The Modern Pentathlon: Beauty in Sport

The combination of sports which make up the modern pentathlon aren’t exactly related unless you put them in a historical context. Davis said that the event was created “to test the ultimate athlete” and “to test what a soldier would have to do if dropped beyond enemy lines.”

“At the time [in the 1910s], those skills were riding a horse, using a sword, using a gun, running, and swimming,” Davis said. “It’s changed over time to kind of modernize. Now, we use laser pistols where we used to use air pistols. We’ve condensed the running and shooting to be even faster, and the fencing is one-touch.”

Davis’ strongest event of the five is fencing, even though it is the last event that she learned how to do.

“I actually also won a fencing national championship last year, which was really cool,” Davis said. “I love the fencing.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum, swimming is the event that gives Davis “a constant headache.”

“I have to fight really hard to be a little bit above average as a swimmer,” she confessed. “I work really hard, and I’ve improved a lot, but it’s a struggle.”

Whereas most athletes at her level of competition have one sport to focus on, the modern pentathlon forces Davis to adapt her mentality for the five different sports at any given time. 

As she puts it, a typical day may consist of having to “wake up in the morning and be a swimmer,” and then having to “turn around an hour later and be a runner, and then turn around an hour later and be a fencer.” On the day of competition, those things have to be put together in a 90-minute format with limited rest.

That can be an intimidating arrangement, and potentially a pain-inducing one. Yet, that is what makes the event so special for Davis.

“It’s a really hard thing to do even more emotionally than physically,” she says. “You’re so emotional and your anxiety is so high the whole day that being able to keep yourself level is really important. Some of our [modern pentathlon] athletes in the world swim times that Olympic swimmers do, and run times that Olympic runners run, and it’s amazing that they can do that while doing five sports competitively. It’s really special what these athletes can accomplish.” 

The uncertainty of competition day only makes the mental aspect of the modern pentathlon even more crucial. Davis explains that with each competition, “it’s really one of those sports where whoever has had the best day [will win].”

“The athletes are all incredible, and I’ve had really good days, but I’ve also had a lot of really hard ones,” she explained. “It’s a steady climb; it’s just over the years, and every year climbing the rankings a little bit higher and higher.”

As things stand right now, the slow-but-steady climb has put Davis in an admirable position in the modern pentathlon’s global rankings.

“Now, I probably stack up in the top 30 in the world pretty well,” she said. “Where I fall in that 30 depends on what kind of day it’s been.”