His Excellency Fares Al Mutawa, Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee, received His Excellency Klaus Schormann, President of the International Modern Pentathlon Federation yesterday morning, Monday, at the headquarters of the National Olympic Committee in Dubai, on the sidelines of his visit to the country. The meeting discussed ways to enhance joint cooperation and activate partnerships aimed at raising the level of athletes in the sport of modern pentathlon, which was included in the Olympic program since the Stockholm Games in 1912.
During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on a number of prominent topics on the current Olympic landscape, chief among them the Olympic Games hosted by Paris next summer. The modern pentathlon event will see participation numbers equal to those at Tokyo 2020, with 72 male and female athletes (36 in the women's competition and 36 in the men's competition).
His Excellency Fares Al Mutawa stressed at the start of the meeting the importance of opening new channels to learn from and benefit from the experiences of international sports institutions, based on their role as an active partner in driving the efforts of the Olympic movement and working to achieve its goals and establish its principles of friendship, excellence and respect. This is in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai, President of the National Olympic Committee, to build bridges of cooperation with all Olympic and sports stakeholders, and establish a solid base of diverse partnerships that enhance the UAE’s standing and spotlight its achievements, especially in hosting and organizing major sporting events given its enormous capabilities, and world-class infrastructure.
His Excellency Fares Al Mutawa listened to an overview presented by the visiting guest, which highlighted the International Modern Pentathlon Union’s most important activities, events, programs and initiatives, some of which the UAE has successfully hosted through the Modern Pentathlon Federation in recent times. This includes the 2022 World Modern Pentathlon Championships in the shooting and running disciplines, “Global Laser Run,” which was held in September with the participation of more than 700 male and female players from 15 countries across various age groups.
The meeting was attended by His Excellency Qais Al Dhalai, President of the Rugby Federation and member of the National Olympic Committee Board of Directors, Her Excellency Dr. Huda Al Matrooshi, President of the UAE Modern Pentathlon Federation, His Excellency Abdulaziz Al Salman, member of the National Olympic Committee Board of Directors, alongside the international federation delegation.