UIPM 2016 World Cup Final: Excitement in Sarasota

Reigning UIPM world champions Lena Schoeneborn (GER) and Pavlo Tymoshchenko (UKR) lead an all-star field at the 2016 UIPM World Cup Final this week (May 6-8). The event returns to the resort of Sarasota-Bradenton on the west coast of Florida, USA, where it was successfully staged in 2014 and the established calibre of the venue is reflected in the quality of the 72 pentathletes taking part. With 2016 Olympic Games qualifying places still available, reaching Rio remains the goal for many while others are intent on fine-tuning their preparations with the World Championships in Moscow (May 23-29) also looming on the horizon. Four of the top seven women in the New Balance World Rankings will compete for gold on Friday, May 6 before the men do battle on Saturday, May 7 with five of the top six-ranked athletes involved. The Mixed Relay brings the World Cup season to a close on Sunday, May 8. The USA will field five athletes on home soil including two brother-and-sister combinations: Margaux & Isabella Isaksen and Lucas & Nathan Schrimsher. Other well-represented nations include France (3 men, 3 women), Hungary (3 men, 2 women), Italy (3 women, 2 men), Germany (3 men, 2 women) while Egypt and Korea will each have 3 men competing and Russia 3 women. Dr Klaus Schormann, President of UIPM, said: “Many times in recent years we have staged successful events here in the Florida sunshine, and our pentathletes have come to regard this as one of the world’s outstanding venues. This weekend the very best athletes will be excited to return here to compete. “This World Cup Final is, with the exception of UIPM World Championships and Olympic Games, the highlight of any Modern Pentathlon calendar and it carries even more importance in this Olympic year.” The climax of each final will be streamed live on UIPMTV.org starting at 10:30 PM (CET) on May 6. A full live results service is available on pentathlon.org.