H.M. King Constantine

King Constantine has served the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne as Patron since 1995, initially during its former guise as UIPMB (including Biathlon).

His Majesty has been a strong champion of Olympic values, as created by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of Modern Pentathlon, and as a young Crown Prince in Greece he trained in all five pentathlon disciplines.

He chose the sport of sailing and trained intensively for the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, as did his sister Sofia (who later became the Queen of Spain). King Constantine won gold in the Dragon class as helmsman of ‘Nereus’, and returned home to a public welcome in Athens as Greece’s first Olympic champion since 1912.

Four years later, Constantine succeeded his father Paul I as King of Greece and his active sporting career ended, but he continued to have an impact on the Olympic movement. From his uncle, Prince George William of Hanover, he inherited the Presidency of the International Olympic Academy in Olympia.

King Constantine was a Member of the International Olympic Committee from 1963 to 1974, when he became an Honorary Member. He is also Honorary President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Academy and World Sailing.