A fencing ranking round will begin modern pentathlon competition tomorrow ©Getty Images

Olympic modern pentathlon competition begins with a fencing ranking round at the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza tomorrow.

The women are set to crown a new champion when the full competition is held on Friday (July 6).

Australia's Chloe Esposito, women’s gold medallist at Rio 2016, is absent after becoming a mother last year.

Anastasiya Prokopenko of Belarus has made a triumphant return after having a baby, on the other hand, and won the 2021 World Championship gold in Cairo.

Prokopenko already has an Olympic bronze to her name, from Beijing 2008.

Another returning mother is 2012 Olympic champion Laura Asadauskaite of Lithuania. 

She was one of the very last competitors to receive her gold at the London Games.

Elodie Clouvel of France, who won World Championship silver, is the only Rio 2016 medallist taking part in the women’s competition here.

Britain’s Kate French won the 2021 International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) World Cup Final in May - she competes in her second Olympics after placing fifth in Rio de Janeiro.

She is joined by Jo Muir who makes her Olympic debut, but although the team have enjoyed success in recent years, travel restrictions imposed as a result of the pandemic have meant opportunities have been limited this year.

Britain's Joseph Choong was victorious when the UIPM World Cup Final was held in Tokyo in 2019 ©Getty Images
Britain's Joseph Choong was victorious when the UIPM World Cup Final was held in Tokyo in 2019 ©Getty Images

In the men’s competition there will also be a new champion. 

Aleksander Lesun of Russia did not take part in enough competitions to qualify for Tokyo, but the Rio 2016 silver medallist  Pavlo Tymoshchenko of Ukraine will start here in a field of 36.

Ádám Marosi - 2021 2orld champion - is the standard bearer for a proud line from Hungary, the most successful nation in the sport.

Britain has selected 2018 world champion James Cooke and Joseph Choong, who won the 2019 UIPM World Cup Final here in Tokyo.

Egypt’s rising star, 21 year old Ahmed Elgendy, was a Youth Olympic Games gold medallist in 2018.

All the phases take place in the Tokyo stadium at Musashino Forest Sports Plaza, the first time one stadium has hosted everything.

Competition begins in swimming, then fencing, before equestrian jumping. 

Competition ends with the laser-run, combining running with pistol shooting.

The whole competition is completed during an intense afternoon and evening session.

In 1964, when the Games were last staged in Tokyo, modern pentathlon was held over five gruelling days.