Amro Elgeziry Enjoying Dream USA Debut Alongside Wife Isabella Isaksen

After a long and successful pentathlon career in the colours of his native Egypt, Amro Elgeziry is making his debut for USA this week at UIPM Pentathlon World Cup Los Angeles.

Three-time Olympian Elgeziry, 31, has built a new life in his adopted country, enlisting in the military while furthering his pentathlon ambitions having put his medical studies on hold. He will have always a place in his heart for Egypt but one of the benefits of his conversion is that he can now compete alongside his wife, Isabella Isaksen.

Isabella is also an Olympian, having made her debut in Rio alongside elder sister Margaux, and now she and Amro are focused on the dual goal of Tokyo 2020 as team-mates.

“It’s such a wonderful experience to have Amro as my best friend, my spouse and now also my team-mate on Team USA,” said Isabella.

“We both try to support each other as much as possible on competition days and rest days, so it’s just the most amazing feeling.”

Amro added: “For me it’s always been a unique experience, training with my wife and watching her compete, and it makes our relationship stronger.”

So far Amro’s USA debut at Pentathlon World Cup Los Angeles has gone extremely well, with both husband and wife qualifying for the individual finals of their first major competition since the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

On Friday (March 30), the home crowd will be able to cheer the couple as they compete in the Mixed Relay.

“Over the years I’ve been doing the sport, she has been doing the sport, but we have always been on different teams and I always knew that we could be a great team,” said Amro.

“We’re super-excited to compete in the Mixed Relay,” Isabella added. “Amro is such an amazing athlete and it’s just going to be a lot of fun.”

Both Amro and Isabella have enlisted in the US Army’s World Class Athlete Programme and this support will help them to compete at the top level, with the 2018 UIPM Pentathlon World Championships in Mexico City (MEX) and Pan American Championships in Lima (PER) on the radar this year.

“The US Army World Class Athlete Programme is an amazing programme,” said Isabella. “We really wouldn’t be able to compete in our sport if they hadn’t provided us with that support.”

Amro added: “The programme is really helpful for people in our sport, where funding and sponsorship are quite hard to get, and we feel like the Army is the backbone of our sport in the US and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them.”