World Obstacle / UIPM 2023 OCR World Championships: All you need to know

More than 1,500 athletes from 44 nations have gathered in Genk (BEL) for the inaugural World Obstacle / UIPM OCR World Championships (September 15-17). 

The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) is co-hosting a World Obstacle event for the second time, after Ninja World Cup USA earlier this year and following the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for World Obstacle to be integrated into UIPM.

Thanks to the integration of Obstacle as a new discipline of Modern Pentathlon, sprint specialists such as those competing in the 100m in Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) as well as the separate Ninja discipline now have a potential pathway to the Olympic Games.

This weekend’s OCR competition, which includes Para categories and forms part of the coveted OCR Triple Crown, coincides with the climax of the UIPM 2023 Junior World Championships in Druskininkai (LTU), where Under 22 pentathletes are competing for world titles in the new-look Pentathlon for the first time.

The World Obstacle / UIPM 2023 OCR World Championships is the official championships of the national federation members of World Obstacle in collaboration with UIPM. Belgian Obstacle Course Racing Association (BOCRA) and the City of Genk are hosting the Championships, which goes global for the first time on the back of a European Championships occurring annually since 2016.

The naming collaboration between World Obstacle and UIPM reflects the cooperation between the two sports communities enabled by the decision of the UIPM 2022 Congress to add Obstacle as a new discipline of Modern Pentathlon.

As well as co-hosting, UIPM will have a presence on the ground in Genk (BEL), providing information and answering questions from OCR athletes who are interested in training for Modern Pentathlon.

Schedule

Friday September 15: 3K Short Course, awards & 100m heats, 3K awards

Saturday September 16: 15K Standard Distance, 100m heats, medal ceremonies

Sunday September 17: 6K National Team Race, 8K Open, 100m semifinals & finals, medal ceremonies

Visit World Obstacle online for more information and check out UIPM’s social media channels for video highlights.