By Aadi Nair
(Reuters) -Modern pentathletes are optimistic about the prospect of tackling obstacle course racing (OCR) for the first time at the World Championships in Lithuania this week, as the sport looks to reinvent itself and move on from horse riding.
Modern pentathlon, previously comprised of fencing, freestyle swimming, show jumping, pistol shooting and cross-country running, found itself at the centre of controversy at the 2021 Tokyo Games when a German coach struck a horse.
The five-discipline
sport was dropped from the initial programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but was reinstated after its governing body (UIPM) replaced horse riding with OCR.
OCR has already been integrated into the World Cup series this year and will be held for the first time at the August 26-30 World Championships, which featured equestrian events from 1949-2024.
"It's been fun and challenging to incorporate OCR into my training. It's been going well and I'm looking forward to putting all that training into effect," American Tyler Evans told Reuters.
"Obviously for everybody that's been in the senior level, OCR training and riding are totally different muscles. Getting my hands used to having a lot of blisters, and being sore in different areas has been a change.
"I have enjoyed the switch. I enjoy doing obstacle course, I do miss riding, but it's been a positive change."
The OCR event takes place over a 70 metre course with eight obstacles including monkey bars and rings, much like the competition TV show "American Ninja Warrior".
Evans' teammate Madison Gonzalez said it had brought a touch of glamour to the sport, adding: "We're all getting into this new thing. It's nice and it looks like a television show for me.
"It's a new feeling to have all the lights, all the colours in the venue. It's going to be nice for everyone...
"It feels so much different than horse riding, because when you have an animal, you're trusting the horse and (in OCR) you need to trust yourself."
LESS UNPREDICTABLE
The introduction of OCR had numerous critics, but Evans said there were also some positives to the change.
"Nobody wanted to see riding eliminated from the sport," he added.
"But when the International Olympic Committee came down that we needed to change from riding to another sport, and OCR ended up being the one that we chose, the sport became not predictable, but less unpredictable, if that makes sense."
In modern pentathlon's now-disused equestrian element, pentathletes would not use their own horses but instead would draw one at random and would be given 20 minutes to warm up before competing.
"You never knew who could win, anyone could have a really bad ride and the number one person in the field that day could be eliminated," Evans said.
"That was always a crazy, interesting part of our sport, but going forward (OCR) adds a little bit more of continuity amongst the competitors.
"Very rarely are you going to see somebody just pop off a sub-two-minute swim if they've never gone under 2.10. The same thing comes with obstacle now. It gives you an idea now who the best men and women in the field are going to be."
With the Los Angeles Games on the horizon, the next three years will be key for both Evans and Gonzalez as the build up continues to a home Olympics.
"With every year that goes by, it'll become more and more real," Evans said.
"We haven't really hosted and had a lot of people coming over to North America, at least for worldwide events. It's going to be a lot of fun and interesting to see."
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in BengaluruEditing by Christian Radnedge)
