The Budapest Pentathlon World Cup begins, and the sixth event, the obstacle race, will also be there

An unusual five-a-side competition begins on Tuesday in Budapest with the women’s qualifier. Ludovika will host a World Cup in which there will actually not be just five fights, but six, because the juniors no longer ride, but can show their skills in the obstacle race. What’s more, the spectators can also test their knowledge, how long they can go around the track, which is similar to television quizzes.

The International Pentathlon Federation decided to eliminate riding after the Tokyo Olympics, when the German Annika Schleu, who had been leading the competition until then, did not get along with her horse and was eliminated. Due to the change in the sport two years ago, 2024 has become a hybrid year: this has already been the case for the previous two World Cups this year.

Among the adults – where a particularly strong field entered – many are still fighting for Olympic quotas in the old system, i.e. on the equestrian track, this format will be used for the last time by the sport at the Paris Olympics this year. (The horse riding is followed by swimming, fencing and the final number, running combined with shooting.) The situation is grotesque, because on the last day of the Olympics, the pentathlon, which has been played for more than a hundred years, is saying goodbye to Pierre, who still played a vital role in the expansion of the Olympic movement. de Coubertin dreamed it up.

Let’s stay in the present, because both Hungarian quota competitors, Michelle Gulyás and Csaba Bőhm, will be at the starting line at the World Cup in Budapest. Even though they already have a quota, none of the competitors can be considered Olympians yet, because if three Hungarians get a quota, then the presidency has to decide which two to give confidence in Paris. Bőhm emphasized that he does not want to sit back. It has happened before that someone got a little complacent after the early quota, and ended up not being there at the Olympics.

The World Cup in Budapest starts on Tuesday. The individual finals – women’s in the morning, men’s in the afternoon – will be held on Saturday, and the program will end on Sunday with the mixed relay competition. Meanwhile, those who want to look at the future, i.e. the obstacle course, in addition to the present, can do so at the junior competition.