Part 2 - LA84 Foundation

11. Competition Management
by Sport
334
11.14
Modern Pentathlon
The modern pentathlon is composed
of riding, fencing, swimming, shooting
and cross-country running, and the
rankings are determined by the total
scores earned in the five events. The
modern pentathlon represents a kind
of integral martial sport, combining
many of the skills of medieval knights
into one sport.
The modern pentathlon was first
introduced to Korea in 1960, and Korea
was represented at the pentathlon
competition of the Tokyo Games in
1964. Since then, however, modern
pentathlon competition had been
almost non-existent in Korea. The
Korea Modern Pentathlon and Biathlon
Association was organized in 1982,
and was affiliated to the Korea
Amateur Sports Association.
The modern pentathlon competition
started on September 18 and was concluded
on September 22, becoming
the first Olympic sport to be completed.
Two golds were at stake for individuals
and teams for men, and 80 athletes
and 61 officials representing 26 countries
participated in the modern
pentathlon.
Of all the Olympic sports open to
optional participation, the modern
pentathlon drew the fewest participants
and countries, except for the team ball
games where participation was determined
by regional qualification games
or by specific IFs.
Although the modern pentathlon was
the smallest in scale among the 23
Olympic sports, the competitions were
held at five venues as the sport
involved a combination of five sports.
Riding was held at the Seoul Equestrian
Park, fencing was held at the
Olympic Fencing Gymnasium, and
shooting was done at the Taenung
International Shooting Range, swimming
was staged at the Olympic
Indoor Swimming Pool, and crosscountry
running was held on the Olympic
Park cross country course.
Some of the required operation personnel
were borrowed from related
sports operations to manage the
competitions.
11.14.1
Competition Preparations
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Right after its inauguration, the
SLOOC recognized the modern pentathlon
as the sport that Korea was
least prepared to stage.
In consultation with the Korea Modern
Pentathlon and Biathlon Association,
the SLOOC focused its energy on
enhancing the standards of the sport
at home and acquiring key operation
personnel.
The modern pentathlon is widely
known to the world, but not popularized
in Korea; there is even an international
federation known as the Combined
Modern Pentathlon and Biathlon
Union (UIPMB), which also deals with
the compound competitions of the
Winter Olympics. The international
federation showed special concern
with the operating problems involved
in the modern pentathlon of the Seoul
Olympic Games.
The UIPMB Secretary-general, Thor
Henning, visited Seoul in May 1982 to
extend advice on working out a master
plan on the modern pentathlon. The
UIPMB President, Sven Thofelt, visited
Seoul in May 1983, and assured the
SLOOC and the Korea Modern Pentathlon
and Biathlon Association of full
support in operating the sport.
After consolidating cooperative links
with the UPIMB, the SLOOC sent two
officials to the Modern Pentathlon
Competition held in Tokyo, Japan in
May 1983, to study the operational
system. The SLOOC also sent two officials
for field investigation to the World
Junior Championship held in Los
Angeles in October 1983 as a pre-
Olympic event. From 1983, the SLOOC
conducted education for competition
operation personnel and for judges by
inviting foreign specialists recommended
by the UIPMB.
With the exception of 1984, when the
Los Angeles Games were held, the
education by foreign specialists was
held every year until 1987.
The Korea Modern Pentathlon and
Biathlon Association offered an open
contest to recruit modern pentathletes
from among the athletes who failed to
join the official teams of other Olympic
sports. After adaptation tests, the
pentathletes were subjected to intensive
training by a military sports unit.
Training the pentathletes, who are
required to perform the five sports of
running, swimming, shooting, fencing
and riding, required energy and commitment
which, in many respects,
exceeded the levels needed for training
Korean athletes for better-known
sports. Korean pentathletes participated
in the Los Angeles Olympics.
The SLOOC sent four officials to the
Los Angeles Games to study the operations
of the modern pentathlon, and
based on the reports submitted by
them, Seoul's modern pentathlon
operation plan was worked out in
December 1984. The operation plan
was reported to the UIPMB and
approved.
The modern pentathlon was not
included in the Seoul Asian Games
schedule in 1986, and the SLOOC
hosted the 22nd World Junior Modern
Pentathlon Competition in Seoul in
September 1987 as a pre-Olympics
event to help operating personnel gain
experience in an actual operation.
In June 1987, the SLOOC altered the
venue of the cross-country course
from Taenung Country Club to the
Olympic Park.
In February 1986, The UIPMB designated
two technical delegates to help
the SLOOC in working on the modern
pentathlon operation planning.
The Modern Pentathlon Operations
was organized on May 1, 1988; its
organizational hierarchy was composed
of a commissioner, secretarygeneral,
director, five managers and
25 officers; its staffing covered a total
of 480, including nine staff members of
the SLOOC, 282 support personnel,
160 volunteers, and 29 temporary
personnel.
The cross-country competition was
operated without outside help, while
manpower support and equipment
were secured from related sports
organizations to run the operations of
riding, fencing, swimming and
shooting.
The supporting personnel secured
from related sports organizations
totalled 334, including 57 for riding,
147 for fencing, 20 for swimming and
110 for shooting.
The UIPMB was represented by its
president, secretary-general and two
technical delegates. Sixteen judges,
including two Koreans, were commissioned
to supervise the competition.
The implements used for the staging
of the modern pentathlon covered a
total of 3,354 units of 88 items, of
which 691 units of 55 items were
obtained from related sports organizations
and the remaining 2,663 units of
33 items were newly obtained.
Horses for racing and training were
the most imporant items to be
secured. Initial projections called for
54 racing horses and 15 horses for
training. The SLOOC imported 24
racing horses in July 1987. Accepting
the offer of the Italian Modern Pentathlon
Association to lend racing horses
free of charge, the SLOOC borrowed
36 horses from Italy in April 1988,
while securing the remaining nine
horses at home for training.
With regard to the 36 horses brought
in from Italy, the SLOOC was responsible
for all matters ranging from taking
over the horses in Italy to transporting,
quarantining, getting customs clearances
looking after the horses at stables
in the Seoul Equestrian Park. The
horses were sent back to Italy after the
Olympics.
11.14.2
Conduct
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of the Competitions
The modern pentathlon competition is
decided by accumulating the scores.
For five days, the riding, fencing,
swimming and cross-country running
was conducted, in that order. Points
were awarded according to the athletes'
performances, and the rankings were
established on the basis of the total
points obtained.
The 600-meter riding course had 15
obstacles; 1,100 points were awarded
for completing the whole course within
one minute and 43 seconds without a
penalty, while riders were disqualified
when the course was not covered