Kate Allenby hits out at Modern Pentathlon rule changes

OLYMPIC bronze medallist Kate Allenby has hit out at the controversial decision to spice up Modern Pentathlon.

^{UNDER FIRE: Kate Allenby in action on the shooting range at the Athens Olympics (Getty Images)}

The International Union of Modern Pentathlon approved changes which will see the running and shooting disciplines merged at their annual congress in Guatemala.

They hope it will boost the profile of the sport amid worries it would be removed from the Olympic programme but the decision was taken despite strong opposition from athletes, both past and present.

Over nine in ten of them voted against the new format, which will see athletes punctuate their 3k run with three shooting stops in a format similar to nordic skiing's popular biathlon discipline.

"Something needed to be done," said Allenby, who won her medal at the 2000 Sydney Games.

"But it should have been in marketing the sport rather than changing the event. I don't think this will solve the problems Modern Pentathlon has."

But Allenby thinks this will have a huge effect on those who previously trained for a slower indoor shooting competition.

"Athletes have trained for years and years but now have to do an absolute u-turn," she added.

"You spend time practising and working on being still and calm for the shooting so you get the same result every time.

"But now the athletes will have to shoot while their heart rate is in the 80s or 90s - it will require a completely different type of performance."

Although the majority of senior competitors were opposed to the change 16-year-old Courtney Hyde, one of Britain's rising stars, is not put off.

"I don‘t mind the decision. It's quite exciting really," said Hyde. "It wont be such a drastic change for me because I did a similar thing when I was doing tetrathlons.

"But depending on previous experience, some will be at a disadvantage for sure."

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The 2009 world championships will be the first major event to showcase the new format at Crystal Palace in August next year. 

The combined phase was tested at a number of events during 2008 but was not entirely successful - the men's event at the British leg of the World Cup series was cancelled because competitors could not shoot in the weather conditions.

And there are worries from some athletes that the weather could cause similar disruption at next year's Worlds and in 2012, when the revised format makes his Olympic debut in London.

CHRIS COTTRELL