Wellington School Siblings in Modern Pentathlon Success

07 Dec 2017

Wellington School pupils are steaming ahead in an unusual sporting discipline.

Siblings Jarvis and Mimi Lumb have taken up Modern Pentathlon with amazing success.

Congratulations to Jarvis in Year 10 who has won the U15 Yorkshire Modern Pentathlon with his unbeatable run, swim, shoot times. His sister Mimi, in Year 7 came a resounding third in the U13 Girls Yorkshire Modern Pentathlon. Well done both of them.

The Modern Pentathlon is really gaining momentum at Wellington School, with some superb coaches and expert tuition. Run by Lucy MacAlister, who captained the Oxford University Modern Pentathlon team, pupils have also benefitted from expert tuition of the Pentathlon GB international pentathlete Lydia Rosling who ran sessions introducing the laser shooting technique and simulating running and shooting in sequence. Pupils from Year 2 to Year 10 were also put through their paces on an Epee Fencing Day with GB team fencing coaches John Rees and Joseph Pearce. They worked on developing their skills from footwork to fleche depending on experience. This was done with a range of weapons from foam to plastic and full fencing kit and team and individual activities.

Modern Pentathlon is an Olympic sport that comprises five different events; fencing (one-touch épée), swimming (200m freestyle), equestrian show jumping (15 jumps), and a final combined event, now referred to as the Laser-Run. The Laser-Run alternates four legs of laser pistol shooting followed by an 800m run (3200m in total). The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the ancient Olympics; as the original events were patterned on the skills needed by an ideal Greek soldier of the era, the modern pentathlon is similarly patterned on events representing the skills needed by cavalry behind enemy lines.

Well done Jarvis and Mimi – an outstanding achievement!

Photo: Jarvis Lumb