FISU World University Championship Modern Pentathlon: Hats off to Egypt’s golden trio
- Individual glory for Adomaityte (LTU) and Mohamed (EGY)
- Two world titles each for Mohamed, Amer and Abouamer (EGY)
- Medals for Hungary, Italy, Lithuania and Poland as all six continents represented
Egypt dominated yet another global competition by claiming three of the four gold medals on offer at the 2nd FISU World University Championship Modern Pentathlon.
The North African powerhouse, which recently celebrated its first Olympic champion in Modern Pentathlon as Ahmed Elgendy won gold in Paris (FRA), has been the most prolific nation across many age groups in recent years and now dominates the university sports scene, on the evidence of recent days in Kaunas (LTU).
All six of UIPM’s continental confederations were represented, with a strong European challenge that yielded medals for Hungary, Italy and Poland amid competition from the likes of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Ecuador, Philippines and United States.
Hosting this competition six years after its first instalment in Budapest (HUN), when Elgendy (EGY) and future two-time world champion Elena Micheli of Italy were among the medallists, Lithuania created memories to treasure at the Vytauto Didziojo University Sports Centre, too.
Elzbieta Adomaityte won the Women’s Individual category on the opening day, followed by a Team silver for Anastasija Kancyte (LTU) and Titas Puronas (LTU).
But once Adomaityte (LTU) had received her prize, it became an Egyptian gold rush.
First Moutaz Mohamed (EGY) earned the title of Men’s Individual champion, following up with victory in the Team category alongside Zeina Amer (EGY), who then continued the golden procession by winning the Mixed Relay alongside Moustafa Abouamer (EGY).
Having reverted from a Tetrathlon to the exciting new Obstacle Laser Run format, the results gave a clue as to which nations have put the most time into Obstacle training in 2023 and 2024, ahead of the discipline’s full integration into Modern Pentathlon in the 2025 season.
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| Women's Individual Final podium Photo credit: Aistė Ridikaitė |
Men's Individual Final podium Photo credit: Aistė Ridikaitė |
How the medals were won
Adomaityte (LTU) claimed the women’s gold medal with a comfortable lead over team-mates Maja Biernacka (POL) and Malgorzata Karbownik (POL), who won silver and bronze respectively.
Mohamed (EGY) had to fend off competition from within his own team to claim gold, forcing Abouamer (EGY) to accept silver in the men’s competition with Emanuele Tromboni (ITA) securing bronze.
Aged 22 and ranked 34 in the world, Adomaityte (LTU) looks like a strong prospect following in the wake of five-time Olympian Laura Asadauskaite, UIPM 2024 Pentathlon World Cup Final champion Gintare Venckauskaite and Pentathlon World Cup winner Ieva Serapinaite.
Having already demonstrated her Laser Run prowess by becoming Women’s Individual world champion and Mixed Relay bronze medallist in Bath (GBR) in 2023, and in multiple Modern Pentathlon competitions, Adomaityte (LTU) proved that she can also handle herself on an Obstacle course.
With the Obstacle Laser Run format introduced at university level for the first time, the fastest Obstacle time of 32.20sec was set by Karbownik (POL), while Biernacka timed 38.06 and Adomaityte (LTU) was not too much slower in 40.71. There were only two eliminations.
Starting 17sec off the pace, Adomaityte (LTU) made light of the deficit to dominate the Laser Run with a time of 11:32.50 that swept the competition away.
Life was not quite so easy for Mohamed (EGY) in the Laser Run, as he overcame a 16sec starting deficit to Abouamer (EGY) only to see his rival rapidly advancing on the last lap to set up a dramatic sprint finish.
Abouamer (EGY), who holds the junior world record for Obstacle in Modern Pentathlon, was the star of the course with another epic time of 22.06. The second-fastest Obstacle performer was Tromboni (ITA) in 23.75, while Mohamed (EGY) managed 30.23.
On day two, the Team event gave participating delegations the chance to shake things up with male and female athletes going head-to-head in some instances in Obstacle or Laser Run.
Egypt (Amer/Mohamed) came out on top by just 9sec from Lithuania (Kancyte/Puronas), while another Egypt team (Sally Ismail and Abouamer) won the bronze medal.
A more conventional Mixed Relay took place on the final day, and this time Amer and Abouamer teamed up to give Egypt victory by 15sec from Poland (Karbownik & Maciej Klimek), while Hungary (Noemi Eszes & Zsombor Tarkanyi) took home the bronze.
