At the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, a single modern pentathlon event was contested composed of five disciplines. Competitors were housed at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the five disciplines were held at nearby venues. Whereas the symbol used for most sports in official materials was a relevant piece of sports equipment, for the modern pentathlon it was a laurel wreath.Official Report p. 131

Competition format The modern pentathlon consisted of five disciplines. The competition used a point-for-place system, with the lowest total across the five disciplines winning.

Discipline Date Venue Format Riding 30 July Tweseldown Racecourse Cross-country riding a 5,000 m course, with points lost for failing to clear obstacles and for exceeding a ten-minute time limit. Fifty British Army horses were imported from the British occupation zone in Germany.Official Report p. 54 Fencing 31 July Central Gymnasium, Aldershot Military Headquarters A round-robin, one-touch épée competition. Score was based on number of bouts won Shooting 2 August Bisley National Rifle Association Ranges A rapid fire pistol competition, with 20 shots (each scoring up to 10 points) per competitor Swimming 3 August Aldershot Lido Freestyle swimming 300 m in open-air 50m pool Running 4 August Royal Military Academy environs Cross-country running a 4,000 m course

The medal ceremony was on 5 August in Wembley StadiumOfficial Report p. 85

Participating nations 45 athletes from 16 nations competed at the London Games:

Results Rank Athlete Nation Riding Fencing Shooting Swimming Running Total Time Time faults Obstacle faults Score Place Wins Place Hits Score Place Time Place Time Place Willie Grut 9:18.2 0 0 100 1 28 1 20 190 5 4:17 1 15:28.9 8 16 George Moore 9:22.7 0 0 100 2 26 3 20 183 21 5:09.2 17 15:07.5 4 47 Gösta Gärdin 9:42.6 0 0 100 6 19 17 20 188 10 4:43.1 11 15:08.7 5 49 Lauri Vilkko 9:55.2 0 8 92 17 13 38 20 190 4 4:24.0 3 14:21.9 2 64 Olavi Larkas 10:31.7 16 3 81 26 26 3 20 190 7 5:11.7 19 15:48.7 16 71 Bruno Riem 10:16.1 8.5 0 91.5 19 22 9 20 194 1 6:24.2 36 15:34.9 9 74 Franz Hegner 9:46.4 0 0 100 7 24 6 20 181 24 4:53.4 13 16:32.5 29 79 Richard Gruenther 10:25.0 12.5 0 87.5 24 20 13 20 183 13 4:45.2 12 16:04.7 19 81 Nilo Floody 9:54.9 0 3 97 11 23 7 20 183 20 5:31.0 30 15:55.0 17 85 10 Viktor Platan 9:32.2 0 0 100 4 16 28 17 141 44 4:38.9 7 14:24.6 3 86 11 Enrique Wirth 9:54.9 0 0 100 9 19 17 20 177 29 5:22.2 25 15:46.6 13 93 12 Frigyes Hegedűs DQ — — — 45 20 13 20 193 3 5:20.2 24 15:39.2 10 95 13 Hale Baugh 9:52.0 0 3 97 0 22 9 20 178 28 4:41.0 9 18:25.4 40 96 14 André Lacroix 10:26.8 13.5 9 77.5 27 19 17 20 185 18 5:28.8 29 15:13.7 6 97 15 Giulio Palmonella 10:09.6 5 0 95 14 17 26 20 187 15 5:12.5 21 16:11.2 22 98 16 Louis Pichon 12:13.0 66.5 8 25.5 36 25 5 20 188 9 5:40.0 32 15:57.0 18 100 17 Sune Wehlin 11:09.9 35 14 51 31 14 34 20 183 22 4:53.5 14 14:09.9 1 102 18 István Szondy 10:59.0 29.5 0 70.5 28 6 44 20 188 11 4:21.1 2 16:10.7 20 105 19 Roberto Curcio 10:21.5 11 0 89 22 23 7 20 188 14 5:23.5 26 17:09.0 36 105 20 Andy Martin 10:07.3 4 0 96 12 15 31 20 182 23 5:33.4 31 15:40.7 11 108 21 Augusto Premoli 9:42.3 0 0 100 5 21 11 19 169 35 5:41.8 33 16:23.1 25 109 22 Alberto Moreiras 10:23.5 12 0 88 23 15 31 20 183 19 4:29.0 5 16:58.9 34 112 23 José Luis Riera 10:03.3 2 6 92 18 18 24 17 149 42 4:25.7 4 16:27.4 26 114 24 Hernán Fuentes 16:13.2 187 312 -399 43 20 13 20 190 6 5:19.8 23 16:49.8 32 117 25 Duilio Brignetti 13:28.1 104.5 25 -29.5 38 14 34 20 183 12 4:33.0 6 16:32.2 28 118 26 Alberto Ortíz 10:13.0 6.5 3 90.5 20 11 41 20 186 17 5:43.9 34 15:22.5 7 119 27 Werner Schmid 14:57.4 149 103 -152 42 19 17 20 193 2 5:27.0 28 16:42.0 30 119 28 Christian Palant 13:16.0 98 61 -59 40 18 24 20 190 8 5:08.6 16 16:48.6 31 119 29 Karel Bártů 11:35.3 48 0 52 30 13 38 20 179 27 4:58.5 15 15:47.8 14 124 30 Aëcio Coelho 9:26.1 0 6 94 15 28 1 19 172 33 6:47.4 39 17:34.1 37 125 31 Carlos Mercader 9:44.4 0 8 92 16 16 28 19 171 34 5:56.8 35 15:44.0 12 125 32 Horacio Siburu 10:03.9 2 3 95 13 16 28 20 177 30 5:10.4 18 17:39.0 38 127 33 Alejandro Quiroz 11:18.3 39.5 0 60.5 29 15 31 20 186 16 5:26.2 27 16:31.7 27 130 34 Jack Lumsden 9:29.0 0 0 100 3 14 34 19 167 37 6:31.3 38 16:10.7 20 132 35 Ricardo García 9:49.8 0 0 100 8 12 40 17 148 43 4:42.4 10 16:50.7 33 134 36 Manuel Bernabeu 14:00.0 121.5 106 -127.5 41 19 17 19 162 39 5:12.3 20 16:21.7 24 141 37 Geoffrey Brooke 13:42.8 111.5 32 -43.5 39 20 13 18 153 41 6:29.6 37 15:48.4 15 145 38 Aloysio Borges 11:15.4 38 17 45 33 17 26 19 167 36 4:40.3 8 DQ 43 146 39 Otto Jemelka 10:10.5 5.5 9 85.5 25 19 17 20 173 31 7:18.2 42 17:03.3 35 150 40 Louis Fauconnier 11:35.2 48 6 46 32 19 17 20 179 26 7:11.1 41 18:03.3 39 155 41 Charles Vyt 10:03.9 2 8 90 21 14 34 19 165 38 7:05.8 40 16:17.2 23 156 42 Ruben Orozco 12:09.6 65 6 29 35 11 41 20 181 25 5:15.8 22 19:49.9 41 164 43 Humberto Bedford 12:33.4 77 8 15 37 8 43 18 166 40 7:27.7 43 19:51.7 42 205 44 Raoul Mollet 11:42.7 51.5 8 40.5 34 DNS — DNS — — DNS — DNS — — 45 László Karácson DQ — — — 45 21 11 19 173 32 DNS — DNS — —

References

Sources [also last 8 pages of plates between pp. 320 and 321]

External links