Next in line is not a horse: where is the modern Battle of Five headed? | Israel today

The question "What is the perfect athlete?"

It has always been of interest to all sports fans.

While most of us keep debating (and how to choose between Mike Tyson's power, Usain Bolt's speed, Michael Jordan's bounce and Michael Phelps' endurance) - Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a remaster of the Olympics in the modern age, knew how to find a definite answer to the intriguing question .

De Coubertin, who is known to have been inspired by the Olympic Games of ancient Greece, also copied from them the recipe for choosing the perfect warrior, made as part of a competition in five different disciplines, or in the original language, the pentathlon.

The early competition consisted of wheelbarrow, wrestling, long jump, javelin throw and discus throw.

The skills required of a fighter have changed since then, and to differentiate between the pentathlon and the new branch, which consists of five more up-to-date professions - swimming, horseback riding, fencing, running and shooting - a new and clear term was invented for it, "modern five-fight."

The aim of the competition remained as it was - to discover the most diverse and best athlete, and Leda Coubertin, like his predecessors in ancient times, there was no doubt that he should be sought among the warriors.

For this reason, until the 1948 Games (in London), only army officers were allowed to participate in this competition.

The most famous of which was the American George Patton.

In 1912, the future decorated general was still a young platoon commander, who had already made a name for himself as a perfect soldier.

Is it any wonder that he was actually sent to the Stockholm Olympics to represent the United States in the Battle of Five competition?

The dry protocol shows that the American did not reach the podium and settled for fifth place, but the multitude of legends bound in his name paint a much more heroic picture.

Numbers that while his opponents used toto guns, Patton insisted on firing his military pistol, which had a different diameter - and in response to the judges' claim that he missed one shot, he insisted that the bullet simply passed through the hole left by the bullet in front of him.

According to another, no less romantic legend, the determined Patton pushed the limit of ability so much during a 4,000-meter run that he fainted and collapsed as soon as he reached the finish line of the competition.

Reminds you of the story of Phidipides, the same Athenian emissary who ran from the city of Marathon to Athens to bring to the city the good news of victory over the invader?

Luckily for us, unlike Phidipids, Patton survived, just like the legends about him.

Bicycle, climbing or ninja?

The stubborn Patton must have been surprised to find that the industry in which the lace is undergoing a severe upheaval these days, and there is no certainty that it will survive.

The black era of Modern Five Battle began from a fringe incident three months ago, at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

German Anika Shalev led the women's competition when her horse Saint Boy (sacred child) "rebelled" and refused to jump over the hurdles during the competition.

Shalev responded to the loss of the chance of victory in tears, but the real storm erupted when her coach, Kim Reisner, shouted at her to beat the horse;

Shalev implemented the advice.

Anika Shalev as soon as he led to cruelty, Photo: Reuters,

The cruelty to the animal has provoked a wave of demands to take horse riding out of battle five, and alongside it has begun the debate over what is more important: the industry tradition or dare to give up archaic foundations and change.

If you will, stubbornness versus innovation.

A long line of stars from the top five of the battle demanded to preserve the status quo.

You can understand them - who would want to suddenly find out that the profession in which they have trained all their lives - has been eliminated, and in its place will be required to compete in a completely different profession?

Behind the scenes, the International Olympic Committee for the Study of Scandals has signaled to industry executives that the insistence on horseback riding will lead to his removal from the Games.

The activists of the World Association for the Battle of Five absorbed the message and decided to say goodbye to the horses forever, because among other things, without the Olympic money, a sport without television broadcasts could not exist.

The horses and their tendency to disobey have more than once turned the battle of the five into a kind of lottery, and without them the competition would be fairer, some said.

Others mentioned that the horses were out of reach of most countries in the world anyway, and now this battle of the five will be accessible even in poor countries.

But the battles over the future of the industry have only just begun, because it has not yet been decided what will replace horse riding: cycling, rowing, climbing and even a ninja track have been proposed and not approved.

Some recalled that de Coubertin championed rowing, but switched to horseback riding because at the time it was more expensive than the horses, which were available to everyone.

Either way, the World Fighting Five Association is expected to determine the identity of the fifth profession, and with it the future of the entire industry, as early as next week.

Press conference for supporters of leaving horseback riding in battle five, Photo: Reuters,