Modern Pentathlon at the 1988 Summer Olympics

The order of the events was the same in 1988 as in 1984 – riding, fencing, swimming, shooting, and running. However, unlike 1984, the competition took place over five days, with one phase held each day. Again, the programme consisted of a men’s individual and team event.

One other change was in the riding phase. Previously, this had always been conducted over a steeplechase course that took about 8-10 minutes to finish. However, starting in 1988, it was contested as show jumping over a much shorter course, typically now only about 400 metres.