History

The original Pentathlon consisting of running the length of the stadium, jumping, throwing the spear, throwing the discus and wrestling was introduced for the first time at the 18th Olympiad in 708 BC. The Pentathlon held a position of unique importance in the Games and was considered to be the climax, with the winner ranked as “Victor Ludorum”.

Admiration for the ancient Pentathlon was fully shared by the founder of the Modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, and from 1909, he tried to have the event re-introduced into the Olympic program.

The Modern Pentathlon, introduced at the 5th Olympiad in Stockholm (SWE) in 1912, comprised the contemporary sports of pistol shooting, fencing, swimming, horse riding and running, and embraced the spirit of its ancient counterpart. It was De Coubertin’s belief that it would be this event, above all others, that “tested a man’s moral qualities as much as his physical resources and skills, producing thereby the ideal, complete athlete.”

After attending the Pentathlon National Championships at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs in the summer of 2014, Simon Pitfield, owner of the Davis Fencing Academy, thought Davis would be an ideal location for Modern Pentathlon.  The first Davis Pentathlon in 2015 was the largest U.S. pentathlon in history.

Following the success of their first pentathlon, the Berry Athletic Foundation for Fencing and Pentathlon was created to promote and expand these Olympic sports in northern California.  In its first year the foundation has raised funds to acquire 5 sets of pistols and 3 sets of fencing scoring machines and reels.  The foundation is currently looking to create a regional pentathlon center in Davis capable of hosting national and international events and camps.

After the 2016 Davis Pentathlon, Placer Valley Tourism approached us and asked us to host an event in Placer County.  In 2017 the Placer County Pentathlon began which formed the Norcal Pentathlon Circuit, the first regional pentathlon circuit in the U.S.