Kremlin Cup 2019: Belaud & Clouvel (FRA) take top prize in Moscow (RUS)

What do world champions do after becoming world champion? They immediately return to competition, aiming to extend that winning feeling.

The 2019 Kremlin Cup in Moscow (RUS) on September 22 attracted four athletes who had won gold medals at the UIPM 2019 Pentathlon World Championships in Budapest (HUN) only two weeks earlier.

Men’s world champion Valentin Belaud of France, who also competed in last week’s World Urban Games in Budapest (HUN), returned to the top of the podium after winning gold in the Mixed Relay alongside Elodie Clouvel (FRA).

Silver went to the experienced Lithuania duo of Laura Asadauskaite and Justinas Kinderis, while Germany joined them on the podium after Annika Schleu and Marvin Dogue secured bronze.

The new women’s world champion, first-time winner Volha Silkina of Belarus, had to settle for 5th place alongside Ilya Palazkov (BLR), while Mixed Relay world champion Salma Abdelmaksoud had a tough day for Egypt alongside Ahmed Elgendy, finishing 11th.

Many other stars of the 2019 season took part, including junior world champion Adelina Ibatullina and junior European champion Andrei Zuev of Russia, as 12 teams from 11 nations competed in the Mixed Relay format.

The ninth instalment of Russia’s annual one-day Pentathlon showpiece was covered by numerous TV channels, including Match TV, Russia 24, Russia Today and Moscow 24.

A spokesperson for the local organising committee said: “It was a real sporting celebration of the top athletes from 11 nations (Belarus, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland and Russia) followed by a farewell reception where the athletes were able to relax at the end of a long season.”