UIPM 2024 PENTATHLON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: KOREA (KIM/SEO) CLAIM FOURTH GOLD IN MIXED RELAY

Korean team tops medal table ahead of Hungary after rain-soaked finish
Medals for Egypt (Ismail/Elgendy) and Lithuania (Adomaityte/Puronas)
President Schormann congratulates China on high-class organisation

Photo credit: UIPM / Nuno Gonçalves

Click here to download high-resolution pictures

ZHENGZHOU, CHINA: June 16, 2024 – Korea confirmed its status as the dominant nation of the UIPM 2024 Pentathlon World Championships as Sunwoo Kim and Changwan Seo teamed up to win a thrilling Mixed Relay.

After a week of relentless hot weather, the arrival of very heavy rain disrupted the schedule on the final day, forcing the cancellation of Riding and outdoor Fencing. This resulted in a very close Mixed Relay that became a gripping spectacle in the decisive Laser Run.

Malak Ismail and Mohamed Elgendy of Egypt moved all the way up from 6th and Elgendy (EGY) left the final shoot in the lead, but Seo (KOR) overtook him to reclaim the lead and win the world title with a dynamic final run.

Lithuania earned the bronze medal thanks to Elzbieta Adomaityte and Titas Puronas, while Kazakhstan, Poland and host nation China completed the top six.

Korea ended top of the medal table with seven medals including four golds, narrowly ahead of Hungary, who took home six medals including three golds. The two nations were so much in control that only one other country managed more than one medal - Egypt with two silvers.

Host nation China managed numerous top-six and top-10 finishes in Modern Pentathlon, as well as several medals in the Laser Run World Championships – but the sheer professionalism of the staff and volunteers throughout the competition also merited a collective medal.

MEDALLIST REACTION

Gold medallist Kim (KOR) said: “On the first day of this competition we had the Women’s and Men’s Relays and we won both gold medals, so it was a great start. And now on the last day we end the competition with another gold medal, so we are very happy.

“We will now prepare for the Paris Olympic Games when we get back to Korea. We will have a little bit of rest and then back to training to prepare for the Olympics.”

Her team-mate Seo (KOR) added: “This season there have been so many competitions and I’m feeling really good. It has been a very important season ahead of the Olympic Games. At the start of the season I didn’t have an Olympic place, but I finished in some good positions and now I can take the Olympic ticket.

“I will go back to Korea now and have some nice food and take a vacation before we prepare for the Paris Olympic Games.”

Silver medallist Ismail (EGY) said: “I’m feeling very happy, but this race was very different. There was no Riding and even the Fencing bouts were only worth three points, but we were all very close to each other at the start of the Laser Run.

“2024 was a really strong year, the Olympic qualification year is very difficult across the whole season. I did it very well, and now I have the Olympics in less than two months. The whole year was really surprising for me – I didn’t know that I could do this but I did it in the end.”

Her team-mate Elgendy (EGY) added: “It was a very fast race on the last lap [with Seo]; he went very fast at the beginning of the lap and it was a little bit hard for me, but I’m super happy with this medal. We just came out of the shooting range and in the first 50 metres he just went at a very fast pace, so I was in shock and I wasn’t able to be with him to the end.

“The competition ends with a medal – it wasn’t good for me in the individual but I am happy with this result.

“It was a long and hard year with many competitions, as it is Olympic year, but I was so happy with my two [Pentathlon World Cup] medals and with this medal. I was aiming for more, but in the end it’s good for me.”

Bronze medallist Adomaityte (LTU), asked about the adapted format of this Mixed Relay, said: “I think it helped, I think it brought our mind into the moment and helped us to focus on where we were at.

“It’s really nice because this is the last World Championships with horses, and no matter that we didn’t have to ride today, it’s still the last World Championships with Riding so it’s pretty phenomenal.”

Team-mate Puronas (LTU) added: “My shooting wasn’t so good, and that’s why I had to do a very fast finish, which was hard. I’m not a very good finisher so I’m happy that I was able to stay and bring the bronze home.

“Today we worked as a team very well, we supported each other and it was a fun competition.”

FENCING

The Fencing Ranking Round and Bonus Round both took place indoors due to the weather conditions, and Lithuania (Adomaityte/Puronas) dominated with 32 victories and four additional points in the Bonus Round.

Korea (Kim/Seo) also performed well with 28 touches as Czechia (Veronika Novotna & Jan Kuf) scored 27.

Poland (Oktawia Nowacka & Daniel Lawrynowicz) were the stars of the Bonus Round with five victories.

SWIMMING

There was little to separate the top teams in Swimming, with six nations going under 2mins. With their time of 1min 58.88sec, Korea (Kim/Seo) made an overall gain on their rivals and conceded only one point to the fastest swimmers, Elena Potapenko and Giorgiy Boroda-Dudochkin of Kazakhstan.

LASER RUN

Starting with a 2sec advantage over Adomaityte (LTU) and with four other rivals including Ismail (EGY) within 10sec, it was never going to be easy for Kim (KOR) but she handled the pressure of leadership well, especially on the second circuit where a 9sec shoot enabled her to pull away.

By that stage, Nowacka (POL) had faded and when Novotna (CZE) got stuck on the range, Ismail (EGY) caught up with Adomaityte (LTU) to create a new battle for silver – and they kept each other company on the third 600m.

After the handover, Puronas (LTU) initially edged ahead of Elgendy (EGY) but an 8sec shoot enabled the latter to not only strengthen his pursuit of silver but slip ahead of Seo (KOR) in the race for gold.

The stage was set for a titanic battle between two men who won individual gold on the UIPM 2024 Pentathlon World Cup circuit.

On the penultimate run, Seo (KOR) muscled back in front of Elgendy (EGY), but the response at the range was impressive as the younger athlete went under 9sec again.

Just when it looked as if Egypt could end a luckless World Championships campaign on a high, Elgendy (EGY) realised that Seo (KOR) had kept more in the tank – and the Korean ruthlessly powered away from his rival on the final 600m to win by 6sec.

In the final analysis, Egypt (Ismail/Elgendy) recorded the day’s best Laser Run time of 12:05.49, but it had to be 10sec better than Korea (Kim/Seo) for them to steal gold and the winners’ time of 12:09.69 was impressively decisive.

PRESIDENT'S REACTION

UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann said: “Today we saw teams from 13 nations across four continents compete in an exciting and very competitive Mixed Relay. It was a fitting end to a magnificent World Championships in the spectacular setting of the Zhengzhou Olympic Sports Centre.

“On behalf of the global UIPM community, I thank the City and Regional Governments for what they have presented to us throughout this competition, with kind assistance and professional support in every aspect of the event from the venue set-up to the award ceremonies.

“Everything was presented on a high level and when we look to this World Championships, it was a great promotion for two of our sports – with the Laser Run World Championships coming before the Modern Pentathlon event. This double World Championships was a historical moment that will leave great memories for the athletes.

“Thank you to the Chinese Modern Pentathlon Association in collaboration with the City Government, the organising committee and all of those who contributed from our side – the technical and medical delegates, and all the UIPM staff – who combined to make a great show of our sport together, united to show that we are truly an Olympic sport created by Baron Pierre de Coubertin. This is what we will see again in Paris on a high level.

“We saw great team spirit in the Mixed Relay, and all athletes and organisers adapted so well to the dramatic change in the weather to make sure the Mixed Relay participants could end their World Championships with very special memories. We go home knowing that China is a great organiser and we are fortunate as an International Federation to have this kind of guarantee. We know what to expect when we award China the right to host major competitions and this has been underlined ever since the UIPM 2010 World Championships in Chengdu.”