Hasty repairs were needed at the modern pentathlon world championships in Hungary after the portable swimming pool cracked overnight, allowing water to leak and leaving the pool dry.

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"We came in this morning to find the pool empty," Adam Madaras, a spokesman for the championship said. "Apparently the ground shifted and cracked the pool at one of the joints."

As organisers were reluctant to move the swimming event to a new location, they made emergency repairs and moved the riding event forward to gain time.

"The pentathlon has never been contested at a championship meet with this order of events," Madaras said.

Organisers also called in the Budapest fire department to help pump water over from a nearby pool to get the facility ready.

Sunday's event is the last for athletes to gain an Olympic qualifying spot.