Modern pentathlon. Triathlon

Modern pentathlon is an applied sport that includes five sports: fencing, swimming, horse riding, running and shooting (combined type).
The development of modern pentathlon in the USSR began in 1947, in the Republic of Belarus in 1956.
Since 1949, World Championships in Modern Pentathlon have been held regularly.
In 1952, the USSR Modern Pentathlon Federation was organized, which became part of the International Union of Modern Pentathlon and Biathlon in 1953.

Since 1953, annual USSR championships have been held. In 1960, the first Belarusian championship in modern pentathlon was held.
In 1991, the republican public association “Belarusian Federation of Modern Pentathlon” was organized.
Since 1992, the Belarusian Federation of Modern Pentathlon has been a part of the International Union of Modern Pentathlon, the European Confederation of Modern Pentathlon, which unite 92 international federations.

The names of athletes who brought glory to Belarus are forever inscribed in the history of Belarusian modern pentathlon: the first among Belarusian athletes – the 1968 World Champion, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR Belov V.A., Honored Masters of Sports of the Republic of Belarus Smirnov A.V., Shubenok Zh.V., Masters of Sports of the USSR of International Class Milchakov Yu.D., Muromtsev Yu.S., Selentsev V.M., Chulaevsky V.V., Rogov V.E., Gerasimovich S., Gorlenko Zh.M., Borisenko A.V., Shukhovtsova I.V., Korshun S., Bysov A.V., Mazurkevich T.M., Melyakh D.N., Samusevich A.V. and many other athletes who repeatedly became winners and prize-winners of the highest rank competitions.

In 2000, Belarusian pentathletes took part for the first time as a separate team in the XXVII Olympic Games in Sydney (Australia), where a graduate of the Minsk school of modern pentathlon, Pavel Dovgal, won the bronze medal for the first time in history. At the XXVIII Olympic Games in 2004, representatives of Minsk, Dmitry Melyakh, took the honorable 5th place, and Tatyana Mazurkevich took 9th place.

“BELARUSIAN FEDERATION OF MODERN PENTATHLON”
Legal address: Republic of Belarus, 220037, Minsk, Stoletova str., 1
Tel./fax: +375 (17) 290-18-23
Chairman: Ivanchenko Nikolay Ivanovich
Secretary General: Sinitsyn Maksim Valerievich
The highest governing body of the NGO “BFSP” is the Conference
Organizational structure “Minsk City Federation of Modern Pentathlon”
Legal address: Republic of Belarus, 220037, Minsk, Stoletova str., 1
Tel./fax: +375 (17) 245-55-10
Chairman: Ivanov Igor Vladislavovich
Secretary Baranovskaya Olga Igorevna

Institutions cultivating modern pentathlon in Minsk

Institution “Specialized Children’s and Youth Olympic Reserve School for Modern Pentathlon” of the UFKSiT of the Minsk City Executive Committee
Address: Minsk, Stoletova st., 1
Director – Bury N.N., tel. 245-55-01
Deputy Director for OD – Ivanov I.V., tel. +375 (17) 245-55-10
Reception tel/fax +375 (17) 299-96-89
Instructor’s room: tel. +375 (17) 245-24-22

The institution “Minsk City School of Higher Sports Skills”
Address: Minsk, V.Khoruzhey st. 13/61
Director – Pateev A.V., tel. +375 (17) 334-00-33
Deputy.Director of OD – Mikulchik A.A., tel. +375 (17) 334-33-58
Reception tel/fax: +375 (17) 334-33-58

Educational institution “Minsk State City School of Olympic Reserve”
Address: Minsk, Sedykh st., 42
Director – Babko L.S., tel. +375 (17) 281-41-33
Reception tel/fax: +375 (17) 281-41-33

Institution “Minsk Specialized Children’s and Youth School of Olympic Reserve No. 1” BFSO “Dynamo”
Address: Minsk, Kirov st. 8/4
Director – Lozikova T.M., tel. 227-73-48
Deputy Director for OD – Konyushkevich N.S., tel. +375(17) 227-73-48
Reception tel/fax: +375 (17) 227-73-48

Triathlon is a sport that includes three types of sports competitions: swimming, cycling and road running.
In the middle of the last century, as now, it was fashionable to lead a healthy lifestyle, so Jack Johnstons, a 35-year-old American, became interested in running in 1971.
Johnstons, a former member of the All-American student swimming team, wanted to rid himself of health problems, regain his former slimness and ease of movement, but with time comes a taste for exercise, and Jack began to participate in amateur running competitions that took place in the vicinity of San Diego.

