The first medal came from a totally unexpected source – a wiry field artillery lieutenant who took part in the pentathlon. In those years for the pentathlon, the competitors completed five different events on consecutive days (horse riding, fencing, pistol shooting, a 200-meter freestyle swim and a 3 kilometer cross-country run). In the pentathlon, competitors are ranked in the order they finish in each event and all their rankings are added to determine the gold medalist. The lower your points, the better.