Dates: Saturday 11 August – Sunday 12 August
Olympic Venue: Greenwich Park
Set in legend, the Olympic Modern Pentathlon is a series of challenges said to have been completed by a 19th Century French cavalry soldier delivering a message on horseback. During his journey this soldier encountered a number of obstacles that meant he had to ride, run, swim, shoot and fence just like the events that modern Olympic Pentathletes will have to complete in to win one of 2 gold medals at the London 2012 Games Modern Pentathlon competition.Elite Modern Pentathlon competitors battle it out in knock out fencing rounds, swimming 200m freestyle, riding unfamiliar horses over a long course and then completing a combination shooting and running events.With a Thomas Cook Games Break you not only get tickets for the Modern Pentathlon at the Games you also get the peace of mind of a great value hotel close by to enjoy a terrifc London 2012 short break.

Athletes must compete in five different sports, fencing, swimming, riding and the combined running and shooting discipline in one day at London 2012.
They first fence against every other athlete in sudden death bouts, before swimming (200m freestyle) and riding (jumping over a 12-jump course) with a score being earned in each individual event.
After the first three competitions, the athletes’ total scores are converted into a time handicap, which determines the starting times for the combined running and shooting, where athletes run a short distance to the shooting range and aim to hit a target five times in 70 seconds.
They then run 1,000m, shoot a further five targets, run another 1,000m and shoot another five targets before running a final 1,000m to the finish line. The winner is the individual who crosses the line first.

Judo Olympic sports London 2012

Judo contests are a five-minute whirlwind of combat, with athletes attempting a combination of throws and holds in a bid to defeat their opponents.A total of 386 competitors will battle across 14 weight categories, seven for men and seven for women.All entries for Judo will be confirmed following the sport entries deadline on 9 July 2012View the full competition scheduleThe sport sees two athletes gain points for throws and holds in a bid to beat their opponent. A contest lasts a maximum of five minutes, and the athlete with the highest score is the winner. The best score is ippon, which can be achieved for a throw, a hold, a strangle or an armlock, and results in immediate victory. Judo made its first appearance as a medal sport at the Tokyo 1964 Games. The women’s competition was added to the programme at the Barcelona 1992 Games.

Developed from jujitsu, the hand-to-hand combat technique of ancient samurai warriors, judo basically involves throwing opponents to the floor and holding them in submission.

Fights take place on a mat 8sq metres in size, known as a ‘tatami’. Contests last five minutes and, if a competitor- judoka - manages to throw their opponent to the ground on their shoulder, to pin them to the ground on their back, or force them to submit to a choke, strangle or an arm-lock, they immediately score ‘ippon’- maximum score- and win the bout. Smaller scores are awarded for other kinds of throws and holds.

If the scores are tied after five minutes, the contest enters a golden score period, when the first score of any sort wins.

Fighters compete in events determined by their weight, and at London 2012 there will be seven weight classes for men and seven for women.

The tournament will follow a knock-out format. The winners of each contest will qualify for the next round, with the two finalists going head to head in the gold medal contest.

The defeated quarter-finalists will compete in two 'repechage' contests, the winners of which will then go up against the two defeated semi-finalists to determine the winners of the two bronze medals in each event.

Events / disciplines

Men’s 60kg, women’s 48kg

Men’s 66kg, women’s 52kg

Men’s 73 kg, women’s 57kg

Men’s 81kg, women’s 63kg

Men’s 90kg, women’s 70kg

Men’s 100kg, women’s 78kg

Men’s +100kg, women’s +78kg

Gold medals available

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Hockey Olympic sports London 2012

Hockey is played on a 100 x 60 yard outdoor pitch by two teams of 11 players.
Each nation can bring a squad of 18 to the Olympics and on match-days name a 16-man team. The five substitutes can be rolled-on-and-off at anytime.
Players must use the flat, front side of their stick to hit or control the ball. Goals can only be scored by a member of the attacking team from inside the D – a semi-circular area in front of their goal.
Matches last 70 minutes, with two halves of 35 minutes, on water-based synthetic-turf pitches, which allow the ball to roll more smoothly and quickly.
In both the men and women’s competition 12 teams will be divided into two pools of six, with each team playing every other team in their pool.
The top two teams from the groups will qualify for the semi-finals, with the winners going head-to-head for the gold, and the losers the bronze.
Events / disciplines
Men's and women's tournaments

