiny Fang said.
The World Cup Series will include four events; the first of which is currently held in Cairo, and the second UIPM event will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria from the 10th until the 14th of April. The third one will be held in Székesfehérvár, Hungary from the 2nd to the 6th of May, while the final event is to occur in Kladno, the Czech Republic, from the 21st to the 26th May.
Men’s and Women’s gold medalists will earn a qualifying place for their country in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.