Jan Murphy wrote in a message to all:
JM> This morning's coverage just had a puff piece on the US
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!
JM> The show jumping consists of 15 obstacles around 4 feet high
JM> -- pretty decent height for guys who are not full-time
JM> riders, I'd say.  And here's the kicker -- they jump the
JM> course on horses supplied to them by the local organizers,
JM> so the horses are completely new to them.  Fun, huh?
     Ditto the above,  I don't even jump on MY OWN HORSES anymore!
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.
JM> For the first time at this Olympics, the pentathletes are
JM> doing all five parts in the *same day*.  So who knows, they
JM> may even show some of the equestrian bits in the prime-time
JM> show tonight.
     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...  :)
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