Running Equipment in Olympic Modern Pentathlon

Cross country running involves very little specialized equipment. Most races are run in shorts and vests or singlets, usually in club or school colors. In particularly cold conditions, long-sleeved shirts and tights can be worn to retain warmth without losing mobility. The most common footwear are cross country spikes, lightweight racing shoes with a rubber sole and approximately six metal spikes screwed into the forefoot part of the sole.

Spike length depends on race conditions, with a muddy course appropriate for spikes as long as 25 millimeters. If a course has a harder surface, spikes as short as 6 millimeters may be most effective. While spikes are suitable for grassy, muddy, or other slippery conditions, runners may choose to wear racing flats, rubber-soled racing shoes without spikes, if the course includes significant portions of paved surfaces or dirt road.

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Strategy of Running in Modern Pentathlon

Because of differences between courses in running surface, frequency and tightness of turns, and amount of up and downhill, cross country strategy does not necessarily simplify to running a steady pace from start to finish. Coaches and cross country runners debate the relative merits of fast starts to get clear of the field, versus steady pacing to maximize physiological efficiency. Some teams emphasize running in a group in order to provide encouragement to others on the team, while others hold that every individual should run his or her own race.

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Scoring in Modern Pentathlon Running

Scores are determined by summing the top four or five individual finishing places on each team. In international competition, a team typically consists of six runners, with the top four scoring. In the United States, the most common scoring system is seven runners, with the top seven scoring. Points are awarded to the individual runners of eligible teams, equal to the position in which they cross the finish line first place gets 1 point, second place gets 2 points, etc.

 The points for these runners are summed, and the low score wins. Individual athletes and athletes from incomplete teams are excluded from scoring. Ties can be broken in several ways. In international competition, ties are resolved in favor of the team whose last scoring member finishes nearer to first place. In high school competition, ties are resolved in favor of the team whose next non-scoring member finishes first. In U.S. college competition, ties are not resolved. 

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Finish of Race in Modern Pentathlon

The course ends at a finish line located at the beginning of a funnel or chute that keeps athletes single-file in order of finish and facilitates accurate scoring.

Depending on the timing and scoring system, finish officials may collect a small slip from each runner's bib, to keep track of finishing positions. An alternative method is to have four officials in two pairs. In the first pair, one official reads out numbers of finishers and the other records them. In the second pair, one official reads out times for the other to record. At the end of the race the two lists are joined along with information from the entry information. The major disadvantage of this system is that distractions can easily upset the results, particularly when large numbers of runners finish close together.

Chip timing has grown in popularity to increase accuracy and decrease the number of officials required at the finish line. Each runner attaches a transponder with RFID to his or her shoe. When the runner crosses the finish line an electronic pad records the chip number and matches to the runner to a database.

Chip timing allows officials to use checkpoint mats throughout the race to calculate split times, and to ensure runners cover the entire course. This is by far the most accurate method, although it is the most expensive. You can buy Olympic Modern Pentathlon Tickets from Sport Ticket Exchange at very cheap rates. Sport Ticket Exchange offers you Olympic Tickets for all Olympic sports and events especially Olympic Modern Pentathlon Tickets in very secure, easy way at reasonable rates.

Cross Country Race Course design in Modern Pentathlon

Because of variations in conditions, international standardization of cross country courses is impossible, and not necessarily desirable. Part of cross country running's appeal is the natural and distinct characteristics of each venue's terrain and weather.

According to the IAAF, an ideal cross country course has a loop of 1,750 to 2,000 metres lay out on an open or wooded land. It should be covered by grass, as much as possible, and include rolling hills "with smooth curves and short straights". While perfectly acceptable for local conditions to make dirt or snow the primary surface, courses should minimize running on roads or other macadamized paths. Parks and golf courses often provide good locations. While a course may include natural or artificial obstacles, cross country courses support continuous running, and generally do not require climbing over high barriers, through deep ditches, or fighting through underbrush.

A course at least 5 metres wide allows competitors to pass during the race. Clear markings keep competitors from making wrong turns, and spectators from interfering with the competition. Markings may include tape or ribbon on both sides of the course, chalk or paint on the ground, or cones. Some courses use colored flags to indicate directions: red flags for left turns, yellow flags for right turns and blue flags for continuing straight ahead. Courses also commonly include distance markings, usually at each kilometer or each mile.

The course should have 400 to 1,200 m of straight terrain before the first turn, to reduce contact and congestion at the start. However, many courses at smaller competitions have their first turn after a much shorter distance. You can also purchase Olympic Modern Pentathlon Tickets from Sport Ticket Exchange at very reasonable rates. Sport Ticket Exchange offers you Olympic Tickets for all Olympic sports and events especially Olympic Modern Pentathlon Tickets in very easy and secure way.

Cross Country Race in Modern Pentathlon

Cross country running is one of the disciplines under the umbrella sport of athletics, and cross country athletes often compete in long-distance track and road running. Although open-air running competitions are pre-historic, the rules and traditions of cross country racing emerged in Britain. The English championship became the first national competition in 1876 and the International Cross Country Championships was held for the first time in 1903. Since 1973 the foremost elite competition has been the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.

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Swimming Innovation in Modern Pentathlon (III)

In 1972, another famous swimmer, Mark Spitz, was at the height of his career. During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, he won seven gold medals. Shortly thereafter in 1973, the first swimming world championship was held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia by the FINA.

