Ad’ihani pentathlon
Ad’ihani pentathlon (sometimes quadrathlon) is a multi-discipline winter sport developed in Ad’ihan that is widely practised in both Ad’ihan and Liventia. The sport was first created in Ad’ihan in 2129 and quickly became popular in present-day Liventia, which sees more winter weather and had more winter sports facilities than its then-island territory. It is sometimes referred to as a "winter pentathlon", although there are different variations on the disciplines which make up a winter pentathlon.
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Disciplines
Ad’ihani pentathlon consists of five disciplines, two of which are combined into a single discipline thus leading to the sport also being called a quadrathlon. The five disciplines are alpine skiing, ski jumping (for men)/skeleton (for women), speed skating, cross-country skiing and shooting, with the latter two being component disciplines of biathlon.
The alpine skiing discipline has always been run as a downhill event and ski jumping has traditionally taken place on the normal hill. The distance of the speed skating race is always 1000 metres, regardless of gender, while the biathlon race is always held at sprint distance, meaning 7.5 km for women and 10 km for men. Records are not kept in the sport as the layouts of alpine skiing, skeleton and biathlon courses change from location to location, although the Ad’ihani Pentathlon Sport Union (APSU) recognises location records. Where there is no biathlon shooting range available, the APSU allows for that discipline to be contested in its component parts as a 10 km (for men) or 7.5 km (for women) cross-country skiing race with a separate shooting event held at an indoor range, with time penalties added to the cross-country timing for missed shots.
Scoring
The quadrathlon/pentathlon operates a points system as in heptathlon or decathlon, rather than a combined time system as in triathlon or a points system equalised prior to the final event as in modern pentathlon. Similar to heptathlon or decathlon, the points system follows the formula Pts = a × (b - T)c, where T is the timed performance in seconds (for downhill, biathlon, speed skating and skeleton) and Pts = a × (S − b)c where S is the score the athlete has received for his ski jump. Where an athlete fails to start, fails to finish or is disqualified from an event, he or she receives no points for it. However, for the inaugural Ad’ihani Pentathlon World Series, the APSU trialled a new scoring system awarding points equal to exactly half (rounded down to the nearest full point) of the last finisher for any contestant failing to finish or disqualified from an event.
| Event | a | b | c |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's alpine skiing downhill | 0.144 | 270 | 1.81 |
| Men's biathlon sprint | 0.007631 | 3350 | 1.583 |
| Men's ski jumping normal hill | 71.85 | 40 | 0.6 |
| Men's speed skating 1000 metres | 0.22 | 180 | 1.827 |
| Women's alpine skiing downhill | 0.144 | 260 | 1.81 |
| Women's biathlon sprint | 0.00812 | 2900 | 1.595 |
| Women's skeleton single run | 0.493 | 126 | 1.79 |
| Women's speed skating 1000 metres | 0.19 | 200 | 1.82 |
For comparison, the bronze medal-winning and last-placed performances at the component events in the Fifth Winter Olympics would have earned:
| Event | Fifth Winter Olympics performance | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze medal | Last finisher | Difference | |
| Men's alpine skiing downhill | 1413 pts | 1235 pts | 12.6% |
| Men's biathlon sprint | 1027 pts | 700 pts | 31.8% |
| Men's ski jumping normal hill* | 1055 pts | 681 pts | 35.5% |
| Men's speed skating 1000 metres | 1199 pts | 1134 pts | 5.4% |
| Men's total | 4694 pts | 3750 pts | 20.1% |
| Women's alpine skiing downhill | 1151 pts | 982 pts | 14.7% |
| Women's biathlon sprint | 984 pts | 437 pts | 55.6% |
| Women's skeleton* | 895 pts | 827 pts | 7.6% |
| Women's speed skating 1000 metres | 1223 pts | 1131 pts | 7.5% |
| Women's total | 4253 pts | 3377 pts | 20.6% |
Competition in Ad’ihan and Liventia
Due to uncommon winter weather in Ad’ihan, a national championship is only organised locally if a prolonged period of snow is expected. The Ad’ihani national championship is usually run in conjunction with the Liventian national championship in Liventia, with entrants from both countries in the same event being eligible for their respective national titles.
There are two major Ad’ihani pentathlon competitions each year held in Liventia (where it was for a time known as "Outer Islands quadrathlon" during increased Ad’ihani–Liventian inflammatory rhetoric): the National Championship every January and the APSU World Open every November. A short professional season is also held from November through January, opened by the APSU World Open and concluding with the two national championships.
International competition
The Comité national olympique pour les îles ad’ihanaises proposed that Ad’ihani pentathlon be a demonstration sport at the Sixth Winter Olympics in Ashton, Krytenia, with the backing of the Liventia Olympic Association and five other Olympic committees including the host committee. The sport was approved as a demonstration event as winter pentathlon, with events held for both men and women. Kitomi Hamazuki, a Japanese Liventian who also competes on the domestic Liventian and Ad’ihani circuit, won the women's event by a margin of 41 points with 4105 points. Sorthern Northland's Arnaldur Þorbjarnarson won the men's event by a far smaller margin of just five points, totalling 4082 points.
