Modern pentathlon has been an Olympic sport for men since 1912 and was added to the Olympic program for women in 2000. There have been some changes to the format of the sport over the years and the current format involves a semi-final event which does not include riding. In the Final, 36 athletes compete for the top position.

Following the Olympic Games in Beijing there was another format change involving the shooting and running events which are now combined into one interesting event. This new Combined format is the last event of the pentathlon.

FENCING
Epee style fencing is the type of combat used in pentathlon fencing. During this phase each competitor must fence all of the other competitors in one minute, one hit round robin. The scoring is based on win/loss ratio. This is an event that requires not only special technical skill, but also the ability to maintain a focus and calm under pressure.

SWIMMING
A 200 metre freestyle race serves as the swim portion with each competitor racing against the clock for points. In the women's event, 2:30 is worth 1000 pentathlon points, while the men must swim 2:20. For both men and women every second under or over this time is worth twelve points.

SHOW JUMPING
The riding portion involves the negotiation of a 1.20m stadium jumping course composed of 12 obstacles aboard a strange horse. The luck of the draw adds a certain amount of excitement to the event as all horses are not equal in temperament or ability, regardless of the fact that all have completed the course in a test round. Each horse is shared between two competitors, each who have twenty minutes and five practice fences to warm up before their round. Each obstacle is worth 100 points and points may also be deducted for exceeding the time allowed, and for the fall of a rider and/or horse.

COMBINED RUN/SHOOT
This final event consists of three times: 5 target knock downs, followed by 1000m running, for a total of 15 targets knocked down and 3000m run. If an athlete misses a target they simply reload and shoot again as quickly as possible. The combined time for running and shooting is the only thing that matters. As with the previous running format, a chase finish means athletes are set off at time intervals according to their point total for the first three events of the day. Each second in the Combined event is worth 4 points. The first person to cross the finish line will be declared the winner of the Modern Pentathlon event. This makes for a very exciting finale!