UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest: All You Need To Know

09 Jun 2026

Modern Pentathlon

A bumper entry of pentathletes from 40 countries across the globe is primed and ready for a spectacular race for glory in the third round of the UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup season.

The action switches to indoor as the BOK Sports Centre, in the shadow of the vast Puskás Arena, hosts another gathering of the expanding Pentathlon community in one of the sport’s heartlands. But will the people of Hungary go home as happy as they did last year?

Blanka Guzi of Hungary has been the star of the season so far, picking up gold in Cairo (EGY) and silver in Pazardzhik (BUL) in the absence of world champion Farida Khalil (EGY) and Olympic champion Michelle Gulyas (HUN), who had a blissful homecoming experience when winning gold here 12 months ago.

But now that Ilke Ozyuksel of Türkiye has found the path to gold, will anyone be able to stop her? The triple Olympian is back on the start line after her success in Bulgaria, and finds herself increasingly surrounded by familiar faces like Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist Seungmin Seong of Korea, two-time world champion Elena Micheli of Italy and two-time World Cup gold medallist Kerenza Bryson of Great Britain.

Opportunity knocks on the men’s side, with much expected of Mihaly Koleszar (HUN), a silver medallist here last year. Many will be aware of the threat of neighbouring Czechia, fuelled by the emergence of world No.2 Matej Lukes, while Egypt is sure to be prominent despite the absence of world No.1 Moutaz Mohamed, with 2024 World Cup Final champion Mohanad Shaban carrying their hopes this time.

The Asian threat will again be fierce with Changwan Seo (KOR) hoping for back-to-back golds, Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallist Woongtae Jun (KOR) continuing his comeback and Yuang Ma leading a China resurgence.

Belarus is also certain to be in the mix across both genders, fielding a team of 12 athletes in national colours for the first time since 2022.

Take Five: read the key talking points

How it works

Five days of individual competition in the sequence of Fencing, Obstacle, Swimming and Laser Run begin on June 9 with Women’s Qualification (see full schedule below).

Fencing features a quickfire direct elimination format where athletes must win 1min bouts to remain in the competition. Prior to the Semi-finals there is a Seeding Round that dictates where athletes are placed in the knockout draw. The results of the Seeding Round remain applicable in the Final for those who qualify.

Fencing is followed by Obstacle, where two athletes race head-to-head over a 70m course featuring eight obstacles.

Swimming comes next, with a reduction from 200 to 100 metres freestyle introduced in 2026. A time of 1min 10sec results in a score of 250 points, with each 0.2sec quicker or slower resulting in one point more or less.

The total points accumulated in the first three disciplines is used to calculate the starting positions in Laser Run, which has also been subject to a change in format. Athletes now visit the shooting range five times rather than four, meaning the Laser Run begins with a shoot rather than a formation lap. The running distance remains the same (5 x 600m), and the first athlete to cross the line wins. A time of 13min 20sec results in 500 points, with each second faster or slower resulting in one point more or less.

Watch and follow

UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest takes place from June 9-13, with live stream of the Semi-finals and Finals available free on UIPM’s YouTube streaming service.

Daily schedule with stream start times (Central European Summer Time) as follows: