Are taekwondo and modern pentathlon living their final years within the Olympic family? The answer could soon emerge from the chimney of the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, like white smoke above the Vatican. The executive board of the five-ringed institution is due to meet on February 12 and 13, 2013, to decide whether any of the sports on the Summer Games program will leave the class in 2020 for leave room for one of the seven applicants (1). And, above all, which one. Cautiously, the IOC did not name any names. But it is no secret that taekwondo and modern pentathlon are among the most threatened. Why them? What are their chances of “survival”? How can they get out of this? Attempts at answers.
Why them?
Modern pentathlon is criticized for its obsolete, even old-fashioned character. It would only be modern in name. Above all, it conveys a resolutely elitist image and practice. Combining fencing, swimming, shooting, horse riding and running is not within everyone's reach, even in the best equipped countries. In Africa, modern pentathlon does not exist, or very little. Only two Africans are among the world's top 50. They are Egyptian… and belong to the same family.
Taekwondo, more universal, drags like a ball from having been preferred to karate, much more popular, when it was integrated into the Olympic program during the 2000 Games in Sydney. At the time, the Korean lobby, embodied by Kim Un-Yong, president of the International Taekwondo Federation (WTF), had helped to force the door of the Games, as a demonstration discipline (1988 and 1992), then in the official program . Clarification: Kim Un-yong, long-time vice-president of the IOC, was forced to resign in January 2004 after being accused of corruption.
How can they get out of this?
In its “defense,” modern pentathlon can highlight its repeated efforts to change its image and format. Since 1996, the competition has been contested over a single day. At the London Games, the women's event was scheduled for the last day of the Games. By all accounts, she offered a fascinating and telegenic show. The pentathlon can also count on weight support within the Olympic family. Let us cite, in bulk, Prince Albert of Monaco, the Spaniard Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. (vice-president of the International Federation), the German Thomas Bach, a former fencer and close to the discipline, or even Joël Bouzou, champion of the world in 1987, president of the World Olympians Association. Above all, he can play on the historical chord. Nobody has forgotten, in fact, that the modern pentathlon was invented by Pierre de Coubertin. The inventor of the Games, of which the year 2013 marks, precisely, the 150rd anniversary of birth.
Jacques Rogge, IOC President, was able to see in person how South Korea was pushing hard for taekwondo earlier this month during his official visit to Asia. The question was raised before him by the new South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, without nuance or ambiguity. The leader highlighted the values of discipline and its educational virtues. Five years before the Pyeongchang Winter Games, his words were surely heard. Another advantage of taekwondo: its universality. Since its Olympic debut, it has allowed countries rarely called on the podiums, such as Iran, Afghanistan, Vietnam or Thailand, to win medals.
What are their chances of “survival”?
In both cases, they are real. By excluding the modern pentathlon, the IOC would be throwing part of its history into oblivion. Baron de Coubertin would turn in his grave. The Olympic institution would also condemn to death a discipline whose existence today, in the majority of countries, is only supported by its Olympic label.
By removing taekwondo from the program, the IOC would alienate South Korea, organizer of the 2018 Winter Games. It would also anger all the numerous countries where this discipline has established itself as a supplier of medals. In London last summer, the 32 medals up for grabs were distributed among 21 nations.
Conclusions: for having established that the Olympic program could not accept more than 28 sports, the IOC finds itself in a difficult situation. To bring in one sport, you have to remove another. By excluding one or other of the most threatened disciplines, it exposes itself to certain political tensions. Conversely, it would be difficult to understand why he made seven candidates (1) wait in the anteroom, only to finally tell them to come back later. Unless he decides not to choose, keeping everyone while making room for a newcomer.
(1) The seven sports in the running to make the Olympic program at the 2020 Games are: karate, climbing, wushu, baseball/softball, squash, wakeboarding and roller skating.