The first match at the Riverbank Arena will see Australia’s women take on New Zealand on 29 July, while Great Britain's women’s first match will be against Japan.In the men’s competition, the current Olympic champions Germany start their tournament against Belgium, while Great Britain’s first match will be against Argentina.Debbie Jevans, Director of Sport at the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: 'The Riverbank Arena is set to stage exciting world-class sport during the Olympic Games. The Visa International Invitational Hockey Tournament helped us test the venue and we will continue to work with the International Hockey Federation to fine-tune our plans before the first Olympic match takes place on the distinctive blue and pink pitches.'Competition formatThe 12 teams in each tournament have been divided into two pools of six based on world rankings, and each team will play every other team in their pool. The top two teams in each pool will qualify for the semi-finals, with the winners of those matches going head-to-head for the gold medal. The other teams in the two groups play each other to determine final placings.


Women: Pool A

Netherlands
Great Britain
China
Korea
Japan
Belgium

Women: Pool B

Argentina
Germany
New Zealand
Australia
United States of America
South Africa

Men: Pool A

Australia
Great Britain
Spain
Pakistan
Argentina
South Africa

Men: Pool B

Germany
Netherlands
South Korea
New Zealand
India
Belgium

Handball Olympic sports London 2012

Played on the largest court of any indoor ball sport at the Games, it is not uncommon to see 50 goals or more scored in a single Handball match.The competition begins at the Copper Box in the Olympic Park on 28 July, with the preliminary phase taking place across a 10-day period.The knockout matches start on 7 August, with the women's medals awarded on 11 August, followed by the men's the next day.All semi-finals and finals, as well as the men’s quarter-finals, will be held at the Basketball Arena in the Olympic Park.View the full Handball scheduleA total of 12 teams in both the men's and women's event will compete for gold in this dynamic team sport. All entries for Handball will be confirmed following the sport entries deadline on 9 July 2012.

In the men’s competition the hosts, Great Britain, will face France (the reigning Olympic champions), Sweden, Iceland, Argentina and Tunisia. Group B is made up of Spain, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, Denmark and Korea.

The women’s draw sees Great Britain in the same group as Montenegro, Russia, Croatia, Brazil and Angola, and the reigning women's Olympic champions Norway take on Korea, Sweden, France, Denmark and Spain.

Debbie Jevans, Director of Sport at LOCOG said: ‘ Today’s draw has provided some excellent matches that will showcase this great sport during the Games in London this summer.’The Handball tournament begins on the 28 July with 10 days of preliminary competition. The knockout matches start on 7 August, with the women's medals awarded on 11 August, followed by the men's the next day.
The London 2012 Handball draw

Men: Group A

France
Sweden
Iceland
Great Britain
Argentina
Tunisia

Men: Group B

Spain
Croatia
Hungary
Serbia
Denmark
Korea

Women: Group A

Montenegro
Russia
Croatia
Great Britain
Brazil
Angola

Women: Group B

Norway
Spain
Denmark
France
Sweden
Korea

Gymnastics Olympic sports London 2012

This is the last opportunity for gymnasts to qualify for the 2012 Games and is vital for the British men’s artistic gymnastics team, which includes Olympian Louis Smith.The London 2012 Gymnastics test event is taking place at the North Greenwich Arena (also known as The O2). Artistic Gymnastics and Trampoline competitions run from 10–13 January, followed by the Rhythmic Gymnastics competitions from 16–18 January.Competing for Olympic qualificationThe British men's team will be looking to qualify a full team for London 2012 during the men's Artistic Gymnastics qualification competition on Tuesday 10 January.For the Trampoline competition on Friday 13 January, both men and women will be competing for the final Olympic qualification spots. British champion Kat Driscoll will also compete despite already having secured a place at London 2012.For Rhythmic Gymnastics there are two individual routines and one group routine which count towards Olympic qualification. British athlete Francesca Jones has already booked her place for London 2012 as an individual and will compete at the test event in order to aid her preparation. The British team have to score 45.223 from the test event in order for a nomination to be submitted to the British Olympic Association to accept a host country place.'Fierce competition'Debbie Jevans, London 2012 Organising Committee Director of Sport, said: ‘Visa International Gymnastics is LOCOG’s biggest test event to date.'Not only is it vital for us to test our operations, but the competition will be fierce as the gymnasts who have yet to qualify for London 2012 battle it out for Olympic qualification.

