UIPM 2020 Pentathlon World Cup Cairo: Golden age keeps on giving for Marosi (HUN)

• London 2012 Olympic medallist wins first individual World Cup since 2014
• Jun (KOR) claims assured silver as Lanigan-O’Keeffe (IRL) grabs bronze
• World champion Belaud (FRA) drops to 7th after poor final shoot

The air was thick with nostalgia as Adam Marosi of Hungary claimed his first individual gold medal in six years at UIPM 2020 Pentathlon World Cup Cairo.

The 35-year-old Marosi (HUN), who won bronze at the London 2012 Olympic Games three years after becoming world champion in the British capital city, had been waiting since 2014 to stand atop the Pentathlon World Cup podium and he let out a huge roar of relief before receiving his medal.

Marosi (HUN) fenced brilliantly to give himself a 25sec lead in the Laser Run, which he defended with four nerveless shoots and steady running. Finally he won by a comfortable 10sec from silver medallist Jun Woongtae of Korea, who did well to keep himself clear of an epic battle for bronze. Reigning world champion Valentin Belaud of France had seemed destined to claim a place on the podium, but his shooting accuracy left him on the final visit to the range and a 23sec shoot enabled others to leave him behind.

A thrilling sprint to the line was ultimately won by Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe of Ireland, who finished 3sec ahead of Marvin Dogue of Germany with Alexander Lifanov of Russia and Justinas Kinderis of Lithuania taking 5th and 6th place respectively.

MEDALLISTS’ REACTION

Speaking with a huge grin before the medal ceremony, Marosi (HUN) said: “It’s a brilliant end to a brilliant day. I had a hard semi-final because my Fencing was very, very bad and I tried to focus on preparing for the Fencing today, and it was amazing.

“I’m a little bit sad about my Riding performance, but finally I’ve won again and it feels great! My last World Cup victory was in 2014 in Kecskemet in my home country, and that’s a very, very long to wait – six years.”

The silver and bronze medallists, Jun (KOR) and Lanigan-O'Keeffe (IRL), also expressed delight at their performances.

Jun (KOR) said: “I performed well in Laser Run, Swimming, Riding and Fencing, and that's why I managed to get this result.”

Lanigan-O’Keeffe (IRL) added: “I am really happy with that. I put in a really big block of training over the winter and I felt really fit out there today. I hope now I can continue for the rest of the season on this trajectory.

“My swimming was actually about six seconds slower than usual, but that’s because I really concentrated my training on running and fencing over the winter, and it paid dividends. It feels really good.”

SWIMMING

Myles Pillage of Great Britain set the pace in the pool with the best swim by a significant margin. Pillage (GBR) timed 1min 58.40sec, with Bence Kardos (HUN) and Jun (KOR) timing 2:02.77 and 2:02.93 respectively.

FENCING

Marosi (HUN) confirmed his return to form in the Fencing Ranking Round with a supreme demonstration of his experience and class. The veteran scored 28V/7D and added two points in the Bonus Round to give himself a big overall lead.

Behind him, Lifanov (RUS) and Kinderis (LTU) both scored 24V/11D to remain in contention, with Belaud (FRA) only one victory worse off.

RIDING

There were two wonderful moments for the home crowd to celebrate in the Riding round as 2019 champion Ahmed Elgendy and Mohanad Shaban of Egypt each managed a perfect score of 300. The two 19-year-olds – born within a week of each other in March 2000 – thrilled spectators with their composure on horseback.

Lanigan-O’Keeffe (IRL), Dogue (GER) and Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist Pavlo Tymoshchenko of Ukraine also propelled themselves towards the podium with faultless rides, while Marosi (HUN) and Jun (KOR) protected their positions with scores of 285 and 293 respectively.

LASER RUN

Showing the class of a multiple World Cup medallist, unflappable Marosi (HUN) summoned all of his experience to complete the course without a hint of alarm, firing off his five shots in sequences of 11sec, 9sec, 12sec and 13sec.

Jun (KOR) was almost as impressive in the way he quickly moved past Shaban (EGY) and protected his position to earn a deserved silver, following up on the bronze he won at the UIPM 2019 Pentathlon World Championships last September in Budapest (HUN).

The man who won his second world title that day, Belaud (FRA), looked poised for another podium place until the final shoot, when his aim deserted him.

Lanigan-O’Keeffe, the 2015 European champion, took full advantage with a fine last lap for a time of 11:02.20. It was hard on Dogue (GER), who timed 10:51.06, to finish so close to a medal. The fastest Laser Runner on the day was Martin Vlach of Czech Republic, who timed 10:40.54.

PRESIDENT’S REACTION

UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann said: “Like yesterday we had a very strong final with the Laser Run, and there were many moments when we did not know really who would win. In the end it was clear that Adam was so strong and ahead of everybody, but it was so exciting to see who would win the remaining places.

“We must say again it was a good showcase of the athletes’ desire to secure a good place in the Olympic ranking an to qualify for the Tokyo Games.

“I am very thankful for the athletes in how they have performed and the energy they have shown, running for the best possible place in the first competition of the season. Now we are looking forward to what I’m sure will be a great Mixed Relay competition tomorrow.”

WATCH AND FOLLOW

UIPM 2020 Pentathlon World Cup Cairo concludes tomorrow (March 1) with the Mixed Relay. You can read a report of the Women’s Final here.

A live stream of the Mixed Relay will be available on  UIPM TV and YouTube, with no geographical restrictions, and on Facebook. Up-to-date results of all competitions are available at the UIPM website.

Follow World Pentathlon on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for additional content, and visit the UIPM website or download the “UIPM Central” app to keep track of results.