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| Photo credit: Aistė Ridikaitė | Photo credit: Aistė Ridikaitė |
Medallists’ reaction
Women’s individual gold medallist Adomaityte (LTU) said: “Well, it’s new for me, I’ve never competed in this type of competition so it was fun, I came here to have fun and I think I executed the plan.
“It was my first time doing Obstacle this year, and we had four weeks of training so I’m really proud of myself. I’ve achieved a lot and I feel like Obstacle will be a good discipline for me.
“I’m just happy to be in Kaunas, in my city and my country, and it’s a really nice competition here.
“I think it’s fun, and it’s important for athletes to have fun while competing. I like it.
“Studying while doing sports is a huge advantage for athletes because when you are injured or in your off season, you have somewhere to put your energy. Education is really important for everybody so I think it’s a must for every athlete to study.
“I think this new stadium and new facility that we have in Kaunas really wowed me, and I’m really proud that Kaunas has been able to host this big competition.”
Men’s gold medallist Mohamed (EGY) said: “It feels great that I am the world university champion. It’s a new title for me, to add to a lot of titles, and I hope to achieve as many titles as I can so it’s really great.
“I was competing against the world junior silver medallist and it feels great to compete with him again. After I finished my last shooting series, I thought I don’t need to run any more and I started to celebrate, but then I was aware something has happened and it was Moustafa coming out of the range and running as fast as he could.
“Another 10 metres and I think he would have caught me, so it was crazy. I started to celebrate and then had to run for my life.
“It’s not the first time I tried Obstacle, but I think it’s great. It doesn’t depend on luck any more – it’s just you and nothing else. I also think it’s going to be great for the younger athletes. They like it and find it exciting to watch.
“Of course it’s so sad to see horse riding going out of the Olympics, but it’s a new start. We are modern pentathletes and we can adapt to everything. That’s how we are.
“It’s going to be good for my scholarship. My university is supporting me and it’s great to be university world champion.”
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| Photo credit: Aistė Ridikaitė | Photo credit: Aistė Ridikaitė |
Officials’ reaction
UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann said: “I am thrilled that the FISU World University Championship Modern Pentathlon has returned, with student athletes from six continents coming together to share special times and compete with great passion.
“The second instalment of this competition was closely aligned to the evolution of our movement, enabling athletes to test their skills in the exciting new format Obstacle Laser Run.
“Modern Pentathlon has always been linked in a very strong way with education. Many pentathletes train and compete while they are studying at university and later they have successful careers in a wide variety of professions. The development of UIPM’s worldwide partnership with universities is facilitated by the integration of Obstacle, making our sport more accessible globally.
“Lithuania is a very active nation within our movement and I know this latest competition in Kaunas was arranged at the same high level as the UIPM 2023 Junior World Championships in Druskininkai. We look forward to returning there only a few weeks from now for the UIPM 2024 Pentathlon U19 World Championships.”
Lithuania Modern Pentathlon Federation President Aistis Baronas added: “We are extremely proud to be part of such an important event, knowing that Modern Pentathlon is undergoing big changes.
“The Obstacle discipline looks to be very popular among youngsters, and this event is the beginning of a great future for Modern Pentathlon. We are really happy that UIPM and FISU trusted this event to be organized in Lithuania, and together with the Lithuanian Students’ Sport Association we made it happen.
“My huge thanks go to everyone involved, from volunteers to all of the directors, sponsors, partners and spectators. An experience like this enables our Federation to grow as one of the best Modern Pentathlon events organisers. Quality is what drives us all.
“We have seen so many students from all over the world gathered in my beautiful hometown Kaunas city – heart of Lithuania. Thank you all!”
Watch and follow
There are four competitions remaining on the UIPM calendar this year:
- September 9-15: UIPM 2024 Pentathlon U17 World Championships – Caldas da Rainha (POR)
- September 14-16: UIPM 2024 Masters World Championships – Gyomro (HUN)
- September 23-29: UIPM 2024 Pentathlon U19 World Championships – Druskininkai (LTU)
- December 4-8: UIPM 2024 Tetrathlon U15 World Championships – Guatemala City (GUA)
Visit the UIPM website for results and reports and follow UIPM on your favourite social media for more content:
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