Choong to chase gold before change 'no-one wanted'

Olympic champion Joe Choong has one chance remaining to win another modern pentathlon medal before the event changes in a way he says "no-one wanted".

Paris 2024 will be the last Games to feature the current format, with showjumping being replaced with a ninja warrior-style obstacle course at Los Angeles 2028.

The equestrian element of the five-sport event came under the spotlight at the Tokyo Games in 2021 when a German coach was thrown out for appearing to punch a horse who was refusing to jump or trot.

Choong, who was on Wednesday named in Team GB's Olympic team, says the sport should have considered changes to the showjumping element before bringing in a completely different sport that athletes like him have never done before.

"I think the way it was announced follows on from the poor management of the sport; we as athletes were completely ignored. No-one wanted it to happen," the 29-year-old told BBC Sport.

He added that measures to improve horse welfare in hot conditions were among the changes that could have been explored.

“The board are arguing that ninja warrior is a big sport and can make our sport a mass participation one. It doesn't ring true because horse riding is already a huge sport on its own.

"If we can’t get the numbers with horse riding I don’t see how we will with obstacle racing."

Choong has never trained in obstacle course racing but will start after Paris and, while he is open to the change, believes it gives an advantage to younger pentathletes.

"We will only have four years to train for this completely new sport and then compete at it at an Olympic Games, where we're expected to be elite," he said.

"It's not going to be the same standard as what we can produce in the other sports."

Choong will head to Paris alongside fellow Olympic champion Kate French, Kerenza Bryson - who took an individual bronze and team silver at last year's world championships - and Myles Pillage, a world silver medallist in the team event.

"I want to be as good as I can be and the first British man to defend an Olympic pentathlon title," Choong said.

Modern pentathlon has been on the Olympic programme since 1912, with the women’s event introduced in 2000.

It currently consists of fencing, horse riding, swimming, running and laser shooting.

In the equestrian element, horses are allocated at random to each athlete, who is then given 20 minutes to bond with the animal before embarking on a showjumping course.

During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, German pentathlete Annika Schleu was given a horse that was not co-operating.

The animal refused to jump around the course and as a result Schleu, who had been a gold medal contender, significantly fell down the rankings.

Schleu and her coach Kim Raisner were accused of animal mistreatment after the event, as accusations arose of the pentathlete whipping the horse and her coach punching the animal.

An investigation was launched into the incident but has since been dropped.

However, the accusations resulted in horse riding being removed by the modern pentathlon board after Paris 2024.

Modern pentathlon has also had a long struggle with viewership, ranking as one of the weakest sports in terms of social media metrics and hours watched according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The introduction of obstacle racing played a big part in keeping modern pentathlon in the Olympic programme, with the sport’s president Klaus Schormann saying the event would be "more dynamic and exciting for spectators and fans" after being confirmed for Los Angeles 2028.

Obstacle racing was selected from 61 suggestions – including climbing, javelin and orienteering - to replace the equestrian element.

But questions have arisen from the pentathletes on whether the replacement event has the same transferable skills.

Choong’s partner Olivia Green, who is also a GB pentathlete, said: "You can't just get on a horse and go around and start jumping. It's a technical skill and I just don't think obstacle course racing is.

"It’s like they've just sort of given up, I'm still quite a young athlete and I was looking forward to the years to come of riding, which has been taken away."