PENTATHLON: A NOT-SO-TRIVIAL PURSUIT
Quick! can you name the five sports constituting the modern pentathlon? That's O.K. Even die-hard sports fans probably don't know that shooting, fencing, swimming, horseback riding and running make up this unique event--which, like just about everything else in Atlanta, is a sellout. French nobleman Pierre de Coubertin, who revived the Olympics in 1896, designed the pentathlon as a Napoleonic, soldierly evocation of the ancient game (which included discus, javelin or spear throw, jumping, running and wrestling).
Despite its illustrious history, the modern pentathlon faces an uncertain future. Unlike new Olympic sports such as beach volleyball...
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