The five-day competition at the state of the art facilities of the Modern Pentathlon Park in the Deodoro Zone will give us a taste of what to look forward to in just over three year’s time when the greatest show on earth comes to the carnival capital of the world for the Olympic Games in 2016.

UIPM President Dr h.c. Klaus Schormann said, “With the great start of the World Cup Series so far, we are delighted to be in the next Olympic city for the second instalment of this year’s Series. There was excellent action in Palm Springs but the athletes will be even more excited to test themselves in the surroundings of the 2016 Games. With the competitive level at so high and with so much new talent coming from our younger pentathletes, the event will be as thrilling as ever.”

In the men’s event, World No.1 Aleksandr Lesun will once again be favourite for honours after the Russian finished top of the pile after some flawless shooting in the USA last month. The man in form, Hungary’s Olympic Bronze Medallist Adam Marosi, will have big aspirations of dethroning Lesun in Rio whilst Ilia Frolov, the 2008 World Champion  will be looking to better his fourth-place finish from Palm Springs. Olympic Champion David Svoboda from the Czech Republic surprisingly ended a lowly twelfth last month and will seek to get back in the mix for a podium finish. Surprise package Joseph Evans from Great Britain, who at 19 took bronze in his first ever appearance in a World Cup Series event, will look to once again impress in the riding competition. Most importantly, it will be fascinating to see how the athletes cope in the searing heat.

After an underwhelming season last year, by her high standards, experienced Ukrainian Victoria Tereshuk came back with a bang to win in Palm Springs, and that despite a 24 second handicap on the last day, so will definitely be one to watch in the women’s draw in Rio. 20-year-old Chinese fencing sensation Xiaonan Zhang, who made her World Cup debut in the USA and was just pipped to the gold by Tereshuk, will be a serious threat to the established order. Lithuanian winning-machine Laura Asadauskaite will make her first competitive appearance since she claimed gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games so it will be very interesting to see if the 28-year-old can hit the ground running. Competing on home soil and high on confidence following a bronze at World Cup #1, Brazil’s Olympic Bronze Medallist Yane Marques will have eyes only for the top prize. With such a strong field of athletes, it will be anything but straightforward predicting who exactly will triumph.

After the resounding success of the mixed relay event, which was introduced to the World Cup Series program for the very first time this year, all the focus will be on the Hungarian pair of Leila Gyenesei and Adam Marosi after they won the inaugural event last time around. Adding an extra dimension to the competition, the mixed relay has proved to be a hit with the fans. The Irish-duo of Natalya Coyle and Eanna Bailey showed last month that they really complimented each other and their absence in Rio leaves other teams hope for a finish on the podium.

We look forward to welcoming all the athletes, the coaches, officials, members of the local organising committee (LOC), National Olympic Committee (NOC), the various National Federations (NFs), the media and of course the volunteers whose invaluable help will contribute to making this World Cup #2 a truly world-class event. With Rio de Janeiro set to host the 2016 Olympic Games, this will be another opportunity to experience the buzz of the Modern Pentathlon Park in the Deodoro Zone.

Click here for the competition schedule and here for the latest list of athletes