> JM> competitor in the modern pentathlon.  This is the gonzo
 > JM> competition where the competitors have to shoot (pistol),
 > JM> fence (epee), swim (300 meter freestyle), ride
 > JM> (show-jumping), and cross-country run (2 1/2 miles,
 > I think
 > JM> they said).
 >
 >      ARE YOU SERIOUS?  Count me out!
 
Yeah, me too.  I'd love to be able to do it, but I can't swim, I can't run 
worth beans (with me it'd more likely be the 2 1/2 mile WALK) and I don't 
want to think about the mess I would make of myself trying to learn fencing.  
As for the other two, well, I can see why the pistol shooting is first, that 
way they run out of ammo before they go to the horse venue. 
 
Horses are assigned by draw and the uppermost question in each pentathlete's 
mind as they go into the showjumping phase is whether they will draw a real 
jumper or a "pig".  Turns out that they get two hours to school their new 
friend before they have to go out into the ring and strut their stuff.  BTW, 
the great coverage of the show-jumping round which I was looking forward to 
in the evening turned out to be the US competitor going over *ONE* jump.  
  I tell you, a satellite dish is looking better and 
better, though it would probably be impossible to pick up a decent feed (e.g. 
Eurosport).
 
 > JM> Unfortunately, only the men's pentathlon is part of
 > the
 > JM> Olympic games.  :-(
 >
 >     Now THAT stinks.  Only two Olympic events where men
 > and women can compete against each other, one being equestrian.
 
And the other being yachting -- boats, like horses, are the 'equalizers'.
 
 >      ALL ON THE SAME DAY!???   Well, I guess, when I was
 > a teenager I maybe could do the jumping and the shooting
 > in the same day...  :)
 
It makes a sick sort of sense to do it this way, since the model for this 
competion in the Baron de. C's mind was a military-type scenario where a 
fellow would have to fight his way through enemy territory and deliver a 
message -- thus the shooting, fencing, swimming, riding an unfamiliar (i.e. 
'borrowed') horse, and running.  A real military messenger couldn't stop 
overnight to rest for the next day, just like the guy who ran from Marathon 
to Athens couldn't do a layover.  Of course we all know what happened to 
him....
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