Elena Micheli is “heartbroken” that horse riding would not be part of modern pentathlon beyond next year’s Paris Olympics, but obstacle racing is the way forward for the sport, the world champion said.
Modern pentathlon, which traditionally features fencing, swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting and running, was plunged into a scandal at the Tokyo Games in 2021 when a coach struck a horse that refused to jump a fence.
The International Olympic Committee dropped the sport from its initial list for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, but approved its inclusion last month after global governing body Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) replaced horse riding with obstacle racing.
Photo: Reuters
The sport, created by modern Olympics founder Pierre de Coubertin and part of the Games since 1912, would continue in its traditional format in France next year before the switch.
“The idea that Paris will be the last edition with horse riding breaks my heart,” Italian Micheli, last year’s and this year’s individual world champion, said in an e-mail.
“Obstacle racing has obviously been a useful substitution in economical, entertainment and timing terms, even if they’re two different worlds,” she said. “It’s a bittersweet emotion for riding lovers, but it’s the one that gives us the possibility to keep taking part in the Olympics. That’s what we need.”
Olympic champion Joe Choong of Britain last year said he might walk away from the sport if the UIPM replaced equestrianism, sparking fears others might follow suit, but Micheli urged athletes to give obstacle racing a chance.
“Modern pentathlon has always been a sport of arrangements and changes,” Micheli said.
“Pentathletes are characterized by a spirit of arrangement and we fit difficult situations, we adapt ourselves to achieve our goals. I guess that it would be one more attempt for us to follow the change and put ourselves in a new challenge,” she said. “Before making a big decision as the one to quit practicing this sport, give it a try and only then make your decision.”
Yasser Hefny, the chairman of the UIPM athletes committee, said there could have been an exodus from the sport if it had lost its Olympic status and that obstacle racing could bring more people in.
“Running and obstacles are something we all do by nature,” Hefny said. “Shooting and fencing are technical sports. They can be learned and developed without an age barrier.”
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