MONTE CARLO, Monaco — Modern pentathlon has been cut from five events to four in a bid to boost its popularity and stay in the Olympics.

The International Modern Pentathlon Union voted to combine pistol shooting and running into one discipline to create a shorter and more dynamic competition.

Klaus Schormann, president of the governing body, described the recent decision at the group's annual meeting in Guatemala as "one of the biggest in the history of modern pentathlon." The new format takes effect Jan. 1.

Modern penthatlon has been criticized for its lack of international appeal and domination by Eastern Europeans.

It has been in the Olympics since 1912 and was designed by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern games, to test an ideal soldier's skills. Competitors must shoot an air pistol, fence, swim for 200 meters, ride a horse that is unknown to them over a showjumping course and run 3,000 meters.

Shooting and running will now be combined in a fourth and final discipline. The starting order of the final event is determined by the points accumulated after the first three, so the leading competitors get a head start. The overall winner is the first to cross the finish line.

This is not the first attempt make the sport more attractive to spectators and television viewers.

For the 1996 Atlanta Games, when only men took part, the competition was cut from four or five days to one day. Women have competed since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

At this year's Beijing Olympics, the gold medals were won by Russia's Andrey Moiseev and Germany's Lena Schoeneborn.