UIPM 2024 PENTATHLON U17 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
- First full Pentathlon event since Paris 2024 Olympics marks beginning of new era
- Khalil (EGY) returns to defend title along with 2023 medallist Allara (ITA)
- Teenage athletes from 30 nations bid for supremacy as Pentathlon Day celebrated
Another glimpse of Modern Pentathlon’s compelling future will be visible as athletes gather for the UIPM 2024 Pentathlon U17 World Championships.
More than 150 athletes from 30 nations – an increase of four on the 2023 competition – will take part in a World Championships that links the future to the past, with the annual UIPM Pierre de Coubertin Pentathlon Day celebrations coinciding with today’s official opening.
Many of the teenage athletes will be aiming for senior breakthroughs during the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle, especially as they are now familiar with the new Obstacle discipline.
Until 2023, Tetrathlon (Fencing/Swimming/Laser Run) and Triathle (Swimming/Laser Run) were the formats in place at youth level. But in the past two seasons, the integration of Obstacle has enabled next-generation athletes to experience a full Pentathlon and become familiar with the new sequence of Fencing/Obstacle/Swimming/Laser Run that is now in place at all levels.
Six days of action begin tomorrow with the Women’s Relay and Men’s Relay, culminating with the individual Finals on Saturday (September 14) and Mixed Relay on Sunday (September 15).
Such is the depth of talent in the Egypt team, which won four of the seven gold medals in 2023, it would be no surprise to see them topping the medal table again, especially as 13-year-old phenomenon Farida Khalil comfortably still qualifies for the U17 category.
Khalil (EGY) won gold in the Women’s Individual Final last year, where Annachiara Allara of Italy claimed bronze and now returns in 2024 looking to upgrade her position. Most of UIPM’s stronghold nations field strong teams, including Germany, Hungary, Korea and Mexico, while there are large delegations from the likes of Canada, Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan, South Africa and Ukraine.
Host nation Portugal can expect to be competitive with 12 athletes on the start list, and all guests can expect a spectacular week of athletic competition and hospitality. Caldas da Rainha (POR) already has a strong reputation, having hosted events such as the UIPM 2018 Tetrathlon U19 World Championships, while the south-west European nation has also hosted global UIPM events in Lisbon (POR) and Madeira (POR).
UIPM Pierre de Coubertin Pentathlon Day is an annual celebration of Modern Pentathlon’s unique heritage as a five-discipline sport created especially for the Olympic Games by Baron Pierre de Coubertin and introduced at Stockholm 1912. The global UIPM Sports community is encouraged to mark the day by posting #High5 pictures on social media.
UIPM comments
UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann said: “The UIPM 2024 Pentathlon U17 World Championships promises to be a thrilling and captivating week of competition – and with historic importance. This will be the first UIPM World Championships since the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where we said farewell to the traditional Modern Pentathlon format that will forever have a place in our heritage and our hearts.
“Times change, and we are embracing change as a movement, so it is tremendously exciting that we gather here in Caldas da Rainha to see the future of our sport materialise.
“For the second year in succession, our U17 athletes will compete to become world champions in the new Modern Pentathlon format of Obstacle, Fencing, Swimming and Laser Run. They will be ready to convert their training into results as they chase their dreams in a new Olympic cycle – some of them may even become the stars of Los Angeles 2028 in four years’ time.
“It is a pleasure to be back in Portugal, where the Portuguese Modern Pentathlon Federation – celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2024 – always provides wonderful hospitality and exciting competitions with enthusiastic crowds, passionate volunteers and committed sponsors and media representatives.
“This competition begins on an important date, as September 9 is when we celebrate our heritage through Pierre de Coubertin Pentathlon Day.”
Click here to read the President’s Welcome in full.
Watch and follow
The UIPM 2024 Pentathlon U17 World Championships runs from September 10-15, beginning on Tuesday, September 10 with the Women’s Relay and Men’s Relay.
The Women’s Individual Qualification follows on September 11, with the Men’s Individual Qualification on September 12. Thirty-six female and 36 male athletes then compete in the Fencing Ranking Round on September 13 before completing the Individual Finals the next day.
Visit the UIPM website or download UIPM Central from your app store to keep track of live results throughout the UIPM 2024 Pentathlon U17 World Championships.
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