UIPM 2024 Pentathlon Junior World Championships: All you need to know

• Egypt senior stars Ismail and Mohamed lead host nation challenge
• Unterberger (GER) leads returning women’s medallists from 2023
• New format with Obstacle in place for second time at Under 22 level

Host nation Egypt fields a team crammed with talent in the face of a global challenge in this week’s UIPM 2024 Pentathlon Junior World Championships.

The North African powerhouse has enjoyed considerable success at senior and youth categories in recent years and, having won Women’s Team gold 12 months ago, will be eager to add more junior crowns to a packed trophy cabinet.

Highly-ranked seniors Malak Ismail (11) and Moutaz Mohamed (5) lead the home challenge. Both won two medals on the UIPM 2024 Pentathlon World Cup circuit and Ismail (EGY) is expected to be named in the Egypt team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The 18-year-old Asian senior champion, Sumin Shin of Korea, is another enticing prospect to watch, while all the individual medallists from the 2023 Women’s Final – Josefine Unterberger of Germany, Katarzyna Debska of Poland and Louison Cazaly of France – return to resume their rivalry. Also on the start line are the twins who became world junior champions in last year’s Mixed Relay, Florina and Katharina Jurt of Switzerland.

Having undergone their first full year of training for Obstacle, it will be intriguing to see which of these promising young athletes have made the most progress in mastering the discipline.

On the men’s side, like Ismail (EGY), Etienne Clergeau (FRA) is the reigning world Under 19 champion. He will aim to demonstrate his readiness for this new challenge at U22 level, but there will be intense competition from a global spread of nations, with Canada, China, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, South Africa, Türkiye and Ukraine among those sending large delegations of athletes.

Six days of action at the Arab Academy for Science Technology & Maritime Transport in Alexandria (EGY) kicked off today with the Women’s and Men’s Relays. The competition reaches a climax with the Women’s and Men’s Finals on Saturday 29 June.

President’s welcome

UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann said: “The UIPM 2024 Pentathlon Junior World Championships promises to be a thrilling and captivating week of competition – with historic importance too. This is the second time our junior athletes will compete to become world champions in the new Modern Pentathlon format of Obstacle, Fencing, Swimming and Laser Run.

“Some of these Under 22 athletes are also preparing for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, taking place six weeks from now, demonstrating remarkable versatility as they train for not five but six Modern Pentathlon disciplines!

“We depended on Alexandria to host several showpiece competitions during the pandemic, and now we return in happier times to this wonderful place where education and sport are so beautifully intertwined. The world continues to be shaken by regional conflicts, but we can use sport as a beacon of peace and respect.

“I would like to thank the Egyptian Modern Pentathlon Federation for arranging this competition with the support of the Egypt Government, the Egyptian Olympic Committee and our hosts, the Arab Academy for Science Technology & Maritime Transport of Alexandria, as well as all volunteers, sponsors and media representatives.”

Click here to read the UIPM President’s welcome in full.

Watch and follow

The UIPM 2024 Pentathlon Junior World Championships is available to subscribers on UIPM.TV where annual packages cost €14.99.

Visit the UIPM website or download UIPM Central from your app store to keep track of live results. Follow World Pentathlon on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X or YouTube for additional content.

The UIPM 2024 Pentathlon Junior World Championships runs from June 25-30, based on the following schedule (UIPM TV live coverage times in Central European Summer Time).

• Tuesday, June 25 | Women’s Relay & Men’s Relay
• Wednesday, June 26 | Women’s Qualification
• Thursday, June 27 | Men’s Qualification
• Friday, June 28 | Women’s & Men’s Fencing Ranking Round
• Saturday, June 29 | Women’s Final (1pm) | Men’s Final (5pm)
• Sunday, June 30 | Mixed Relay (5pm)