UIPM 2017 Congress: New initiatives for Tokyo 2020 Olympic cycle

•  Laser-Run to join Modern Pentathlon in UIPM Senior World Championships in 2019
•  International Modern Pentathlon Day to be created
• Congress approves updated WADA Anti-Doping Rules and Procedures

The 69th UIPM Congress, attended by National Federations from six continents, has decided on a number of progressive initiatives aimed at integrating and strengthening the UIPM sporting movement.

The UIPM Laser-Run World Championships, which has become a highlight of the calendar since its debut in 2015, will be incorporated into the UIPM Senior World Championships in Budapest (HUN) in 2019.

Laser-Run is UIPM’s fastest-growing development sport and this new integrated competition will highlight the pathway that exists to the Olympic sport of Modern Pentathlon and promote the benefits of cross-over between the two sports.

The growth in Laser-Run participation has accelerated in 2017 thanks to the success of the new Laser-Run City Tour, which will include more than 100 cities in 2018 following approval of an expansion strategy by the UIPM Executive Board in Tbilisi prior to Congress.

UIPM’s Under 19 (formerly Youth A) World Championships will also be expanded to include Under 17 (formerly Youth B) categories.

In other competition news, China will host the UIPM Senior World Championships at a city yet to be confirmed (Chengdu, Shanghai or Beijing), in 2020 – the same year that Tokyo (JAP) will host the Olympic Games.

Coaches will benefit from the introduction of a Coaches Zone across the various disciplines in all major UIPM competitions.

Away from the competition circuit, Congress voted for the creation of International Modern Pentathlon Day, which will take place annually with National Federations taking part in sporting and educational activities with the aim of celebrating UIPM’s flagship sport, which has been a constant part of the Olympic Games programme since 1912.

Three new National Federations were approved as members of UIPM, all of them in the African Confederation: Togo, Mali and Niger.

Congress also approved the following motions:

• The UIPM Anti-Doping Rules to be aligned to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code by the addition of Updated Rules and Procedures
• UIPM Congress to take place every two years from 2018, instead of every year
• UIPM branding to be reviewed with a view to introducing new logos and brand guidelines for internal and external promotion

The Congress concluded with the announcement of the winners of the 2017 UIPM Annual Awards.

The awards recognise the best-performing athletes and coaches during the calendar year as well as celebrating excellence in competition organisation. The winners are listed below.

At the conclusion of the two-day Congress, UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann said: “The 69th UIPM Congress has been a big success and it has underlined the strong ties between our global sporting community and the Olympic movement in Georgia.

“The UIPM Congress is a very strong democratic forum and many interesting motions were carried this year. It was also a pleasure to present the UIPM 2017 Annual Awards to so many of our hard-working athletes, coaches and competition organisers.

“I would like to thank our hosts in Tbilisi for their excellent hospitality and we are looking forward already to our next visit.”

 

UIPM 2017 Annual Awards

Best junior woman: Kim Sunwoo (KOR)

Best junior man: Marek Grycz (CZE)

Best senior woman: Gulnaz Gubaydullina (RUS)

Best senior man: Valentin Prades (FRA)

Best coach: Choi Eunjong (K0R)

Best team: Russia

Best contribution: Dr Klaus Hartmann (GER)

Fair play award: Stephany Saraiva (BRA)

Best overall UIPM competition: World Cup Final, Vilnius (LTU)

Best promoted UIPM competition: Senior World Championships, Cairo (EGY)

Best organiser: Hungarian Modern Pentathlon Association for Junior World Championships,  Székesfehérvár (HUN)

Pentathlon World Rankings Top Six:

Women

1 Gulnaz Gubaydullina (RUS)

2 Anastasiya Prokopenko (BLR)

3 Laura Asadauskaite (LTU)

4 Tamara Alekszejev (HUN)

5 Lena Schoeneborn (GER)

6 Kate French (GBR)

Men

1 Valentin Prades (FRA)

2 Pavlo Tymoshchenko (UKR)

3 Robert Kasza (HUN)

4 Jun Woongtae (KOR)

5 Jung Jinhwa (KOR)

6 Alexander Lesun (RUS)

 

The 70th UIPM Congress will take place in Limassol (CYP) in 2018.