UIPM 2020 Pentathlon World Championships in Cancun (MEX) cancelled

• UIPM Executive Board votes to call off competition as world struggles to contain COVID-19
• President Schormann thanks hosts in Mexico for ‘supreme effort’ to salvage flagship event
• Athletes look ahead to Olympic qualification and various World Championships in 2021

The Executive Board of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) has voted to cancel the UIPM 2020 Pentathlon World Championships in Cancun (MEX).

This would have been the first UIPM competition to take place since the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic caused the suspension of all global competitions and UIPM Sports development activity in March 2020.

The Pentathlon World Championships was awarded to Mexico in February after it became clear that restrictions imposed to combat COVID-19 in China would prevent it from taking place in Xiamen (CHN) as planned.

Despite a further postponement, the local organising committee in Cancun (MEX) continued to plan for a competition scheduled for November 30 to December 8 with tight controls aimed at ensuring the safety of athletes and others involved in the competition.

During extensive discussions between the Executive Board in recent days, various opinions were aired from multiple angles to discuss the pros and cons of the proposed World Championships going ahead.

UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann paid tribute to the local organising committee in Cancun (MEX) for their extensive efforts in attempting to help UIPM stage the competition.

He said: “We announce this decision with heavy hearts. We will forever be grateful to our dedicated Modern Pentathlon community and their partners in Mexico for stepping in as hosts for the UIPM 2020 Pentathlon World Championships.

“They made a supreme effort to organise this event, even after it was postponed. In the end, there were many merits in the proposal to host our flagship competition in Cancun in November and December, but unfortunately there were also many difficulties and concerns, resulting finally in the decision of the UIPM Executive Board to cancel.

“The whole world continues to struggle with the COVID-19 Coronavirus and sport is no exception. But we must remain strong and hopeful and focused on one outcome: that this will eventually pass. Our activities will return when the time is right.”

The next UIPM competition will be the UIPM 2021 Junior World Championships in Alexandria (EGY) scheduled for February and March, followed by the resumption of qualification for the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games through the UIPM 2021 Pentathlon World Cup season and the UIPM 2021 Pentathlon and Laser Run World Championships in Minsk (BLR).

Visit the UIPM website for all scheduled competition dates.