The International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) has revealed plans for the three disciplines to come together at the Championships as it looks to give student-pentathletes the chance to compete in the new obstacle event.

The move would mean that riding, fencing and swimming would not be on the programme for the biennial FISU event.

Laser run, fencing, riding and swimming all featured the last time the FISU World University Pentathlon Championships was staged in Budapest in 2018 when France's Brice Loubet and Italy's Elena Micheli won the men and women's titles, respectively. 

It was the first time that FISU had staged a modern pentathlon championships.

The decision to propose obstacle laser run as the new format for the Championships was made at UIPM’s Joint Committees Meeting in Frankfurt.

It was also announced that a new "Youth League" introducing obstacle laser run would be launched from the 2024 season.

The governing body for modern pentathlon said that obstacle laser run was "one of many multi-sport combinations for the new UIPM sports pyramid which was signed off during the Joint Committees Meeting".

"The goal is accessibility," a spokesperson for the UIPM told insidethegames.

"We're creating more opportunities for university students around the world by providing greater access and clearer pathways into our sport."

An "obstacle implementation strategy" for 2023 and 2024 was also presented "in detail" to the Committees, according to the UIPM.

Yasser Hefny, Christian Roudaut and Janusz Peciak, who chair the respective UIPM Athletes’, Coaches and Technical Committees, came together for the meeting in German city Frankfurt from February 24 to 26.

Besides the heads of the three committees, the UIPM Executive Board was also represented by President Klaus Schormann, treasurer John Helmick, secretary general Shiny Fang and member for development Viacheslav Malishev.

Atanas Andreev represented the UIPM Medical Committee in the joint sessions, while Bernhard Petruschinski was invited as a modern pentathlon technical expert.

"The Joint Committees Meeting in Frankfurt-am-Main has become a cornerstone of our annual calendar and this year from February 24-26 we had a riveting exchange of proposals and views," said Schormann.

"We are fortunate to have such expertise and passion in our athlete, coach and technical communities, and as our global community heads into the 2023 season, they can do so knowing they have been represented strongly in all of the discussions that took place and the action plans that were created."

The format of fencing, obstacle, swimming and laser run is set to feature at three age-group World Championships this year.

The first of those is the Under-17 World Championships, scheduled to be held from July 12 to 16, followed by the Under-19 World Championships from July 26 to 30 and the Junior World Championships from September 12 to 17.

The UIPM distributed the first obstacle discipline competition guidelines last December, which will be used to regulate the new discipline until the first competition rules are presented to the UIPM's 2024 Congress.

Leading athletes, including both of Britain’s Tokyo 2020 champions Joe Choong and Kate French, have strongly criticised the UIPM for a lack of consultation before it announced riding would be dropped from modern pentathlon after Paris 2024.

The controversial decision to establish obstacle as the replacement discipline for riding after Paris 2024 was taken at the UIPM Congress on November 12 last year by 69 votes to 11.

A host and dates for the 2024 FISU World University Pentathlon Championships have yet to be announced.

The last two editions were cancelled, with the 2020 event called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 tournament not going ahead because of local political issues in Argentina where it was set to be held.