One of the coolest sports ever has gotten a little cooler with the addition of ... laser pistols.

The futuristic firearms are making their Olympic debut in the modern pentathlon at the 2012 Summer Games. The pistols are safer, allowing spectators to get closer to the action, and have changed competition by allowing organizers to incorporate the running and shooting disciplines in a combined event. The change hasn't been without controversy, however.

"At the start it was a bit tough because, like any sport, [pentathletes'] equipment is quite close to them," said Matt Pound of the International Federation for Modern Pentathlon. "For an elite athlete, even a slight change can be upsetting."

That change comes during the centennial year of the only sport created specifically for the Olympics. Modern pentathlon was dreamed up by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who organized the modern Olympic Games in 1896. When the multidisciplinary sport, a riff on the ancient pentathlon, made its debut in 1912, its five disciplines — fencing, swimming, equestrian, running and shooting — were intended to cultivate well-rounded athletes.

Early pentathletes were encouraged to choose whichever bore pistol they preferred. George S. Patton — yes, that Patton — famously competed with a .38-caliber pistol, while others opted for humbler handguns. Later rules would limit bore size to .22. Air pistols, firing .177-caliber pellets, took over in 1994. Projectiles gave way to beams of light when Klaus Schormann, president of the International Union of Modern Pentathlon, decreed lasers are the future.

Naysayers may be quelled by a technical concession intended to ease the transition. Because sound is an inherent part of the spectacle, the pistols "shoot" laser beams with a discharge of compressed air that's set off by the trigger. The guns are engineered to produce a brief pause between the moment the trigger is pulled and the photons are released, requiring the shooter to maintain a steady trigger finger. The laser is on a 10-millisecond delay to replicate the time it takes a pellet to leave the barrel of a pistol.

In order to ensure fair play, weapons are tested the night before competition for length of delay, trigger weight, overall weight and dimensions.

Modern pentathlete Margaux Isaksen, with her laser pistol. Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

The guns are essentially repurposed air pistols. The donor weapon, usually manufactured by the likes of Steyr, Morini, or more rarely Hammerli, typically costs around $1,000 and features a customized grip for optimal ergonomics. The so-called laser container, which adds another $400 or so, replaces the barrel with an element that emits an eye-safe beam of light that traces the target with a tiny red dot. The biggest engineering challenge involved designing target receptors that work with the weapons but also convey a myriad of information via laptop for the athlete, like position of hit, time interval between shots, and time remaining. Competitors fire at Simpower Precision Laser Targets that provide real-time tracking of each shot.

Laser pistols have transformed the dynamics of the sport. Shooting was traditionally a slow, methodical competition. Now it is combined with the 3K run, making for an event that requires endurance and precision. Pentathletes run 1,000 meters, then shot at a target from a distance of 10 meters. This is done three times.

Competitors have 70 seconds to hit the target five times during each heat, though most need less than 15 and spend between 1.7 and 2.2 seconds between shots. American Sam Jackson set the world record for the fastest heat earlier this year at the World Cup when he hit the target five times in 8.1 seconds. This is especially impressive when you realize the rules require lowering your gun, touching the table, cocking the gun and raising it again before each shot. Speed and accuracy are paramount.

Event organizers are quick to note the advantages of lasers. Complicated berms and backstops are no longer required for safety, making it easier to stage events. It's no longer a hassle for athletes to travel with their pistols. It's far easier to pitch pentathlon to corporate sponsors, because there's no harm in letting the suits handle a laser pistol in the boardroom. And laser pistols make the sport accessible to urban and suburban youth who can't practice shooting at Coke cans in the back yard.

"I think the sport needed to modernize itself," said Rob Stull, a three-time Olympic pentathlete and managing director of USA Modern Pentathlon. "Laser pistols are a great solution."

Still, not everyone is convinced.

"I thought it was cooler when we were shooting pellets," said 20-year-old modern pentathlete Margeaux Isaksen, "but c'est la vie."