If you want to go to the London Olympics, you would be a fool not to try for modern pentathlon tickets.
This is a bold statement to make. Most people face a battle to define modern pentathlon, let alone find the inclination to join the queue for tickets. But trust me - it’s one of the better bargains thrown up by the 2012 Olympics schedule, released earlier this week.
If you've never heard of modern pentathlon then £75 per ticket may not scream "bargain" to you but, comparing it to the prices of tickets to many other events, I think you'd be doing well. Here are five reasons to add it to your list.
1. You get five sports for your money. Pentathlon involves fencing, swimming, show jumping, running and shooting - in that order.
2. The knock-on effect of this is that you get several venues for your money, too. The fencing is held at the Handball Arena (which precious few others may get to see inside, given handball is the only other Olympic sport taking place there); the swimming is inside the Aquatics Centre, which I'd put in the top three Olympic Park attractions; and the rest of it is in Greenwich Park. They're all covered by one ticket.
3. Let's talk a bit more about this show jumping. Have you seen pentathlon show jumping before? Do you know the rules? Well, all you need to know is: they introduce the horses to the riders 20 minutes before they compete. Chaos often ensues. It is one of the liveliest events at the Olympics, I promise you.
4. Britain has a solid modern pentathlon record. Perhaps the men less so (although Sam Weale won a European silver medal last year), but the women's event - on the final day of the Games - holds much British promise. Any one of four or five women, including Beijing silver medallist Heather Fell, has a chance of winning a medal for Team GB.
5. The women's pentathlon gold medal will almost certainly be the last of the London Olympics, barring any scheduling fiasco or hold-up.
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Video: Britain's Heather Fell discusses having to wait until the end of the Games to compete
So for £75 you get five sports in a selection of venues including a trip to the Olympic Park, some British medal interest and the last gold medal of the Games, spread over 10 hours, all included on one ticket. Having looked at the rest of the schedule, you could do a lot worse with your money.
If £75 is too much, there are separate tickets for £20 or £35 which cover just the show jumping then the run-shoot finale, including the medals being won. They're part of the London 2012 "pay your age" scheme too, so children get in for less. No Olympic Park in that package, but still worth a look. The full pentathlon schedule and pricing details are on London 2012's site.
Other ideas you might not have considered are slalom canoeing (reasonably cheap, very lively, nice brand new venue), women's football (huge numbers of tickets available so you've a good chance of getting the tickets you select in the ballot - ditto indoor volleyball, hockey and handball) and tennis (£20 for a ground pass at Wimbledon on almost any day of the Games - no access to Centre or Number One Courts, but still likely to be a spectacular venue during the Olympics).
And in case you didn't see it on Tuesday, there's the small matter of my day-by-day guide to help you. Or else ask me on Twitter or on this blog.
Edit, 1530 GMT: Earlier above, I said the Handball Arena was temporary. It isn't - it becomes a multi-purpose sports centre after the Games.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/olliewilliams/2011/02/modern_pentathlon_tickets.shtml
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