THE athletes in modern pentathlon know for certain horses won’t be part of their event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.That could soon change as the International Olympic Committee’s executive board meets this week to decide whether modern pentathlon, boxing and weightlifting will gain inclusion. modern pentathlon after issues that arose during the show-jumping portion at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
“Yes, there is competition with other sports. But we hope that we will be confirmed in the program after the change we’ve made,” Joel Bouzou, the vice president of UIPM, said in an interview with The Associated Press in May. Athletes in modern pentathlon are expected to ride horses they haven’t met before. Bonding with them quickly is part of the challenge.
“The sport getting back in, that’s brilliant. Athletes will have an Olympic experience. That’s wonderful. I wouldn’t want to take that away from anybody,” said Kate Allenby, a two-time Olympian for Britain and a representative . “But the question is this: Is the sport pentathlon if it’s got obstacle racing in it? Because it’s an entirely different athlete.”