Former UIPM Executive Board member John Holland passes away

Members of the Modern Pentathlon community are united in grief after the death of John Holland, one of the great champions of our sport across the Americas.

John Holland was one of the founding members of the Pan American Modern Pentathlon Confederation (PAMPC) and served the body as Secretary General and President, before becoming President of UIPM-NORCECA and serving on the UIPM Executive Board.

A proud American, he fell short in his efforts to qualify for the US team for the 1952 and 1956 Olympic Games but did not let this deter him. Instead of competing for the ultimate prize in sport John Holland devoted all of the spare time that work and family allowed to helping others fulfil their potential as pentathletes. In the 1980s he became a board member of the US Modern Pentathlon Association and a member of the Association’s Trust.

Together with his wife Isabel, who was the sister of a leading Mexican epee fencer, John was an ever-present fixture in US pentathlon circles and worked tirelessly as an administrator right across the Pan American region.

He was a role model and an inspiration to Modern Pentathlon enthusiasts for more than half a century, and he will be sadly missed across our community.

Our thoughts are with Isabel and the four children and many grandchildren John Holland leaves behind.