The women's modern pentathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was held on 5 and 6 August 2021. Two venues were used: Musashino Forest Sport Plaza (fencing) and Tokyo Stadium (swimming, horse-riding and combined running and shooting).
Schedule All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) DateTimeRoundThursday, 5 August 202113:00Fencing (Ranking Round) Friday, 6 August 202114:30Swimming15:45Fencing (Bonus Round) 17:15Riding19:30Laser Run
Results Thirty-six athletes participated. Key
RankAthleteCountrySwimmingTime (pts)Fencing+Victories (pts)RidingTime (pts)Laser runTime (pts)Total Kate French 2:10.18 (290) 20+1 (221) 86.26 (294) 12:00.34 (580) 1385 OR Laura Asadauskaitė 2:17.21 (276) 15+2 (192) 77.09 (300)♦ 11:38.37 (602)♦ OR 1370 Sarolta Kovács 2:07.71 (295) 20+1 (221) 77.19 (293) 12:21.42 (559) 1368 4 Alice Sotero 2:07.88 (295) 21+1 (227) 81.35 (285) 12:24.38 (556) 1363 5 İlke Özyüksel 2:15.89 (279) 14+1 (185) 79.40 (293) 11:47.64 (593) 1350 6 Élodie Clouvel 2:07.51 (295) 16+0 (196) 74.08 (293) 12:17.78 (563) 1347 7 Gintarė Venčkauskaitė 2:18.37 (274) 12+1 (173) 72.74 (300)♦ 11:44.37 (596) 1343 8 Anastasiya Prokopenko 2:25.01 (260) 18+0 (208) 83.49 (283) 11:49.38 (591) 1342 9 Uliana Batashova 2:11.14 (288) 23+1 (239) 77.61 (293) 12:59.27 (521) 1341 10 Marie Oteiza 2:10.15 (290) 19+1 (215) 87.70 (293) 12:44.75 (536) 1334 11 Kim Se-hee 2:16.36 (278) 24+2 (246) 76.09 (286) 13:00.70 (520) 1330 12 Michelle Gulyás 2:07.48 (296) 20+0 (220) 103.90 (243) 12:14.76 (566) 1325 13 Elena Potapenko 2:13.99 (283) 20+2 (222) 84.19 (289) 12:52.37 (528) 1322 14 Jo Muir 2:14.52 (281) 13+1 (179) 78.81 (293) 12:15.13 (565) 1318 15 Mayan Oliver 2:24.16 (262) 16+0 (196) 76.62 (293) 12:21.48 (559) 1310 16 Mariana Arceo 2:16.65 (277) 15+4 (184) 70.61 (293) 12:32.16 (548) 1302 17 Kim Sun-woo 2:12.87 (285) 19+0 (214) 82.26 (284) 13:07.80 (513) 1296 18 Volha Silkina 2:15.22 (280) 21+1 (217) 89.07 (274) 12:59.81 (521) 1292 19 Haydy Morsy 2:24.35 (262) 20+1 (221) 80.91 (293) 13:07.69 (513) 1289 20 Anna Maliszewska 2:17.23 (276) 18+0 (208) 112.27 (234) 12:15.02 (565) 1283 21 Samantha Schultz 2:15.78 (279) 9+1 (155) 84.37 (289) 12:25.56 (555) 1278 22 Zhang Xiaonan 2:21.44 (268) 19+0 (204) 76.22 (293) 13:10.16 (510) 1275 23 Rena Shimazu 2:10.65 (289) 14+0 (184) 90.72 (252) 12:34.40 (546) 1271 24 Natalya Coyle 2:13.88 (283) 23+1 (239) 109.81 (234) 13:08.51 (512) 1268 25 Zhang Mingyu 2:15.23 (280) 16+3 (199) 75.69 (286) 13:17.67 (503) 1268 26 Leydi Moya 2:17.96 (275) 15+1 (191) 89.20 (291) 13:16.65 (504) 1261 27 Marina Carrier 2:17.35 (276) 18+0 (208) 84.73 (296) 13:43.86 (477) 1257 28 Rebecca Langrehr 2:17.38 (276) 20+1 (221) 116.17 (220) 12:49.26 (531) 1248 29 Amira Kandil 2:15.14 (280) 18+1 (199) 99.78 (250) 13:28.34 (492) 1221 30 Alise Fakhrutdinova 2:16.45 (278) 16+0 (196) 117.93 (226) 13:55.66 (465) 1165 31 Annika Schleu 2:16.99 (277) 29+0 (274)♦ OR (0) 12:43.20 (537) 1088 32 Gulnaz Gubaydullina 2:07.31 (296)♦ OR 14+0 (184) (0) 12:07.58 (573) 1053 33 Elena Micheli 2:09.22 (292) 17+6 (208) (0) 12:31.91 (549) 1049 34 Natsumi Takamiya 2:11.54 (287) 14+1 (185) (0) 13:07.72 (513) 985 35 Marcela Cuaspud 2:27.91 (255) 4+0 (124) (0) 13:39.94 (481) 860 36 Maria Iêda Guimarães 2:32.16 (246) 14+0 (184) (0) (0) 430
Records Broken Olympic records during the 2020 Summer Olympics Swimming 2:07.31 (296 pts) Fencing 29V (274 pts) Laser run 11:38.37 (602 pts) Total 1385 pts
Criticism of the Riding discipline
The riding discipline of the pentathlon attracted criticism after multiple athletes struggled to control their randomly-assigned horses. German modern pentathlete, Annika Schleu was leading the competition when she was unable to successfully complete the show jumping event, moving her from first to last place, and an eventual 31st place. The horse named Saint Boy was randomly assigned from a pool of 18, refused to jump three barriers in the second half of the equestrian course. Schleu's trainer Kim Raisner was sent home from the Olympics after footage showed her seemingly punch the horse for not performing in a desired manner. She also instructed Schleu herself to hit the horse, allegedly using the words "really hit it".
The sport's governing body stated that it had reviewed video footage that showed Raisner appearing to strike the horse. Schleu also faced backlash against her repeated use of the whip and rough handling of the horse. Both Schleu and Raisner faced legal action, with the German Animal Welfare Association filing a criminal complaint against the pair on 13 August 2021. Raisner was later required to attend a coach education seminar that included a module on animal welfare and humane treatment.
Russian modern pentathlete Gulnaz Gubaydullina started off by showing the best result in swimming, setting an Olympic Record (2:07.31). Rio 2016: Gubaydullina breaks modern pentathlon swim record However, she was eliminated in the third stage, after Saint Boy, also randomly assigned to her, refused to continue jumping, leaving her without a medal at the end, although having the 6th best time in the final stage. Modern Pentathlon - Riding Show Jumping ResultsBritain’s French secures modern pentathlon gold with Olympic record
The incident prompted German Olympic team member and equestrian medal record holder Isabell Werth to criticize modern pentathlon's use of horses; she stated that "Pentathlon has nothing to do with equestrian sport" and treats horses as "a means of transport to which the athletes have no connection." Werth also expressed sympathy for Schleu, whom she saw as a victim of the system of the sport.
In response to this issue, modern pentathlon's governing body, Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM), voted to remove horse riding from its programme at the 2028 Olympic Games.
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