Once, in 1973, he took part in an original start, called “Dave Payne’s Birthday”. This 51st lifeguard was organizing a 4.5-mile run competition for the second year, which ended with a swim (about 250 m). Johnstons finished 12th out of 100 participants. This was a big surprise for him. “There should be more starts like this!” And Johnstons contacted the local running club (San Diego Traking Club). However, the club secretary asked him to contact Don Shanahan first. Shanahan suggested that Johnston include a bike leg in the competition. He readily agreed, and a new start appeared on the San Diego Traking Club calendar. And a new word appeared in the English language – “triathlon”. And in 1974, the poster of the September edition of the San Diego Traking Club newsletter said: “Run, Cycle, Swim-Triathlon set for 25tf .” The first annual Mission Bay Triathlon starts on September 25, 1974 at 5:45 p.m. Participants have to bike 5 miles, run 6 miles and swim 500 yards. 46 athletes started, all of whom successfully finished. Bill Phillips won with a time of 0:55:44.

In 1977, at a party following the annual running relay race around the island of Oaxy (Hawaiian Islands, USA). In this competition, a team of 5 people covered a distance of 214 km. A heated debate arose among the participants on the topic: whose sport contributes to better training? John Collins intervened in the dispute. He said that according to an article in the sports magazine Sport Illustrated, the best athlete in the world is Eddy Merckx. He suggested that cyclists are the most trained athletes. However, this information further fueled the passions of the disputants. Collins proposed combining three well-known Hawaiian competitions in one place, so that the participants would overcome them sequentially. They were talking about the ocean swim “Rough Waters of Waikiki” (2.4 miles, or 3.861 km), the bike race “Around Oaxy” (180 km), and the Honolulu Marathon (42.195 km). Some thought his proposal was a funny joke. Collins publicly announced that he would organize a similar event next year. And he invited everyone to come. “It doesn’t matter who comes first – whoever finishes will be called IronMan,” Collins said.

On July 10, 1986, the city of Voka, Estonia, hosted the 1st USSR Championship in classic triathlon, in which 2 Vitebsk Knights Anatoly Bukavets and Vladimir Koralev took part, they were the first representatives of Belarus. 50 participants came to the start, but only 28 athletes finished, because the water temperature was 13 degrees and at that time no one knew about the existence of a wetsuit. The water was so cold that the participants warmed themselves in the shower and near the heaters that were installed by the organizers during the swim. Our participants came to the finish line, holding hands together, showing the same time of 13:28:36 and took 21st place. Thus began the era of the iron man in Belarus.

On July 24, 1988, the first IRONMAN in Belarus was held at the Krinitsa ski resort in Minsk, where 12 athletes took the start, but only three finished. Alexander Timchenko won with a time of 10:51:08, Valery Kruglikov was second with 11:21:25, and Alexander Kizil finished third with 12:19:20. All participants were from Minsk. A. Timchenko’s result after this start was the best in Belarus for a long time.

On August 9, 1989, at the Open Championship of Minsk in triathlon, 9 athletes from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Ukraine took part in the classic triathlon distance 3.8+180+42.195. However, 8 athletes dropped out after the first event (swimming), and only Andrey Silivonchik was able to finish the distance, showing a time of 11:45:30. It should be noted that A. Silivonchik competed on a Start-highway bicycle, with a working gear of 53X15.

In 1990, Aleksandr Kizil competed in Tartu, Estonia, where he managed to improve his time of 11:09:12. In 1992, Stepan Shalaev took part in the same distance in Tartu, Estonia, showing a time of 14:10:13. After that, until 2002, no Belarusian triathletes took part in the IRONMAN distance.

