An autographed postcard of the Soviet Olympic champion in modern pentathlon Pavel Lednev

The postcard was signed in 1995 at the Olympic ball held in the Kremlin. The event was timed to coincide with the end of the XVII Winter Olympic Games held in Lillehammer (Norway).

Modern pentathlon or pentathlon is a sport from the class of all—around sports in which participants compete in five disciplines, the so-called "knightly qualities": show jumping, fencing, shooting, running, swimming. As a young man, Lednev did not have superpowers in any of the disciplines, but through hard training and constant work he was able to reach heights.

He was inspired to improve his fencing skills by the novel "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas, and therefore fencing with swords became Lednev's favorite sport. In two disciplines — shooting and swimming — the future Olympic champion was greatly helped by classes at a local pentathlon school. Lednev practiced swimming in the pool every morning, and also conducted shooting practice in the shooting range. Pavel Lednev's weak point for a long time was horse riding and running. The champion's career was helped by his service in the army — he passed it at the stable, where he took the chance to improve his riding skills. Pavel's vulnerable point was also the 3000-meter cross-country. Once in a competition for the university championship, already being in the national pentathlon team, Lednev took the last place in the cross country. The assertive and purposeful Lednev did not put up with this situation, so he soon began to study with the best masters of sports, which bore fruit.