The History of the pentathlon

        The history of the pentathlon stems from the complete physical training of the Greeks. The pentathlete was the product of training in five events, unlike those athletes who were trained in specialized areas. It began as an athletic competition to determine the best all-around athlete. The pentathlon was introduced into the Olympic Games around 708 B.C. Each pentathlete was superior in strength and activity, which was the ideal physical beauty. The ideal pentathlete should be tall, well built, long legs, flexible hips, and preferably with long hands and fingers.

            In the ancient pentathlon, not only were women excluded from participating in the events, but they were also not allowed to watch the events, unless they were unmarried. All married women were banned from the games under the penalty of death.

        The ancient pentathlon was composed of two types of events. The light events, which were jumping, running, and the javelin, were the first type. The second type of events were the heavy events, which werethe diskos and wrestling. There is a controversy surrounding the order of events in the ancient pentathlon, but from ancient texts, it is known that wrestling was last.

     As legend has it, the modern pentathlon is based on the feats of a soldier messenger during his journey to deliver his general's orders.  Supposedly, his horse was killed behind enemy lines and the soldier had to fight his way through first with a sword, then with a pistol before swimming across a river, and finally running four hundred meters through the woods to his destination.   It was a test of speed, stamina, skill, and steadiness under pressure.

        The pentathlon's reintroduction was proposed by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1912.  The events that were chosen were shooting, swimming, fencing, and horse riding in order to complement those of the ancient games. The military adopted this sport as a part of final examinations at a number military academies.

         The afternoon of the second day was devoted to the pentathlon. All events were held in the Stadium, with the probable exception of wrestling. From late in the 6th century B.C., all contestants were naked and barefoot as they competed. The number of entrants was small and it was not uncommon for some to drop out while others were eliminated in contest. Victory was not calculated by points. If anyone was first in three events, he was proclaimed the winner. If this did not occur, the field was slowly reduced until the wrestling event, where the only competitors were those who had placed where in the earlier events and therefore had a chance to win.

            In the modern day Olympics, this pentathlon is open only to men. There are pentathlons open for women at the world level, but not in the Olympics.  There are many other pentathlons besides this one, such as the track and field pentathlon.