Modern Pentathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Modern pentathlon underwent a major change after the 2008 Olympics. Instead of consisting of five separate events – fencing, swimming, riding, shooting, and running, the shooting and running were combined into a single competition, similar to the biathlon at the Winter Olympics. The run consisted of four 800 m laps and before the start of each lap, competitors would fire a laser pistol at a target. They were required to record five successful shots at each station, but were penalized for extra shots as well as for the extra amount of time it took to fire those shots. Once again there were two events, an individual for both men and women.

The events were held over three days. On the first day, August 18, the fencing ranking rounds were held for both genders. The next day women finished their competition by firstly swimming at 12 am, then holding a fencing’s bonus round at 2 pm, followed by the riding competition at 3:30 pm, and finishing with the combined running/shooting at 6 pm. On August 20, men completed their remaining disciplines within the same time schedule as the women.

Athletes achieved points in each phase according to their performance, and the points from each of the first three phases were cumulative. The final ranking points going into the running/shooting were then converted into a time with the highest scorer after the first three elements starting the last event first, with the other competitors handicapped behind them according to points obtained going into the combined running/shooting. This meant that the athlete who crossed the finish line first won the gold medal.

The following changes had been made since London 2012. The fencing event was divided into two rounds; a ranking round and a bonus round. New UIPM rules regarding ranking and scoring also applied. The combined running/shooting event comprised four 800 m laps with five hits shooting before each lap. The points system had been changed so that every one point scored in the first three phases converted to equal one second for the combined final stage.

The locations for the single events were held at Arena da Juventude, Parque Olímpico de Deodoro (fencing) / Centro Aquático de Deodoro, Parque Olímpico de Deodoro (swimming) and Estádio de Deodoro, Parque Olímpico de Deodoro (riding and combined).