Modern Pentathlon World Cup touches down in Sarasota

SARASOTA -- Nearly a dozen children gathered around Liston Bochette and Angese Ozolina Butler inside the Gillespie Park Reading Room for a preview of what some of the coming month will bring for fans of the Olympics in Sarasota and Bradenton.

The former Olympians talked to them about the history of the Games and sports' place in culture.

Butler was an Olympic swimmer and Bochette competed in the modern pentathlon, a sport that is one of the Olympics' historically significant events. It has been a staple of the summer games since 1912 and is the descendent of the ancient Olympic pentathlon, which was first contested in 708 B.C.

When the Modern Pentathlon World Cup concludes with its final stage in Sarasota May 5-8, the area will have a chance to see the sports close up.

"The Olympic experience can come home to Sarasota," said Elln Hagney, the cultural affairs director of the Olympian Foundation. "It doesn't have to be in Rio thousands and thousands of miles away. It's happening right here."

The final stage of the World Cup begins May 5 with round-robin fencing at the Sarasota Family YMCA -- Evalyn Sadler Jones Branch. During the course of four days, the 72 competitors from 28 nations will compete in five events: fencing, equestrian, swimming, running and pistol shooting -- at the Sarasota Family YMCA and Nathan Benderson Park. Sarasota is the final stop of the World Cup before modern pentathletes travel to Brazil for the Summer Olympics.

Wednesday marked the start of activities surround

ing the event. An "Art of the Pentathlon" satellite exhibit went on display at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport on Tuesday and will remain until May 12. The display will greet the Olympic hopefuls as they arrive in the area during the coming weeks.

The basis of the Olympics' latest footprint in the area is the four days of athletic events at the Sarasota YMCA and Benderson Park. The surrounding events will make for an authentic Olympic experience. A cultural festival will be open at noon from May 6-8 at Benderson, and at 9 p.m. on May 7 the athletes will have a public party at Evie's Tavern and Grill in Sarasota. A series of Olympian talks will take place at The Robert L. Taylor Community Complex, Girl's Inc of Sarasota County, Community Youth Development and through Manatee County Parks and Recreation.

"What makes it so uniquely special when it comes to the modern pentathlon is that Olympic experience where they go and they experience concerts, and arts and education programs," Hagney said. "The Sarasota-Bradenton modern pentathlon organizing committee has brought that experience to Sarasota."

Bochette's presence was especially fitting for an event touting the cultural components of the Olympics. A gold medalist for art at the 1992 Summer Olympics, Bochette's history lesson for the kids at Gillespie mentioned how wars ceased during the original run of Olympics and why the games were revived in 1896 with similar goals. He fits the Olympic ideal of mind, body and soul which will be emphasized in Sarasota during the coming month.

"It doesn't mean much to become an Olympian if you're not able to pass it on like it's a relay," Bochette said. "You always look at who's ahead of you that teaches you and who to pass it on coming up behind you."

The latest visit from the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne is the third since 2014 in Sarasota and organizers tout a total of more than $10 million of "local impact" from the first two events. Half of all food served by the UIPM will be locally sourced, veterans will be trained for careers in sports tourism, and students from the Ringling College of Art and Design and Manatee High School will be responsible for some of the art and music surrounding the event.

And on the courses the stakes will be higher than ever. All 72 athletes are in range to qualify for Rio by ranking high enough in the world June 1. They're last chance to improve those rankings comes in Southwest Florida.

"The bar has been raised, a legacy created," USA Modern Pentathlon board chair Barry Matchett said in a statement, "and it will rise once again."

David Wilson, Herald sports writer, can be contacted at 941-745-7057 or on Twitter

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Modern Pentathlon World Cup touches down in Sarasota ."