News The latest Rio 2016 qualifying opportunity for modern pentathletes starts this Sunday 28 June The UIPM 2015 Senior World Championships, held in Berlin (Germany), will award Olympic spots to the three best-placed athletes in each of the men’s and women’s competitions The tournament ends on 5 July with the final of the mixed relay, but the Olympic qualifying events – the finals of the individual male and female competitions – take place on 3 and 4 July respectively There are already eight male and eight female places confirmed for the Rio 2016 modern pentathlon competition, out of a total 36 berths available per gender (Follow the race to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games here) Highlights of the line-up include established names in the sport, such as China’s Zhongrong Cao, who won the silver medal at London 2012 in the men’s competition, and who claimed his 2016 spot at the Asia/Oceania Championship earlier in June; and the Lithuanian Laura Asadauskaite, who won the World Cup for the women on 14 June along with the chance to defend her Olympic title at the upcoming Rio Games After the World Championship in Berlin, the next qualifying event will be the Pan-American Games in Toronto, Canada, from 10-26 July Five Olympic spots per gender will be on offer, to be distributed to the top three athletes overall, as well as to the best-placed athlete from South America and the best-placed athlete from North and Central America, within a limit of one spot per gender per country The remaining Olympic places will be decided next year, at the 2016 edition of the World Championships and via the world rankings, as they stand in June 2016 Two countries will also be invited to make up the final places in the line-up How it worksInspired by the skills required in the military, the pentathlon first took place in the ancient Olympics in 708 BC The "modern" in the name refers to the innovations brought by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern era of the Games The race begins with a qualifying round of fencing Then the athletes compete in five disciplines in a single day, accumulating points in each of them The first event is a 200m freestyle swimming race, followed by another round of fencing, where victory ensures another point Competitors must then ride a course of 12 obstacles over a distance of 300-400 meters on horseback Qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games is an ongoing process and final entries will only be officially confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games) Entries are recommended by national federations or sport organisations to their respective National Olympic Committees or National Paralympic Committees, who decide on final selections