Neither Oxford nor the English Army could keep the Cambridge University Modern Pentathlon Club (CUMPC) from another victory.  The Cambridge team emerged from the day of competition as the victors of the Sandhurst Pentathlon Competition, held late September.

CUMPC secured first place overall after two intense days competing and training. Incoming fresher Josh Radvan took first place in men’s, closely followed by Tom Barber in second place. Laura Plant, a student at John’s, took second place in women’s. Plant had previously made her name known by setting a fencing record at the Varsity Match in early 2010.

The Modern Pentathlon was first conceived of in the nineteenth century, with five events modelled after the five skills of an ideal soldier: pistol shooting, epee fencing, 200m free style swimming, show jumping over 12-15 obstacles and finally a gruelling 3km cross country run.  Except in the fencing, the competitors do not directly compete against each other.  In a similar way to the decathlon, better absolute performances are rewarded with higher points and the order for the cross country run is determined by performances in the previous events.

Held at Sandhurst, the competitors ran through beautiful green grounds, shot in the clean range, swam in an unusually long 33.3-meter pool, fenced beside a rock-climbing wall, and rode horses in the cold September sun.

Two days of pentathlon (one for training, and one for competition) ended with a bit of fun. The competitors socialized the night away and awarded friendly prizes. Brad Dixon, a GB pentathlete, took home the rubber duck award for complaining about his “slow” swim time.

CUMPC are delighted to have launched their season with a victory.  It will put them in good stead ahead of the next competition – the critical Novice Varsity, held in November against Oxford.  Cambridge will be hoping that this year’s intake will be able to match last year’s senior Varsity performances.  The Light Blues ladies’ team won the event for the fourth year in a row.