UIPM announces 5th Discipline Working Group in full

• 10 Olympic pentathletes bring expertise and experience to historic consultation
• Five continents represented in global process to identify new discipline
• UIPM executives salute ‘intelligence, imagination and passion’ of group members

The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) today announces the full composition of the working group that will lead the historic 5th Discipline consultation.

After the announcement of external marketing and media experts Michael Payne, Terrence Burns, David Hill and Peter Hutton, the other 17 group members named today represent a cross-section of the global Modern Pentathlon community – including 10 Olympic pentathletes.

UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann will chair the group, supported by two deputies – UIPM 1st Vice President Juan Antonio Samaranch, a Member and former Vice President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and Shiny Fang, UIPM Secretary General since 2012.

UIPM Vice President and WOA President Joël Bouzou OLY has been appointed as the Working Group coordinator, supported by Secretary General Shiny Fang.

James Cooke, Natalya Coyle and Yasser Hefny are the newly-elected members of the UIPM Athletes Committee – which met last week with the IOC Sport Department for a briefing about the need for change in Modern Pentathlon – who will represent the athlete community along with Valentin Prades.

The UIPM Coaches Committee, Technical Committee and Medical Committee are represented respectively by Florence Dinichert, UIPM Sport Director Janusz Peciak and Dr Douglass Stull.

Kameliya Aleksandrova and Richard Gomez represent the wider National Federation community from a competition management and sport development perspective.

The host nations of the upcoming Olympic Games Paris 2024, Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032 are represented respectively by UIPM Vice President Joel Bouzou, NORCECA Confederation President Rob Stull and Oceania Confederation President Kitty Chiller.

Ivar Sisniega, Secretary General of the Pan American Sports Organisation (PASO) and former UIPM 1st Vice President, joins the group as Chair of the UIPM Innovation Commission whose recommendations led to the creation of the 5th Consultation.

The 21-strong group is completed by Ursula Romero, CEO of UIPM’s new official TV and digital content partner International Sports Broadcasting (ISB).

The working group, which will meet for the first time in Janurary 2022, will enable UIPM to rise to the challenge set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to reform Modern Pentathlon for inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 programme.

The 5th Discipline consultation aims to identify a new discipline that will replace Riding after Paris 2024, reducing the cost and complexity of Modern Pentathlon and making it more universally accessible.

UIPM President Schormann and Vice President Samaranch said: “The 5th Discipline Working Group is charged with the momentous task of futureproofing a sport that Pierre de Coubertin created especially for the Olympic Games more than 100 years ago.

“We have full confidence in this group rising to the challenge, harnessing their intelligence and imagination, judicious decision-marking and passion for the multi-sport Modern Pentathlon created by Pierre de Coubertin for the programme of the Olympic Games.”

UIPM will consider all ideas and suggestions sent from outside of the Working Group – anyone who would like to contribute to the consultation can email UIPM@pentathlon.org .

UIPM 5th Discipline Working Group: