New Tetrathlon format for Youth Olympic Games tested in Perpignan (FRA)

France has become the third country to test the New Tetrathlon format, to be proposed for introduction at the 2022 Youth Olympic Games.

The innovative format, which adds Fencing to the established development sport of Triathle (Shooting/Swimming/Running), was presented for the first time in Buenos Aires (ARG) in March 2019 and then in Cairo (EGY) in April.

The goal is to showcase UIPM Sports in the most dynamic way possible at future Youth Olympic Games, starting with the first Olympics to be held in Africa – YOG Dakar 2022.

The new format promises to make the competition more exciting for athletes and spectators, with a more compact field of play and a smoother flow. It will also be more closely aligned to the development path of the UIPM Sports Pyramid.

The proposed changes – which would replace the traditional Tetrathlon format of Swimming, Fencing and Laser Run – are also in line with strategic guidance from the International Olympic Committee to “continue to use the YOG as an incubator for innovation”.

The third test event was held in Rivesalte, near Perpignan (FRA) on June 22 with French and Spanish athletes taking part. There were 24 male and 24 female youth athletes, aged 13 to 18, competing in semi-finals and finals in groups of 12 athletes.

The fourth and final test event will take place in Weiden (GER) on August 23 and 24, with international athletes taking part. The results of each event will be analysed in detail by a working group that was set up after the joint UIPM committees meeting in Frankfurt (GER) in January 2019. A final report will then be submitted to the UIPM Executive Board, which will lead the decision-making process about the new format in September 2019.

The third test in France was overseen by Hyacinthe Carrera, Vice-President of the French Modern Pentathlon Federation and Bondi Kovacs, President of the Spanish Modern Pentathlon Federation, in the company of UIPM Technical Delegate Corine Bouzou and Operations Director Alexandre Franca.

UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann added: “Modern Pentathlon has been a central part of the success of the first three Youth Olympic Summer Games in Singapore (2010), Nanjing (2014) and Buenos Aires (2018) and the traditional Tetrathlon format has served us well during these Games.

“However, the Olympic sporting movement never stands still and this is also true of our Pentathlon movement. We always embrace the opportunity to innovate and evolve, and I look forward to seeing the outcome of the testing process of the New Tetrathlon format after three successful exercises in Buenos Aires, Cairo and Perpignan.”