This morning's coverage just had a puff piece on the US competitor in the 
modern pentathlon.  This is the gonzo competition where the competitors have 
to shoot (pistol), fence (epee), swim (300 meter freestyle), ride 
(show-jumping), and cross-country run (2 1/2 miles, I think they said).
The show jumping consists of 15 obstacles around 4 feet high -- pretty decent 
height for guys who are not full-time riders, I'd say.  And here's the kicker 
-- they jump the course on horses supplied to them by the local organizers, 
so the horses are completely new to them.  Fun, huh?  
Unfortunately, only the men's pentathlon is part of the Olympic games.  :-(
For the first time at this Olympics, the pentathletes are doing all five 
parts in the *same day*.  So who knows, they may even show some of the 
equestrian bits in the prime-time show tonight.
--- QM v1.31 
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