UIPM technical committee member Pedro Petrushinski led the two week camp ©UIPM

International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) technical committee member Pedro Petrushinski has led a two-week long development camp in Burkina Faso.

Athletes from Benin, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger and Togo all travelled to the sub-Sahara development camp along with those from the host nation, with many of the participants having made nearly two-day journeys to attend.

A key reason for staging the event was to provide athletes with training regarding the rules of Modern Pentathlon, with a number of coaches and officials also benefiting from the instruction as well as receiving guidance on how to stage a competition.

Only athletes from Burkina Faso took part in the opening week in the capital city Ouagadougou with a national training camp giving 25 athletes, between the ages of seven and 25, the opportunity to take part in daily swimming, fencing, shooting and running.

Six athletes were then selected to take part in the international camp the following week having competed in a "Biathle" event, featuring a run-swim-run.

The show jumping discipline of modern pentathlon was not part of the camp.

Sessions in the second week were watched by coaches, who were able to ask questions and were then given the opportunity to organise and correct training sessions.  

Athletes between the ages of seven and 25 took part in the camp
Athletes between the ages of seven and 25 took part in the camp ©UIPM

A "Triathle"  competition, which includes shooting, running and swimming events, brought proceedings to a close and was held over the same distance used at the UIPM 2015 World Biathle/Triathle Championships in Batumi, Georgia.

The event was watched by more than 30 representatives from government, military, police and television, with a representative of the Ministry of Sport officially ending the camp by praising the group and the UIPM for their help across the two weeks.

Athletes, coaches and officials were then invited to a farewell party which saw medal presentations take place.



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