LA28 Venue Among To-Do List for New UIPM President

Rob Stull, the newly elected president of the International Modern Pentathlon Union, says a venue for the sport in the 2028 Olympic Summer Games is among the top priorities as the international federation’s new president.

Stull, the chief executive officer for USA Pentathlon Multisport, has been elected for a four-year tenure that includes the 2028 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles. Stull, a four-time Olympian, edged Sharif El Erian from Egypt 53-48 to get elected at the 73rd UIPM Congress in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“I want to try hard for that iconic (LA28) venue,” Stull said. “I met with LA28 leadership in Paris, the folks that came out to pentathlon, they saw what it can be. I tell people pentathlon because of its very nature, whatever size stadium, we’re going to fill it.”

Starting at the LA28 Games, modern pentathlon will replace equestrian riding with obstacle racing after a long process that took several years. Modern pentathlon is a five-sport event that, for 2028, will include fencing (one-touch epee), freestyle swimming, obstacle course racing, laser pistol shooting and cross-country running.

“It’s not a rescue operation,” said Stull of the UIPM, which among other things has come under criticism from athletes who were against the changes to the format. “We have had challenges and acknowledge that. “I don’t look at our current position in a defensive mode. It’s building the sport, growing the sport with new audiences.”

Stull competed in the Olympics for the United States in both fencing and modern pentathlon. Stull was an alternate to the 1984 U.S. Olympic modern pentathlon team, competed in both fencing and modern pentathlon at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, then competed in modern pentathlon at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Stull, a UIPM Executive Board member since 2016, noted, “I was elected for all nations.” But he also admitted being an American leading an international federation into the 2028 Games will have extra importance.

“Having been able to march in the Opening Ceremony in L.A. in 1984, it’s life changing,” he said. “I can’t wait for the 72 athletes that get selected internationally to have that experience. If they do anything like they did in ‘84 where you take a right hand turn and see the iconic Coliseum in front of you as you walk in, those athletes will be as amazed as I was 40 years ago.”