UIPM 2021 Youth World Championships (U19 and U17): Brilliant Belarus bag a double helping of gold

• Mira Buraya (BEL) races to U17 Women’s crown in Alexandria
• Belarus team also tops the podium in U19 Mixed Relay
• Medals for Russia, Hungary, Poland and Egypt on action-packed day

Alexandria turned red and green on day three of the UIPM 2021 Youth World Championships (U19 and U17) as Belarus took home gold at the double in dominant fashion.

Less than an hour after Mira Buraya (BEL) stormed to the top of the podium in the U17 Women’s final, Ivan Prytkou and Anastasiya Malashenoka took U19 Mixed Relay honours to make a clean sweep for the country and propel them towards the top of the overall competition medal table alongside Egypt.

The rest of the medals were shared a little more evenly as four countries were represented on the podium. In the U17 Women’s final, Elizaveta Skudnyakova of Russia came agonizingly close to catching Buraya (BEL) but had to make do with silver with Blanka Bauer of Hungary taking bronze. 

Meanwhile in the U19 Mixed Relay, Poland got their first medal of the championships with Maciej Klimek and Adrianna Kapala taking silver ahead of another prize for the host nation as Amira Kandil and Moutaz Mohamed took bronze for Egypt.

The action doesn’t let up with the UIPM 2021 Youth World Championships (U19 and U17) yet to hit the half-way mark. Competition continues Thursday with the U17 Men’s final. 

 

U17 Women’s Final

Fresh from sending two women to the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer — both of whom finished in the top 20 — Belarus’s female future in the sport looks even more bright based on what we saw on day three in Alexandria.

The country took three of the top five positions in a gripping U17 Women’s final with Buraya (BEL) coming out on top. After finishing second at the European Youth Championships earlier this summer, Buraya went one better with a blistering performance in the Laser Run to hold off the challenge of Skudnyakova (RUS) and Bauer (HUN). Her Belarus teammates Lizaveta Laurynovich and Aliaksandra Liashenka took fourth and fifth respectively. 

Malgorzata Karbownik of Poland had set the pace in the pool early on, fastest in the Swimming round with a time of 2:07.38, ahead of Zeynep Altinbas of Turkey with Skudnyakova just a couple of seconds back in third. 

In the Triathle format however, the Laser Run was always going to decide things. So it proved as compatriots Buraya (BEL) and Liashenka (BEL) put on an unmissable duel for the crowds. It was Liashenka who crossed the finish line in first but Buraya was just three seconds behind, enough to secure her gold on the back of a stronger swim. The pair were almost nine seconds clear of the rest of the field as Bauer (HUN) finished third in the Laser Run. 

Click here to see the full U17 results. 

 

U19 Mixed Relay

After the opening two days produced both Men’s and Women’s Relay gold for the host nation, the European representatives would have been eager to stem the tide. Belarus (Prytkou/Malashenoka) gave an early warning sign of just that in the pool when they powered to the front, finishing almost four seconds ahead of the next best Egypy (Mohamed/Kandil) with Kazakhstan’s pairing of Nikita Zhivitsa and Anastasiya Kochetkova in third place in the Swimming. 

As action moved to the piste, the same trio were again at the front of proceedings but were joined by Poland with Klimek and Kapala enjoying 21 Fencing victories, one more than both Kazakhstan (Zhivitsa/Kochetkova) and Egypt (Mohamed/Kandil) with Belarus (Prytkou/Malashenoka) not too far behind in fourth. 

That set things up for a highly anticipated Laser Run but in truth the class of the Belarus (Prytkou/Malashenoka) team told and turned it into a victory procession. Russia’s team of Vladimir Zeleputin and Elizaveta Tychkina were the only team able to keep any sort of pace with the eventual winners coming in three seconds behind the Belarussians’ fastest time of the day, 11:24.20. The second Egyptian team of Mohamed Mohamed and Nagwa Hussein were third fastest in the Laser Run in 11:37.50 but it would be their compatriots who would sneak bronze ahead of Russia (Zeleputin/Tychkina).

Click here to see the full U19 Mixed Relay results. 

 

Winners’ reaction

New U17 World Champion Mira Buraya (BEL) said: “I was very happy in the European Championships to finish second by a couple of seconds but to come to the World Championships and win, all the team is very happy. It’s our first gold medal in this championship and it makes me very happy.”

U19 Mixed Relay champion Anastasiya Malashenoka (BEL) said: “It was a really nice race. I can’t believe it. I had a really nice run, I didn’t have a lot of time. Thank you to my partner…he’s the best! And thank you to our coach. Today’s teamwork was really nice. We were real partners there. I like Alexandria very much. I want to come back here again. 

 

Expert reaction

Tokyo Olympic Games silver medalist Ahmed Elgendy of Egypt, on hand to watch his compatriots pick up another medal, said: “I feel great. I’m very happy for the Egyptian team who took two golds in the first two days and then also bronze in the Mixed Relay today. I hope for them to do more in the upcoming days. They’re a very strong team. I hope that in the individual they will do great. They can do this. I expect many more medals. We have a very strong generation in these younger athletes.” 

 

Watch and follow

The UIPM 2021 Youth World Championships (U19 and U17) in Alexandria (EGY) runs from September 13 to September 19.

Visit the UIPM website or download “UIPM Central” from your app store to keep track of live results throughout the UIPM 2021 Youth World Championships (U19 and U17).

Follow World Pentathlon on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, VK or Weibo throughout the season for additional content.

 

Competition schedule

UIPM 2021 Youth World Championships (U19 and U17)

September 16: U17 Men’s Final

September 17: U17 Women’s Relay

September 18: U17 Men’s Relay; U19 Women’s Final

September 19: U17 Mixed Relay; U19 Men’s Final