UIPM 2022 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest: Gulyas (HUN) and Micheli (ITA) stay on course

• Cairo medallists destined for repeat showdown in Women’s Final
• Competition is fierce as Mercuri (ITA) wins first Semi-final
• Kandil (EGY), Oteiza (FRA) and Oliver (MEX) remain in contention

Another showdown between Elena Micheli of Italy and Michelle Gulyas of Hungary looms large as UIPM 2022 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest approaches a dramatic weekend climax.

Pentathlon World Cup Cairo champion Micheli (ITA) won the second Semi-final by 8sec from Katerina Krejci of Latvia, matching her compatriot Beatrice Mercuri (ITA) who crossed the line first in a congested finish to the opening Semi-final.

But Micheli (ITA), the 2019 world silver medallist, will have work to do in tomorrow’s Women’s Final after scoring a modest 18V/17D in the Fencing Ranking Round. World No.1 Gulyas (HUN) will start the Final 25 points better off but still 15 points off the lead after scoring 23V/12D on the piste.

Amira Kandil of Egypt was the top fencer with 26V/9D, achieving one more victory than Marie Oteiza of France and two more than team-mate Salma Abdelmaksoud (EGY).

Other athletes lurking with intent in the 18-strong Final line-up will be Elena Potapenko of Kazakhstan, Ieva Serapinaite of Lithuania and Mayan Oliver of Mexico, whose Laser Run time of 11:26.10 was the fastest of either Semi-final.

UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann said: “Today in the Women’s Semi-finals we saw how Laser Run decides which 18 athletes will qualify for the Final according to the new format introduced in this 2022 season.

“Tomorrow we will have the Finals for women and men and in this new format I think it is exciting for everybody to watch, and also we are very happy that the New 5th Discipline Working Group has been able to visit Budapest and watch this format in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

“Thanks again for the excellent organisation, we had wonderful weather today and all athletes who have qualified for tomorrow, I wish you a good sleep and a strong night so that you can perform tomorrow at the highest level.”

The climax of UIPM 2022 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest comes tomorrow (April 30) with the Men’s and Women’s Finals, before the Mixed Relay concludes the competition on Sunday, May 1. 

Live stream of both Finals will be available on UIPM TV and up-to-date results of all competitions are available at the UIPM website and via the UIPM Central app.

The list of qualified athletes for the Women's Final is as follows: