UIPM 2024 Pentathlon World Cup Cairo: Athletes land increase in prize money as Mexico win Mixed Relay

• Arceo and Carrillo (MEX) come from behind to claim gold
• Silver for Kazakhstan (Yakovleva/Abdraimov) as Korea (Seong/Seo) take bronze
• Almost 20% top-up in immediate effect after UIPM Executive Board vote

CAIRO, EGYPT: March 10, 2024 – Mariana Arceo and Duilio Carrillo came from behind to earn Mixed Relay gold for Mexico on the final day of UIPM 2024 Pentathlon World Cup Cairo.

It was a satisfying moment for the Mexican team after a remarkable run of four silver medals in the 2023 regular season. Gold may have been elusive during that time but today it was claimed in style as Arceo and Carrillo (MEX) overturned a big deficit to deny Kazakhstan duo Lyudmila Yakovleva and Temirlan Abdraimov.

While silver was a breakthrough achievement for the young Kazakh duo, bronze went to a more familiar source as Seungmin Seong and Changwan Seo of Korea fought back for a podium place after a slow start.

It was a similar story for the host nation but Malak Ismail and Mohamed Elgendy of Egypt left themselves with too much to do and finished 4th.

Athlete prize money

During its latest meeting on March 7, the UIPM Executive Board agreed to sanction an increase of almost 20% in prize money for athletes competing in UIPM competitions with immediate effect.

The UIPM Athletes Committee issued a statement that read: “The Athletes Committee is really excited to announce ... there will be an almost 20% increase in total prize money in the 2024 season starting from World Cup 1 (Cairo).

“The distribution will see an increase to the existing prize money for the top 6 individual athletes in the World Cup series, and we are really pleased to introduce prize money for athletes placed 7th - 10th at individual World Cups.”

UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann commented: “In the Executive Board meeting we discussed the request of the Athletes Committee and the Chair, Yasser Hefny, presented clear arguments that the EB supported.

“Athletes are the focal point of our Union and we always need to give them as much support as possible. I hope this increase in prize money sends a clear message that athletes have the full support of the EB and the movement, and we are happy that the Board voted unanimously for this increase in prize money.”

Riding

Kazakhstan (Yakovleva/Abdraimov) took a grip on the competition with the most composed performance in Riding, with only one blemish on their way to a score of 293.

Mexico (Arceo/Carrillo) also incurred only minimal damage with 12 points conceded, while Ayumu Saito and Sho Onishi of Japan also came through largely unscathed.

Fencing

Kazakhstan (Yakovleva/Abdraimov) performed best on the piste, claiming 21 victories in the Ranking Round and adding the maximum four points in the Bonus Round after winning the final bout against Mexico (Arceo/Carrillo), who scored 18 victories in the round robin and one in the showpiece.

Xiuting Zhong and Linbin Zhang of China upstaged their neighbours Korea (Seong/Seo) with 16 victories compared to 14, as well as the Bonus Round bout between the two.

Swimming

The bronze-medal race gained intrigue as Korea (Seong/Seo) moved back into contention with the top time of 2min 01.05sec. This enables them to close within 12 overall points of China (Zhang/Zhong) and set up a five-way pack behind the top two heading into Laser Run.

Laser Run

The big move in Swimming paid off for Korea (Seong/Seo) as they made their way through the pack with the day’s best Laser Run time of 2:01.05. This enabled them to secure the bronze that was the best they could have expected after struggles in Riding and Fencing.

However, even more drama surrounded the quest for gold. Having started 24sec behind the leaders, Tokyo 2020 Olympians Arceo & Carrillo (Mexico) used all their experience to rein in Kazakhstan (Yakovleva/Abdraimov) and turn the race on its head to win gold by an impressive margin of 13sec.

President’s reaction

UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann said: “Today’s Mixed Relay was well organised and we had nations participating from several continents including a team for the first time from Kuwait, who had a good learning experience as a developing country.

“I must thank the Egyptian Modern Pentathlon Federation and the Minister for Sport, Ashraf Sobhy, who I met several times in these days. Congratulations to the Ministry of Sport and the Government of Egypt, as well as all sponsors and volunteers, as well as the media, who are promoting our sport and escorting us with fantastic coverage.

“We should also note that this was the last time we will have horses in a Pentathlon World Cup in Cairo, and athletes know that there is another future coming with Obstacle, as we will see when Egypt organises the UIPM 2024 Junior World Championships in June.

“The support of the American University here in Cairo is always very welcome and we are very thankful for that. In the way our athletes have started the season, we can look forward to a very exciting World Cup season where all athletes want to achieve points for their ranking and to qualify for the World Cup Final in Ankara and the Olympic Games.”

Watch and follow

UIPM 2024 Pentathlon World Cup Cairo has now concluded and the next competition on the calendar is UIPM 2024 Pentathlon World Cup Ankara from April 16-21.

Live stream of the Semi-finals and Finals will be available on UIPM TV, and all competition results are available at the UIPM website and via the UIPM Central app.

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