UIPM U19 Pentathlon World Championships: Khalil and Hassan deliver more Egyptian gold in Mixed Relay

The blindingly bright Pentathlon future of Egypt was again all too clear as Farida Khalil and Mohamed Hassan combined to deliver yet another gold medal to round off not just a glorious UIPM U19 Pentathlon World Championships, but a stunningly successful 2024 for the African powerhouse. 

A wonderful week in the idyllic surrounds of Druskininkai (LTU) came to an end with 14 nations participating in the final competition, five continents being represented by those taking part. The second step on the podium was taken by Coline Flavin and Karl Furderer of France who fought hard to reel in the unstoppable champions. Behind them, Chloe Johnson and Sebastian Forrest helped Great Britain to a first medal of the championships. 

On an individual level, victory provided the exclamation point on an utterly staggering two weeks for Khalil (EGY), the 13-year-old revelation who completed a clean sweep in Druskininkai (LTU), winning all four gold medals available having also claimed three golds at the UIPM U17 World Championship a fortnight ago. Her status as the most exciting talent in the sport appears to be very much cemented. 

For the wider Egyptian team, this prolific week when they won six of the seven gold medals on offer to emphatically top the medal table rounds off an unforgettable 2024 season. Ahmed Elgendy (EGY) delivered the country’s first ever Pentathlon Olympic gold medal at Paris 2024 last month with so many athletes from the country having already found their way to podium places all season.

With the clear pedigree and form of the Egyptians, any advantage that could be picked up would be key. Ayana Kazbekova and Aliyar Karim from Kazakhstan jumped to an early lead with 19 Victories in the Fencing Ranking Round, one more than France (Flavin/Furderer). However Egypt (Khalil/Hassan) made up for a slightly slower start as they added eight points in the Bonus Round.

Having smashed U19 world records earlier in the week, there was little surprise that Germany dominated the Obstacle discipline as Nadja Farmand and Platon Iefremenko scorched to the fastest time in 0:52.03, Great Britain (Johnson/Forrest) picking up key points with the second-fastest mark of 0:55.75. But with Egypt (Khalil/Hassan) also breaking the 1-minute mark, their lead was now becoming more assured. 

They maintained that position with a steady swim, fifth-fastest in 2:00.61. Japan (Wakana Uchiyama & Keigo Ito) continued a sparkling week in the pool for their nation scorching to a time of 1:53.29, almost five second faster than the rest of the field. Italy (Annachiara Allara & Denis Agavriloaie) were next in 1:58.01. 

With a quartet of European contenders all within 20 seconds of the lead, Egypt (Khalil/Hassan) set off chasing the cherry on top of another very sweet week. But Germany (Farmand/Iefremenko), Great Britain (Johnson/Forrest), France (Flavin/Furderer) and Italy (Allara/Agavriloaie) all had the leaders in their sights. 

The big questions for Egypt were if Khalil could handle any potential fatigue and whether Hassan could overcome the shooting struggles which hindered him in the Men’s Final. The dynamic duo answered emphatically, racing to another brilliant win, finishing with 1,407 points. France (Flavin/Furderer) found an extra gear to move up from fourth to second and finish just eight seconds behind to claim silver while Great Britain (Johnson/Forrest) held their nerve and ran hard to grab the country’s first medal of the week with bronze. 

Medallists' reaction:

Gold medallist Khalil (EGY) said: “This was a very tough competition today. Our other competitors were all very close to us. I did a really good shoot and did my best along with Mohamed to get this gold medal. There is a lot of training that goes into this. We are working hard to get the best results.”

Her teammate Hassan (EGY) added: “First, thank you to Farida for giving me first place. Then thanks to god because today I fixed my shooting. It was going good. It was hard running because this is my fourth day in a row. We are disciplined in Egypt, disciplined for this sport. We do everything to get the maximum of ourselves. The coaches do so much to help us and our family. Everything is going to the right place."

Silver medallist Furderer (FRA) said: “It was a really hard competition but we started good with Fencing and tried to keep our advantage. Here in the Laser Run we started fourth so we knew we had a chance. It was really hard, shooting wasn’t as good as we expected but the running was good so silver is very good for us. I give my best so no regrets.”

Bronze medallist Johnson (GBR) said: “We definitely came here after the fence hoping for a medal and we’re really glad we got it. For me, the Laser Run is one of the toughest bits. I was just here to give it everything I had. I think I did that.”

Her teammate Forrest (GBR) added: “I had been disappointed with my individual this week, mainly struggling in the range and the fence, so the first shoot was a bit off par but then back to what I like to say is normal in the final shoot. I knew I had it in my legs, I’m just happy it paid off at the range.”

The UIPM 2024 Pentathlon U19 World Championships has now concluded and the next competition on the UIPM calendar is the UIPM 2024 Biathle/Triathle World Championships in Port Said (EGY) from October 10-13.

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