The first competition to be contested is the team event, which doubles as the qualification round for the individual and all-around contests.
Men compete on the floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar, while women compete on the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor.
The top 24 overall gymnasts advance to the all-around final, while the top eight scorers on each apparatus qualify for the individual apparatus finals. No more than two gymnasts per nation can compete in either the all-around or apparatus finals.
The days of scoring a perfect 10 are long gone after the scoring system was given a radical overhaul by the sport’s world governing body in 2006.
Gymnasts’ performances are now rated by two judging panels. One group of judges scores the degree of difficulty, or ‘start value’, of the routine and the other scores its execution, composition and artistry. Instead of maximum 10s, the medal-winning scores tend to be in the high 15s, 16s and 17s.
Events / disciplines
Men’s individual all around, women’s individual all around
Men’s team, women’s team
Men’s floor exercise, Women’s floor exercise
Men’s pommel horse
Men’s rings
Men’s vault, women’s vault
Men’s horizontal bars
Men’s parallel bars
Women’s balance beam
Women’s uneven bars

Football Olympic London 2012

tuart Pearce’s Team GB men have been drawn against Senegal, Uruguay and United Arab Emirates, while Hope Powell’s women were placed in a group with New Zealand, Cameroon and Brazil.Other highlights in the men’s tournament saw Spain drawn against Japan, Morocco and Honduras while Brazil will take on Egypt, Belarus and New Zealand.In the women’s tournament, the USA – gold medallists in 2008 – will faceColombia, France and North Korea, while Japan were matched with Canada, Sweden and South Africa.The tournament will kick off two days before the London 2012 Opening Ceremony when Great Britain's women's team play New Zealand at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

'Amazing spectacle'

London 2012 Organising Committee Chair Seb Coe said: 'Now that the draws for the Olympic Football Tournament have taken place, fans can begin to get excited about the amazing spectacle, the incredible teams and world class players – in both the men’s and women’s tournaments – that will be coming to Great Britain this summer.

'With matches taking place across England as well as in Scotland and Wales, and with tickets still available, football also provides people with a unique opportunity to still enjoy the Olympic experience this summer.'

Tickets for the Football tournament will go on sale in early May.

The draw

Men's draw: 

Group A: Great Britain (A1), Senegal (A2), United Arab Emirates (A3), Uruguay (A4)

Group B: Mexico (B1), South Korea (B2), Gabon (B3), Switzerland (B4)

Group C: Brazil (C1), Egypt (C2), Belarus (C3), New Zealand (C4)

Group D: Spain (D1), Japan (D2), Honduras (D3), Morocco (D4)

Women's draw: 

Group E: Great Britain (E1), New Zealand (E2), Cameroon (E3), Brazil (E4)

Group F: Japan (F1), Canada (F2), Sweden (F3), South Africa (F4)

Group G: USA (G1), France (G2), Colombia (G3), Korea DPR (G4)

London 2012 Olympics Fencing

Debbie Jevans said: ‘This multi-sport venue is one of the most important and exciting Olympic venues and will be a hub of sporting activity at Games time, accommodating seven sports during the Olympic Games and six during the Paralympics, second only to the Olympic Park.The task of hosting so many sports in one venue was put to the test, delivering seven international sporting events over three consecutive weeks, and I’m pleased with the outcomes. We learnt some lessons that will further inform our operational planning for the Games.’The Fencing event saw Great Britain come away with gold in the Team Foil. Richard Kruse, Laurence Halsted, James Kenber and Ed Jefferies beat China 44-43, France 45-25 and then the Russians 45-34.

Each contest pits two fencers against each other in an often mesmerising duel, a dancing combat befitting a theatrical production.

In view of a referee but also using electronic equipment to measure scoring, the combatants wear protective clothing, including a wire mesh face mask that has to pass a 12kg punch test.

There are 10 events (three individual men’s, two team men’s, three individual women’s and two team women’s) and three types of weapon: the epee, the sabre and the foil.

Points are scored by touching or ‘hitting’ opponents with the tip or blade of your sword, which is wired to a buzzer that sounds to indicate contact, on a valid target area; in the foil, this is the trunk of the body, in the sabre everything above the waist, excluding hands, and in epee the entire body is legal. Coloured lights on the electrical scoring apparatus register valid hits, while white lights register hits landing outside the valid target area.

Matches consist of three three-minute bouts. The first fencer to post 15 touches, or the one with most hits after three rounds, is declared the winner.

Events / disciplines

Men’s individual foil, women’s individual foil

Men’s individual sabre, women’s individual sabre

Men’s individual epee, women’s individual epee

Men’s team foil, women’s team foil

Men’s team sabre, women’s team epee