LONDON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Modern pentathlon will use obstacle to replace horse riding after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

"We can never stand still. That is why we are launching a new era, merging an urban and TV-friendly sport with the prestige and heritage of the Olympic Games," said Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) President Klaus Schormann in an exclusive interview with Xinhua recently.

After the controversial incident at the Tokyo Games, UIPM soon decided to abandon horse riding after the Paris Games and looked around for new event as a replacement.

"In a growing sea of competing events vying for consumer attention, we had no choice but to make transformative changes to save our sport," said Schormann.

"But change has always been in our sport's DNA. Since Stockholm 1912, in the spirit of our founder, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, we have been committed to innovation in modern pentathlon, especially in the past 25 years as the way people viewed and consumed sport started to change rapidly."

At Paris 2024, horse riding will sing its swan song in modern pentathlon history and the sport will use a new 90-minute format at the Games. After Paris 2024, the sport will comprise obstacle, fencing, swimming and a laser run at all levels.

"The constant evolution of our sport reflects the changing nature of the sporting landscape and the need to adapt for the sake of both athletes and fans," said Schormann.

Schormann also believed that the participation of the sport would be much easier as it won't involve horses.

"This is a definitive case of a sport working with the IOC to implement transformative change in line with Olympic Agenda 2020+5," he said. "Obstacle events can be held in small urban areas, with minimal equipment and human resources required, making it affordable and sustainable for both organisers and participants. In fact, following a range of studies with different obstacle providers, we calculated that obstacle courses for some levels of international competition could cost up to 10 times less than riding."

"In addition, obstacle comes with a massive, built-in global fanbase that is young and digitally savvy."

Schormann admitted that it's difficult to summarise the reaction for the entire community of athletes, "but I have seen an amazing appetite for obstacle when speaking with athletes, coaches and officials on the ground at our events".

"I have no doubt we will see more athletes experiencing the joy of discovery during three UIPM World Championships (Junior, U19 and U17) over the coming months when obstacle is integrated into modern pentathlon for the first time. We look forward to seeing pentathletes of the future become the first to race for global glory in the new sequence of fencing, obstacle, swimming and laser run."

As for the sport's future at Olympics, Schormann said: "It is of course a decision for the IOC. However, we are quite confident that the IOC and LA 2028 will recognize the significant benefits our new modern pentathlon will bring to the Olympic Games." Enditem

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