Modern Pentathlon at the 1936 Summer Olympics

The order of events was the same as in 1932 – riding, fencing, shooting, swimming, and running. Also as in 1932, the event was contested over five consecutive days, and coincidentally, on the same five days – 2-6 August. Scoring was again by point-for-place scoring in the five phases. The fencing phase was held in a tennis stadium, while the cross-country run was at the Wannsee Golf Club. There was still only an individual event, and modern pentathlon still did not have an International Federation governing the sport. As in 1932, the competition was organized by an IOC sub-committee, the Comité Internationale du Pentathlon Moderne, headed by IOC President Henri de Baillet-Latour. Although the competitors in modern pentathlon had been almost exclusively officers in the military thru 1932, one 1936 competitor, Alexandros Baltatzis-Mavrokorlatis (GRE), was a civilian. On day four of the competition, the swimming phase, one interested spectator was German Chancellor Adolf Hitler.