Cairo will stage the UIPM 2021 Pentathlon and Laser Run World Championships from 7-13 June. The Egyptian capital previously hosted the 2017 Pentathlon World Championships and has become a perennial UIPM Pentathlon World Cup venue in recent years.

The move to Cairo, Egypt for the flagship competition of the 2021 season comes less than a week after the UIPM Executive Board decided that Minsk, Belarus could no longer stage the combined World Championships in 2021 due to unforeseen circumstances in Belarus.

The move is another demonstration of Egypt’s hosting capacity and sets up a busy summer of UIPM sports in the North African country. Egypt will also stage the UIPM 2021 Junior and Youth World Championships in Alexandria in July, five months later than originally scheduled after a postponement from Covid-19.

The UIPM 2021 Pentathlon World Championships will be the final opportunity for pentathletes to qualify for the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, now taking place in 2021.

UIPM President Dr. Schormann said, “On behalf of the executive board and the entire UIPM sports community, I am grateful to our partners in Egypt who have stepped in to make sure this vital competition can take place in an established world-class modern pentathlon venue.”

“Of course we are all facing a very difficult challenge to overcome the pandemic and enable athletes at all levels to return to sport. However, the relocation of the UIPM 2021 Pentathlon and Laser Run World Championships to Cairo gives everybody hope of a memorable event in June 2021 to end the qualification for the Olympic Summer Games Tokyo 2020 in 2021,” he continued.

“In fact, we can now look forward to an exciting summer of UIPM sports in Egypt, which has become a true pillar of our global movement. Approaching the start of the 2021 season, UIPM will do everything it can to support all host cities that are preparing to organize Olympic qualification competitions and World Championships for all age groups. The health and safety of all participants and supporting personnel will be paramount in all preparations.”

On the other hand, President of the Egyptian Olympic Committee Hesham Hatab said, “We receive with great joy the announcement of the UIPM choosing Egypt and the city of Cairo as host for their most important competition of the year and the last direct Tokyo qualifier. I congratulate the Egyptian Modern Pentathlon Federation [EMPF] for all its effort and its wonderful organization of major UIPM events. We totally support this competition and will work together with our government and the EMPF in ensuring a great competition with a unique experience to all participants here in the beautiful city of Cairo in June.”

EMPF President Sharif El Erian added, “We are honored and privileged that UIPM have agreed to put their trust once again in us to deliver a high-performance Tokyo qualification event. We promise to do our utmost, working closely with our national Olympic committee and our Ministry of Sports to ensure a well-organized, fair, and enjoyable competition for all. We wish everyone the best and hope to see you all soon once again in Egypt.”

The UIPM 2021 Pentathlon and Laser Run World Championships will be the third competition to combine the core Olympic sport founded by Baron Pierre de Coubertin with UIPM’s most popular development sport, after Mexico City in 2018 and Budapest in 2019. The new UIPM competition season is scheduled to get underway with UIPM 2021 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest from 24-28 March.