Nearly 800 athletes from 39 different countries will be heading to the University of Bath this week ahead of the eagerly-awaited 2023 UIPM Laser-Run and Pentathlon World Championships.
Most of the 191 athletes contesting the Pentathlon championships, from 22nd to 28th August, will be staying in accommodation on campus, just a few minutes’ walk from the main competition arena at the Team Bath Sports Training Village.
Almost all the action will take place on the outdoor athletics track and in-field which is currently undergoing a major transformation into a pentathlon arena complete with horse riding course, laser-shooting range, a fencing piste and two banks of spectator seating. There will also be a giant screen showing the swimming stages being staged in the STV’s pool.
The shooting range and athletics track will be busy from Saturday 19th to Monday 21st August too as the Laser-Run World Championships come to Britain for the first time. There will be 587 athletes, ranging from under-9s through to over-70s, from 32 different national federations competing over three action-packed days, with Para Laser Run also making its World Championships debut.
With hundreds of coaches, support staff, delegates and media also heading to campus, as well as thousands of spectators, the World Championships – a qualifying competition for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games – will be one of the biggest sporting events ever staged in the South West of England.
Stephen Baddeley, Director of Sport at the University of Bath, said: “We can’t wait to welcome everyone to our beautiful home city for the World Championships. We have a terrific track record of hosting major sporting events, training camps and teams at the University, and we have been working closely with our partners to ensure it will be a memorable experience for all involved.
“The University has been home to Pentathlon GB’s elite squad for 25 years and we are delighted to be enriching that partnership by working with the sport’s national and international bodies to host such a prestigious event.”
It is the third time in the past eight years that the University – home to Pentathlon GB’s world-leading National Training Centre since 1998 – has hosted a major international modern pentathlon tournament, following the successful staging of the European Championships in 2015 and 2019.
Other international sporting events to have taken place at the University include the 1995 European Youth Summer Olympic Days, 2008 UK School Games, 2013 Special Olympics and 2019 Fed Cup tennis, as well as ParalympicsGB preparation camps ahead of London 2012 and three Invictus Games GB Trials. International teams to have staged training camps at the Sports Training Village include the England Rugby men’s and women’s teams; Australia and New Zealand men’s rugby; and England, New Zealand and South Africa netball.
Tickets for the World Championships are available from just £5, with fun have-a-go opportunities throughout the week for spectators to try their hand at the various pentathlon disciplines. Visit wch2023.org to find out more and see a full daily schedule.
With thanks to Team Bath