Breaking the water surface reduces the speed in swimming. The swimmers Daichi Suzuki (Japan) and David Berkoff (America) used this for the 100 m backstroke at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Berkoff swam 33 m of the first lane completely underwater using only a dolphin kick, far ahead of his competition. A sports commentator called this a Berkoff Blastoff. Suzuki, having practiced the underwater technique for 10 years, surfaced only a little bit earlier, winning the race in 55.05. At that time, this was not restricted by FINA backstroke rules. The backstroke rules were quickly changed in the same year by the FINA to ensure the health and safety of the swimmers, limiting the underwater phase after the start to ten meters, which was expanded to 15 m in 1991. In Seoul, Kristin Otto from East Germany won six gold medals, the most ever won by a woman.

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Swimming Innovation in Modern Pentathlon (II)

Around that time another modification to the backstroke became popular. Previously, the arms were held straight during the underwater push phase, for example by the top backstroke swimmer from 1935 to 1945, Adolph Kiefer. However, Australian swimmers developed a technique where the arms are bent under water, increasing the horizontal push and the resulting speed and reducing the wasted force upward and sideways. This style is now generally used worldwide. In 1935 topless swimsuits for men were worn for the first time during an official competition.

In 1943 the US ordered the reduction of fabric in swimsuits by 10% due to wartime shortages, resulting in the first two piece swimsuits. Shortly afterwards the Bikini was invented in Paris by Louis Reard or Jacques Heim.

Another modification was developed for breaststroke. In breaststroke, breaking the water surface increases the friction, reducing the speed of the swimmer. Therefore, swimming underwater increases the speed. This led to a controversy at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, and six swimmers were disqualified as they repeatedly swam long distances underwater between surfacing to breathe. The rule was changed to require breaststroke to be swum at the surface starting with the first surfacing after the start and after each turn. However, one Japanese swimmer, Masaru Furukawa, circumvented the rule by not surfacing at all after the start, but swimming as much of the lane under water as possible before breaking the surface. He swam all but 5 m under water for the first three 50 m laps, and also swam half under water for the last lap, winning the gold medal.

The adoption of this technique led to many swimmers suffering from oxygen starvation or even some swimmers passing out during the race due to a lack of air, and a new breaststroke rule was introduced by the FINA, additionally limiting the distance that can be swum under water after the start and every turn, and requiring the head to break the surface every cycle. The 1956 Games in Melbourne also saw the introduction of the flip turn, a sort of tumble turn to faster change directions at the end of the lane. You can buy Olympic Modern Pentathlon Tickets from Sport Ticket Exchange at very cheap rates. Sport Ticket Exchange offers you Olympic Tickets for all Olympic sports and events especially Olympic Modern Pentathlon Tickets in very secure, easy way at reasonable rates.

Swimming Innovation in Modern Pentathlon

The start of the scientific study of swimming by David Armbruster began in 1928, a coach at the University of Iowa, who filmed swimmers underwater. The Japanese also used underwater photography to research the stroke mechanics, and subsequently dominated the 1932 Summer Olympics. Armbruster also researched a problem of breaststroke where the swimmer was slowed down significantly while bringing the arms forward underwater.

In 1934 Armbruster refined a method to bring the arms forward over water in breaststroke. While this "butterfly" technique was difficult, it brought a great improvement in speed. One year later, in 1935, Jack Sieg, a swimmer also from the University of Iowadeveloped a technique involving swimming on his side and beating his legs in unison similar to a fish tail, and modified the technique afterward to swim it face down. Armbruster and Sieg combined these techniques into a variant of the breaststroke called butterfly with the two kicks per cycle being called dolphin fishtail kick. Using this technique Sieg swam 100 yardsin 1:00.2. However, even though this technique was much faster than regular breaststroke, the dolphin fishtail kick violated the rules and was not allowed. Therefore, the butterfly arms with a breaststroke kick were used by a few swimmers in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin for the breaststroke competitions. In 1938, almost every breaststroke swimmer was using this butterfly style, yet this stroke was considered a variant of the breaststroke until 1952, when it was accepted as a separate style with a set of rules.

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New developments in Modern Pentathlon Swimming

Times have consistently dropped over the years due to better training techniques and to new developments in the sport. In the first four Olympics, competitions were not held in pools, but, rather, in open water. The 1904 Olympics freestyle race was the only one ever measured at 100 yards, instead of the usual 100 metres. A 100 metre pool was built for the 1908 Olympicsand sat in the centre of the main stadium's track and field oval. The 1912 Olympics, held in the Stockholm harbour, marked the beginning of electronic timing.

Male swimmers wore full body suits up until the 1940s, which caused more drag in the water than their modern swimwear counterparts. Also, over the years, some design considerations have reduced swimming resistance making the pool faster namely proper pool depth, elimination of currents, increased lane width, energy-absorbing racing lane lines and gutters, and the use of other innovative hydraulic, acoustic and illumination designs.

The 1924 Olympics were the first to use the standard 50 metre pool with marked lanes. In the freestyle, swimmers originally dove from the pool walls, but diving blocks were eventually incorporated at the 1936 Olympics. The tumble turn ("flip-turn") was developed by the 1950s. The Trudgen, introduced in England in the 1880s, has been completely supplanted by thefront crawl, also known as the Australian crawl. Lane design cut down turbulence in water in the early 1970s.

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