Athletes feel ‘excluded’ from obstacle race plans for modern pentathlon

Obstacle-course racing is close to being named as the new fifth sport in modern pentathlon, replacing equestrian show jumping, in a highly contentious move that opponents warn will plunge the sport deeper into civil war.

The Guardian can reveal that Team GB’s Tokyo 2020 champion Joe Choong is among a group of Olympic and world medallists who wrote to the International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, on Sunday urging him to intervene and accusing the sport’s governing body, the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, of ignoring the wishes of its athletes.

Related: Modern pentathlon votes to ditch horse riding after Tokyo Olympic turmoil

“The IOC was clear in its expectation that athletes must play a central role in the review and consultation process for a fifth discipline,” the letter states. “This has not happened.”

The letter also cites a poll by Pentathlon United, an independent athlete representative body, which found that over 95% of athletes are unhappy with the UIPM’s decision. And it calls upon the IOC to conduct a “comprehensive and independent investigation” into its lack of transparency.

“The UIPM’s consultation process has been illusory at best and, it would appear, designed only to legitimise a predetermined outcome (which we are advised will be obstacle racing in collaboration with World OCR),” the letter adds. “Certainly, the athlete body has been excluded from any meaningful participation.”

The letter comes in the lead-up to a crucial meeting of the UIPM’s executive board on Monday, where campaigners expect obstacle racing will be voted through before an announcement on Tuesday – unless there is a last-minute intervention.

The UPIM decided to scrap show jumping in November after