Beijing to Host Inaugural Obstacle World Championships

Beijing will host the first four Obstacle World Championships starting in 2025. These events will feature athletes from Modern Pentathlon and Obstacle Course Racing competing on different courses. The championships are part of the integration of the Obstacle discipline into Modern Pentathlon, supported by UIPM.

In a groundbreaking move, Beijing has been selected to host the first four editions of the Obstacle World Championships from 2025 to 2028, announced the World Pentathlon on Friday. The championships will debut in October, showcasing top athletes from both the Pentathlon and Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) communities competing across 100 metres, 400m, and 3km courses.

This exciting development comes as the Obstacle discipline is fully integrated into Modern Pentathlon, with official backing from the UIPM Obstacle Commission and an Obstacle Task-force. This initiative received the green light from the UIPM Executive Board, further emphasizing the sport's growing popularity within urban environments.

According to UIPM President Rob Stull, "The UIPM Obstacle World Championships mark a vital step in our movement, blending urban sports culture with traditional pentathlon. It's thrilling to offer OCR athletes a chance to compete in a world-class setting, and we'll witness how they stand against pentathletes this October at a revamped sports complex originally built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics."

(With inputs from agencies.)