In the same year, in Frankfurt-Main, Germany, in the “Pro” category, the rising star of the Belarusian triathlon, Minsk resident Natalia Barkun, took the start, showing a time of 10:08:00, and took 8th place. Having won a ticket to the World Championship, which was held in Hawaii, however, due to a lack of financial resources and the remoteness of these islands, Natalia Barkun was unable to take part in this start.

June 2004 At the Czech Championship in Otrokovica, Anatoly Komlyuk took the start line, improving his time to 12:53:28, but only a month later in August at the Hungarian Championship in Nagyotat, Natalia Barkun, Alexander Tarasov (representative of Mogilev) and Anatoly Komlyuk took the start line. N. Barkun showed a time of 9:42:11, taking 2nd place, A. Tarasov showed a time of 11:23:26, A. Komlyuk set his personal record of 11:44:20, and ran the running segment for the first time. At this start, Natalia Barkun set a new record for Belarus. 2005 On August 28, 2005 in the Netherlands, Almera, Natalia Barkun took the start line, taking 2nd place and showing a time of 9:42:54. And on October 3 of the same year in Italy on the island of Elba Natalia took 1st place, showing the time of 10:16:09. 2006 year August 5 in the Championship of Slovakia in Nitra, 5 Belarusian triathletes who represented Minsk came to the start. Anatoly Novikov came to the finish line with a new record of 9:35:10 and 7th place, 9:50:23. Pavel Kozlov took 12th place, 10:21:30 and Andrey Strelnikov took 29th place, 12:45:19. Having set his personal record, and taking 68th place, Petr Kukharchik was at the finish line. Anatoly Komlyuk, unfortunately, could not finish the distance and dropped out on the bike stage. And in October, Natalia Barkun started again on Elba Island, showing 10:30:21 and took 1st place.

Since 2002, in all starts where Belarusian triathletes started, less than 100 participants did not come to the start. It should be noted that A. Komlyuk, P. Kukharczyk, A. Tarasov are people, some of them are already over 50 years old, and in their age groups they were on the podium.

Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult for a person who does not understand sports to understand the motivation of athletes going to the start, at this distance. And only those who at least once stood on any of the steps of the podium, and saw how the flagpole raises the flag of his country, and the anthem makes stadiums of many thousands rise. Will be able to understand why athletes, professionals and amateurs, force themselves to go out in any weather for training and overcoming themselves, fighting with time, overcoming muscle pain, and in a difficult moment were able to say “Yes” to themselves and force themselves to continue the distance. Can proudly bear the title of “Iron Man”, because the total length of the distance that the athlete covers from start to finish is 226 km.

Belarusian Triathlon Federation
Address: 220012 Minsk, Surganova st., bldg.2, off.316/3,
Telephone/fax: +375 (17) 331-29-02.
Chairman – Buzovsky Igor Ivanovich

Institutions developing triathlon in Minsk

State Institution “MOK SDYUSHOR”
Address: 220012, Minsk, st. Surganova, 2
Director – Samodumsky Yuri Yakovlevich
Telephone: +375 (17) 296-63-12, +375 (17) 296-61-29

Institution “Minsk City SDYUSHOR of Trade Unions “Yunost” in Track and Field”
Address: 220005 Minsk, Independence Ave., 53-97
Director – Turov Anatoly Ivanovich
Telephone: +375 (17) 284-49-57

Institutions cultivating modern pentathlon in Minsk

The institution “Specialized Children’s and Youth School of the Olympic Reserve in modern pentathlon of the Main Department of Sports and Tourism of the Minsk City Executive Committee”
Address: Minsk, st. Stoletova, 1
Director – Bury N.N., tel. +375 (17) 358-58-01
Deputy Director for OD – Klimovich T.S., tel. +375 (17) 374-74-05
Reception tel/fax:+375 (17) 364-96-89
Instructor’s phone.:+375 (17) 374-24-22