[1] The venues for the events were the Copper Box (fencing), the Aquatics Centre (swimming), and Greenwich Park (horse riding and combined running and shooting).

Modern pentathlon contained five events; pistol shooting, épée fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a 3 km cross-country run.

In each of the three rounds of firing, athletes had to shoot five targets, loading the gun after each shot; they were then allowed to resume their running.

The use of laser guns reduced the cost of the shooting section by approximately two-thirds and opened up new venues for the sport because of the increased levels of safety.

The winner of the 2011 World Cup final, which was held in London's Greenwich Park in July as the first official test event ahead of the Games, qualified.