In August, the 68th World Military Pentathlon Championship took place in Wiener Neustadt (Austria), where Lithuania was represented by a delegation of 8 athletes, reports the Lithuanian Armed Forces Sports Club.
In this sport, athletes compete by shooting at targets located 200–300 meters away, overcoming a military obstacle course, swimming a distance with obstacles, throwing grenades, and running cross-country.
“It is not only a sport but also military training, discipline, versatility, where soldiers not only participate in competitions but also develop strength, endurance, speed, balance, and accuracy during the training process,” highlighted A. Revaitis the qualities needed for the pentathlon.
The championship held in Austria was successful for our team: two Lithuanian soldiers and the women’s relay team made it into the top ten in individual events.
Unlike modern pentathlon, where athletes complete all five events within a few hours, military pentathlon competitions usually last 3–5 days, depending on the organizers’ decision. This year’s world championship in Austria lasted five days.
The competition begins with the shooting event: 10 shots are fired in the prone position with slow fire over 10 minutes, followed by another 10 shots in one minute after reloading the weapon. On the second day, athletes complete the obstacle course, which consists of a 500-meter run with 20 different obstacles.
“This is the most interesting discipline of this sport, best representing the skill a soldier needs – strength endurance – and at the same time the most difficult. It is followed by a 50-meter swimming distance with 5 obstacles on the track: it is fast, athletic, I would say, a unique event with very strong emotions from both athletes and spectators. The distance is usually completed in 25-30 seconds, so everything is in the details,” said A. Revaitis.
In the fourth event, soldier athletes compete in grenade throwing: grenades are thrown four times at targets placed at four different distances.
“The aim is to hit the inner center, you can hit the target perimeter or miss entirely. Every athlete’s goal is to achieve the so-called ‘full house,’ where all 16 grenades hit the centers of the targets. Psychology also plays a role here; although this is the easiest discipline, no more than 3-4 athletes manage to hit everything in the center during world championships,” said A. Revaitis.
Performance in each event is scored, and athletes start the decisive running event with a time delay in seconds equal to the points they are behind the leader. In the cross-country race, men run 8 km, and women run half that distance.
“If you want to perform well, you need balance in all five disciplines: you must have running endurance, strength endurance, be able to swim, and be accurate. It’s good if a newcomer has a tendency for running and is familiar with swimming – that can be a starting point,” said A. Revaitis.
The World Military Pentathlon Championship in Austria was held for the eighth time – usually, the championship is organized in this country every 10 years. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, about 200 athletes competed in the championships, but in recent years the number of participants has decreased by almost a third.
“The Austrian organization is exceptional; they provide not only the best conditions for athletes but also for spectators and the media. It seems that Austrians have nowhere left to improve, but every time we see that there is. In this case, it was almost at the Olympic Games level, with all the media, presentations, flower ceremonies…,” said A. Revaitis.
Recently, soldiers from Germany, Denmark, Norway, Austria, and Brazil have been the most successful in this sport. This year, the world champion titles were won by Norwegian Kristoffer Skonnord and German Nadja Kimmel, while among Lithuanians, Major Justinas Čekanauskas (41st place) and Captain Loreta Macijauskienė (33rd place) ranked highest in the overall standings.
The Lithuanian team was also represented by Lieutenant Colonel A. Revaitis, Major Gediminas Juršėnas, Lieutenant Airidas Tylius, Sergeant Audrius Šileris, Senior Sergeant Vaiva Pėstininkė, and Private Samanta Bliuvaitė. By the way, the women’s team took ninth place in the relay event.
“This world championship was also special because, for the first time in our military history, we had a full women’s team. We should be glad that the Lithuanian Armed Forces Sports Club provides conditions for our best military athletes to compete with the best athletes from other teams. We approach every start with maximum determination, aiming for the best start so far and to achieve the best personal result. It is also very important that our soldiers have the opportunity to compete with representatives of other countries’ armed forces, establishing closer ties with our country’s allies and partners,” listed A. Revaitis.
Two Lithuanian representatives made it into the top ten in individual events: G. Juršėnas recorded the ninth time in the swimming with obstacles (26.7 sec.), and J. Čekanauskas was seventh in the 8 km cross-country (26 min. 46.8 sec.).
Sport in the military develops physical and psychological qualities necessary to carry out military tasks.
