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Modern pentathlon soon finds out if swapping horses for obstacles enough for invite to 2028 LA Games
Modern pentathlon is waiting to hear about its Olympic future after adding obstacles and ditching horses
The athletes in modern pentathlon know for certain horses won’t be part of their event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
They just hope they get invited.
Although the century-old Olympic sport is on the docket for the Paris Games next summer — with horses — it’s not currently part of the LA Games program. That could soon change as the International Olympic Committee’s executive board meets this week to decide whether modern pentathlon, boxing and weightlifting will gain inclusion. The three were tasked with demonstrating they've made changes to the governance or organizational culture.
That meant a dramatic makeover for modern pentathlon after issues that arose during the show-jumping portion at the Tokyo Games in 2021. The sport swapped equestrian for obstacles (think: “American Ninja Warrior”) as the fifth discipline to join swimming, laser shooting, running and fencing.