UIPM 2021 Pentathlon World Cup Final to take place in Hungary 

• Competition moved from Seoul (KOR) due to strict quarantine rules  

• Dates unchanged (May 13-16) for penultimate Olympic qualification event 

• President Schormann thanks Hungarian organisers for ‘incredible support’ 

One of the showpiece competitions of the 2021 Modern Pentathlon season has been relocated due to ongoing restrictions imposed to combat the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. 

The UIPM 2021 Pentathlon World Cup Final, which represents the penultimate opportunity for athletes to gain points in the UIPM Olympic World Ranking List, will now take place in Hungary with the dates (May 13-16) unchanged. 

The move comes after the UIPM Executive Board voted to relocate the competition from Seoul (KOR) due to strict quarantine rules in Korea that would have created unmanageable logistical and financial challenges for the global Modern Pentathlon community. 

Hungary has stepped forward to host the competition, which brings together the 72 athletes who have performed best in the UIPM Pentathlon World Cup season. It means that Hungary will host three key competitions in 2021 – the other two being UIPM Pentathlon World Cup Budapest (March 24-28) and the new Modern Pentathlon format test event (April 22-25) – having already hosted a pan-continental gathering at the Hungarian Open Indoor Championships in Budapest (HUN). 

UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann: “On behalf of the UIPM Executive Board I would like to thank our close friends in the Hungarian Modern Pentathlon movement and the wider sport and political society who are providing incredible support to our sport in these difficult times. 

“Having attended the Hungarian Indoor competition I could see that the high standard of organisation was really appreciated by the athletes and coaches, and it is very good news for our global community that we can depend on Hungary once again to host the UIPM 2021 Pentathlon World Cup Final. 

“We have great sympathy for our partners in Korea, who would have delivered a wonderful World Cup Final and I am sure that we can look forward to many high-quality competitions in Korea in future. The Executive Board was left with no option to relocate the competition for the sake of protecting the qualification process for the Olympic Summer Games Tokyo 2020 taking place in 2021. 

“We are all now looking forward to the upcoming competitions in Budapest and Sofia, paying close attention to the rules imposed by governments in all countries to tackle the pandemic and changing all the time. The health and safety of all participants in UIPM competitions remains our guiding priority.” 

The UIPM 2021 Pentathlon World Cup season begins on March 24 in Budapest (HUN), with two further legs in Sofia (BUL) in April. Points counting towards qualification for both the UIPM 2021 Pentathlon World Cup Final and the Olympic Games will be carried forward from UIPM 2020 Pentathlon World Cup Cairo, which was the only leg to take place in 2020. 

The revised qualification process for the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will conclude on June 14, one day after the completion of the UIPM 2021 Pentathlon World Championships in Cairo (EGY), which is the last opportunity for athletes to either qualify automatically or add to their tally of ranking points. Find out more at the UIPM website.