OLYMPIAPARK in Berlin is preparing for a week of great sporting drama as the most versatile athletes in the world grace the UIPM Senior World Championships (June 29 to July 5).
The World Championships, attended this year by more than 220 athletes from 34 countries, is the highlight of the 2015 Modern Pentathlon calendar and this year there is an extra incentive for the elite athletes clamouring to get on to the podium.
There will be six qualification berths at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games on offer to the three highest finishers in each of the Men's and Women's Individual events in the capital city of Germany.
The action gets under way on Monday, June 29 with the Men's Team Relay and concludes on Sunday, July 5 with the Mix Relay.
Dr Klaus Schormann, President of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, said: "The 55th World Championships 2015 in Berlin are a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first World Championships in Germany ever, Leipzig 1965.
"Athletes from 32 nations will compete at the highest standard to be ranked for an Olympic place. The spirit of the Olympic Stadium is linked to the spirit of our sport's founder, Baron Pierre de Coubertin: Fair Play, Tolerance, Integration, Respect and Friendship.
"The athletes are focusing on the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016, which is already appearing on the horizon. It is time for them to test their own spirit!"
As might be expected given the proximity of an Olympic Games, the clamour for the big prizes so far this year has been truly enthralling, with the 2015 UIPM World Cup series serving up some compelling drama and a host of different winners.
The UIPM 2015 World Cup Men's Individual title went to Riccardo De Luca (Italy) after his impressive victory in the Final in Minsk (Belarus), but all four preliminary legs of the UIPM 2015 World Cup were won by different men and all of them will be in contention for podium spots in Berlin.
Others likely to be in the shake-up for medals are Aleksander Lesun (Russia), the 2014 UIPM World Championship winner, and Amro El Geziry (Egypt), the current World No.1.
Since the first Women's World Championships that the outcome of the Women's Individual competition at the UIPM World Championships has always been notoriously difficult to predict.
This time the woman to beat is likely to be Laura Asadauskaite (Lithuania), reigning Olympic champion, world No.1 and winner of two 2015 UIPM World Cup gold medals, but local favourite Lena Schoneborn (Germany) and Zsofia Foldhazi (Hungary) are sure to offer stiff competition and the defending champion Samantha Murray (Great Britain) will not relinquish her title without a fight.
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