Korean Modern Pentathlon Team Strives in Athens

“So frustrated because of the horse….”

At the 2004 Athens Olympics Pentathlon event held in Goudi Hall on August 27, the gap stretched to 232 points between the leader and Han Do-ryeong (28, Daegu Sports Committee) after the first three events. There was still a chance to aim for the medal with two events remaining, and Han’s specialty event, equestrian, followed.

Han Do-ryeong vigorously mounted his horse named “Bario.” The pace seemed rapid, but he launched a smooth start.

However, all hopes scattered at the obstacle (bricks) course after the horse knocked down a 7A obstacle. “Bario” took a sudden halt and pulled down the obstacle as Han Do-ryeong fell from the horse. As misfortune rode upon misfortune, the reins got loose, and the horse ran away to the corner of the stadium. A crucial 128 points were taken off for the mistakes: 28 points for the obstacle, 60 points for the horse breaking away, and 40 points for falling off of the horse. Added to that, additional cuts in marks were taken for running around to catch the horse as he dragged time over two minutes.

Han Do-ryeong got back on his horse difficultly and barely completed the course but plunged from ninth place to 26th out of 32 participants as he ended with 808 points out of 1,200 points due to a 392 point reduction. It was the moment when the dream of breaking the top Korean record in the pentathlon vanished, and with the medal hopes aside. His final rank was 24th place.

Pentathlon coach Lee Young-chan commented, "He shouldn`t have had full credibility on the horse, but because we kicked off well, we lost focus."

The roots of the modern pentathlon can be traced to the war times of the Napoleon era as each competes in consecutive competitions of shooting, fencing, swimming, riding, and cross-country running. Out of the five categories, riding accounts for the biggest portion in affecting the final rank. Likewise, in wartime when one has to ride on an opponent’s horse for battle, one gets assigned a horse by draw from the organization.

On the day of the event, Han chose a horse by drawing a lot and unluckily caught a horse with a violent temper, which he shunned. They kept time for 20 minutes prior to the match, but he had to face a horse which didn`t harmonize with him and displayed a score 300 points below of what he normally scored. Poland’s Horbacz Marcin fell back to the bottom after being in second place because he withdrew after his horse refused to jump over the obstacles.

"I was looking for a medal but lost many points in riding, an event in which I had confidence. The horse just wouldn`t listen," said Han.

In a heart filled with grief in the eyes of an unpopular event, Han worked hard at spot training in Hungary two months prior to the Olympics. It was too bad what the horse has caused. Lee Chun-hun (Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps) ended in 21st place.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com