PUNE: Pune will play host to the 8th Modern Pentathlon National Championship, which will act as the selection event for the World Biathlon and Triathlon championships to be held in Spain next month.
The National championship will be held at the Balewadi Sports Complex from August 11 to 13, informed Sunil Purnapatre, President of the Modern Pentathlon Federation of India (MPFI).
The Biathlon and Triathlon events comprise, running and swimming and will be conducted in 12 age groups for men and women, the lowest being Under-8 and highest Under-60.
“There are different distances for running and swimming as per the age groups. We have made the age range very wide to give chance to everyone who is interested in taking part,” said Purnapatre.
In the Under-8 category triathlon, there will be 200m running, 50m swimming and 200m running. In Under-10 and Under-12 age groups, 400m running will follow 50m swimming before another 400m run to finish the event.
In the Under-14 age group, triathletes will run 800m, swim 100m and end with another 800m. The distances in Under-16 will be 1200m run, 200m swimming and 1200m run to finish.
The next three age groups, Under-18, Under-21 and Seniors will run 1600m, swim 200m and end with another 1600m.
In the Masters class, Over-40 and Over-50 will run 1200m, swim 200m and again run 1200m for the finish.
In the 60 years and older category, the distances are 800m run, 100m swim and 800m run to finish. There is one Handicap category too, wherein the distances will be 200m run, 50m swim and 200m run for the finish.
“All those completing the competition will be given a certificate of merit and a medal,” said Jitendra Khasnis, chief coach.
Maharashtra has won overall championship in all the past editions of the National Championship.
The key athletes to watch out for are, Vedant Gokhale, Savar Akuskar, Arjun Adkar, Sanjana Prabhugaonkar, Saurabh Patil, Viraaj Pardeshi, Ajinkya Balwadkar, Prasad Bhargav, Parth Kharate, Jui Gham and Aditi Patil.
The inauguration will be held in the presence of Namdev Shirgaonkar, Secretary of the MPFI. Prize distribution ceremony will be held on Sunday, August 12.
