Pentathlon makes strong comeback in Finland with international competition in Helsinki 1952 Olympic venue

The Nordic Modern Pentathlon Championships were held in Hämeenlinna, Finland, on the second weekend of June 2025, in conjunction with the Finnish National Championships.

With almost 50 competitors, this was the largest Pentathlon competition organised in Finland in decades. International participants also came from Sweden, Estonia and the United States.

Hämeenlinna hosted the Olympic Modern Pentathlon in 1952, when the Olympic Games were organized in Helsinki. Before this year's international competition, the Hämeenlinna Pentathlon Club had organized the Hämeenlinna 1952 Trophy as an international commemorative competition twice, but the number of participants had been modest until now.

Finland does not currently have a pentathlon arena as required by international competition rules, but Hämeenlinna has come close to achieving the goal by utilising the local swimming pool and its surroundings. The club is in negotiations with the city of Hämeenlinna about the construction of an Obstacle course.

A spokesperson for the local organising committee said: “The competitions, held in a beautiful lakeside setting, received many words of praise and thanks from the participating competitors and coaches.

“The next Hämeenlinna 1952 Trophy is planned to be held in 2027, when it will be 75 years since the city hosted the Olympic Pentathlon. We hope that a centralised venue that meets all competition needs will be ready by then at the latest.”

Hämeenlinna pentathlon head coach, Jouko Pakarinen, added: “I am especially happy that we got world-class competitors to participate in the competition. This naturally raised the level of the competition and inspired Finnish junior competitors to move forward in their own careers. ⁠

“The feedback from the competition has been good from Swedish, Estonian and US competitors and this of course encourages our entire organisation now and in the future.”