*U.S. has chance to medal for first time in modern pentathlon*
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By Fred McMane 
SportsTicker Senior Editor 

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Modern pentathlon, one of
the most grueling sports in the Olympics, was supposed to have
died a noble death after the Atlanta Games. Not only is it back
for the Sydney Games, but it appears to be healthier than ever. 

And here's something that would curl the hair of Gen. George S.
Patton Jr., the highest placed American competitor in Olympic
modern pentathlon history:  women will be participating in the
sport for the first time. 

The IOC has ruled that 24 men and 24 women may compete in the
event at Sydney. That's an increase of 16 participants from
Atlanta, where only 32 men competed. 

Now, here's the kicker: an American could win a medal, possibly
even a gold, in both the men's and women's competitions.  Sure,
and Rosie O'Donnell will soon do a benefit for the National
Rifle Association. 

As hard as it may be to believe, the United States stands a very
good chance of winning medals in both competitions.  Chad Senior
of Colorado Springs is ranked No. 1 among male competitors in
the world and Mary Beth Larsen-Iagorachvili is ranked No. 10
among females.  She also will have the No. 5 ranked male
competitor, her husband Vakhtang Iagorashvili, on hand as her
personal coach, though he is not eligible to compete for the
U.S. since he is not a citizen. 

A U.S. athlete has never won a medal in modern pentathlon in the
sport's storied history.  Patton had the best finish, coming in
fifth in the 1912 Games when the sport was introduced to the
modern Olympics.  He was a 26-year-old army lieutenant at the
time. 

Ironically, Patton, who carried two pearl-handled revolvers when
fully dressed for combat and considered himself a crack shot,
might have gotten a medal had he done better in the shooting
competition, one of the five disciplines that comprise the
event.  But he finished 21st and that cost him dearly.  He might
have fared better had he not chosen to shoot with a military
pistol rather than a more accurate target pistol. 

Modern pentathlon tests the mettle of an athlete in a way that
few sports do. In addition to shooting, the athletes compete in
fencing, swimming, equestrian horse jumping and a 3,000-meter
run -- all in one day.  The competition used to be spread over
two days, but in 1996, the International Olympic Committee,
looking to gain a wider, more interested audience, squeezed the
entire event into a single-day competition. 

Although it is one of the oldest forms of competition in the
Olympics, not many associated with the sport expected to see it
survive after the Atlanta Olympics four years ago.  The sport
traditionally has had the fewest number of competitors.
Moreover, the cost involved of transporting, housing and feeding
the horses has plagued IOC officials for years. 

Then, too, the sport poses logistical problems.  There are five
venues needed for the modern pentathlon and all borrow from the
five Olympic venues for the single events of fencing, track and
field, swimming, equestrian and shooting. 

So, how come the IOC increased the number of participants
instead of getting rid of the sport altogether?  Because the
Europeans held lengthy discussions with the IOC and fought hard
to keep it.  In many European countries modern pentathlon is a
major sport and its champions are hailed as national heroes. 

The addition of women to this year's Olympics also came from
lobbying.  Women were supposed to be allowed to compete in the
1996 Olympics, but in spite of heavy lobbying by the U.S.
federation, international officials vetoed the idea. 

In 1998, under heavy pressure to give women more opportunities
to compete, the IOC relented and agreed to let women
partcicipate in modern pentathlon in 2000.  The Sydney
Organizing Committee was sympathetic to allowing more athletes
to compete. 

"The modern pentathlon is an ancient sport and it's a beautiful
sport," says Peter Costigan, who competed for the U.S. team at
Atlanta.  "It's going to be fine -- it belongs in the Olympic
movement." 

Despite its name, modern pentathlon has been around in one form
or another since the ancient Olympic Games of Greece.  It was
devised as a challenge to the soldier-athlete, representing
skills a soldier would need to survive, including discus, spear
or javelin throwing, broad jumping, running and wrestling. 

Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics,
reintroduced the sport into the Games in 1912, reforming it to
reflect the skills of the early 20th century warrior.  He
swapped discus, javelin, the broad jump and wrestling for
swimming, riding, shooting and fencing.  He believed the
competition would "test a man's moral qualities as much as his
physical resources and skills, producing thereby the ideal
complete athlete." 

Europeans, mostly military personnel, have dominated the
competition since its inception.  Senior, though, has a
legitimate chance to break the European stranglehold because he
is such a dominant swimmer and runner.  A former member of the
U.S. Army's world-class athlete program, Senior only has been
competing in the modern pentathlon since 1997. 

"I'm training really, really hard," he said.  "I'll be in the
mix, and I'll have a chance to win, and that's a great thing. If
things go right, I stand to do very well.  Although the same
could be said for 18 other guys, too. 

"In this sport, as the number of sports you do in a contest goes
up, so do the variables.  It's very easy to do one event well.
It's difficult to do five very well.  One day you can have four
great events but have a bad shoot, or have four great events and
have a bad horse.  You just never know what you're gonna get. So
no one's really dominating enough in the sport. Because there's
five disciplines, you can't pick one guy who will always win or
at least be in the top three.  It's tough like that." 

Rob Stull knows all about that.  Stull was in line to become the
first American ever to medal in modern pentathlon at the 1992
Barcelona Games.  Competing in the horse jumping competion on
the final day of the then two-day event, only one jump stood
between Stull and a bronze medal.  But at the 13th gate, Stull's
medal hopes were dashed when his horse, Canario, balked and
refused to take the jump. 

Senior can expect stiff competition from two-time world champion
Sebastien Deleigne of France, and a pair of Hungarians, reigning
world champion Gabor Balogh and European champion Peter
Sarfalvi. 

Poland's Dorota Idzi, Bulgaria's Janna Dolgacheva-Shubenok,
Italy's Fabiana Fares and Great Britain's Stephanie Cook are the
top competitors in the women's event. 

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