London Olympics: Modern Pentathlon

Combining riding, fencing, shooting, swimming and running, Modern Pentathlon is one of the stranger of Olympic sports and takes place in a variety of venues over the final weekend of action in London 2012. All five elements of the competition are conducted over a single day, starting with Fencing at the Handball Arena in the Olympic Park, where all participants must face every other athlete. Swimming at the Aquatics Centre (200m freestyle) and Riding (jumping over a 12-jump course) at Greenwich Park follow, with scores donated for each element. At this stage, the athletes' scores are added up and converted into a time handicap which in turn determines the start time for the Running and Shooting element, which is also held here at Greenwich Park. The winner of the competition is the athlete who crosses the finish line first after a series of five-target shoots interspersed with 1km runs. While the Modern Pentathlon made its Olympic debut back in 1912, London 2012 will be the first time in Olympic history when the Running and Shooting elements are combined in the vein of biathlon. It promises to be a great all-round battle of athletic ability and versatility - although you can expect the mixing of the elements to confuse quite a few armchair viewers, that's for sure.