The fencing event is a round robin of epee style fencing with each athlete fencing each other athlete. The format is a series of one-touch bouts lasting one minute. If neither fencer has been hit at the end of this time, both will record a loss. A fencer winning 70 per cent of his bouts will score 1000 points pentathlon points. Each victory above or below the 1000 point standard (or 70 per cent) will be worth plus or minus 28 modern pentathlon points.

The swimming event consists of a 200m freestyle race against the clock with heats of eight swimmers. Swimmers are placed into heats and lanes according to their personal best time from the preceding season. Judging and timing equipment will be automatic and the starting signal will be shot from the starting pistol. Times will be registered to 1/100 of a second. A time of 2 minutes 30 seconds for men and 2 minutes 40 seconds for women, will correspond to 1 000 modern pentathlon points. Each second above or below this time will mean a difference of twelve points added or deducted.

The riding event consists of a 450m stadium course with 12 jumps including a double and triple combination. For the Olympic competition, one horse will be supplied for every two competitors, with one extra horse for every eight competitors for a total of 20 horses to be presented for the draw. The horses will be tested and selected by the technical delegates to ensure equality. Competitors have 20 minutes and five practice jumps to prepare for their competition round. Each obstacle is worth 100 points with a maximum score of 1200 points. Points are most commonly deducted for refusals, rails, falls, and exceeding the time allowed.

The shooting event is a 4.5mm air pistol event consisting of 20 shots fired on command at 20 targets, one shot per target. The shooter has 40 seconds in which to fire a shot. A score of 172 shooting points corresponds to 1000 modern pentathlon points and each point above or below 172 is worth plus or minus 12 points.

The final event is a 3000 metre chase run. The leader after the first four events starts first and each other athlete starts at some interval behind the leader based on the accumulated point differential between that athlete and the leader. Since each second in running is worth 4 points, an athlete who trails the leader by 100 points would start 25 seconds behind in the run. As a result, each athlete is equal as of their run start time as the order in which the athletes cross the finish lines corresponds to the overall placing; The first runner to cross the finish line is the winner of the modern pentathlon competition.