UIPM 2022 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest: Egypt continue gold rush in Mixed Relay

• Big win for Morsy & Karim builds on team’s success in Cairo
• Silver for host nation Hungary thanks to Erdos & Kasza
• Oliver & Carrillo come from behind to snatch bronze for Mexico

Three continents were represented on the podium, but once again there was no doubt about the country on the top step.

For the second consecutive competition, Egypt finished on the best possible high with a gold medal in the Mixed Relay at UIPM 2022 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest.

Following the success of Salma Abdelmaksoud and Mohanad Shaban in Cairo (EGY) in March, it was the turn of Haydy Morsy and Noureldin Karim to enjoy the plaudits after another dominant performance.

Behind them (39sec, to be precise) there was another moment of satisfaction for the home crowd. After the success of Michelle Gulyas in the Women’s Final, Rita Erdos and Robert Kasza of Hungary held their nerve to claim the silver medal.

All the drama in the Laser Run finale surrounded the battle for bronze, and the prize finally went to Mexico (Catherine Oliver and Duilio Carrillo) after a cat-and-mouse battle with Great Britain (Charlie Follett and Samuel Curry).

 

Medallists’ reaction

Gold medallist Morsy (EGY) said: “After my individual result, I was very, very sad because my pistol stopped in the third series of shooting, which never happened to me before. But today I’m super, super happy to go home as a gold medallist, and I’m super, super happy for Salma [Abdelmaksoud, who won individual bronze 24 hours earlier] as well. We made it!”

Her team-mate Karim (EGY) added: “It was a good Laser Run today for me and Haydy. We had so much advantage in the beginning, it was easy to calm yourself and have a good shoot without any stress, and that’s how we made it.”

Silver medallist Kasza (HUN) said: “It’s a really good feeling because the main goal here in Hungary was to have results, it’s always a pleasure.

“My coach, Akos Schumacher, who was working with me for almost 20 years passed away this week, so let me say goodbye and I will never forget him.”

His partner, Erdos (HUN), added: “I really enjoyed this race, I was really happy to compete with Robbie who is a role model for me, so thank you.”

Bronze medallist Oliver (MEX) said: “It’s a good result, because it was a close competition with Great Britain and it feels good for the next competition.”

Her team-mate Carrillo (MEX) added: “The last shoot was very good because both of us were under pressure and I controlled my feelings, and it feels great.”

 

Riding

On a day of low scoring in Riding, even the teams that performed best did not escape the deduction of penalty points. Egypt (Morsy & Karim) scored highest with 284, 10 more than Mexico (Oliver & Carrillo) and 28 more than Hungary (Erdos & Kasza).

Fencing

A closely-fought Fencing Ranking Round ended with Italy (Alice Rinaudo and Daniele Colasanti) coming out on top with 31V/17D, one more victory than Egypt (Morsy & Karim) and three more than Hungary (Erdos & Kasza). The Bonus Round was totally dominated by Great Britain (Follett & Curry), who added 14 points to their score after an exceptional unbeaten run.

Swimming

Two teams ducked under the magical 2min mark, with Great Britain (Follett & Curry) timing 1:58.57 and Brazil (Isabela Abreu and Danilo Fagundes) touching the wall in 1:59.80. Argentina (Martina Armanazqui and Franco Serrano) were 3rd-fastest with a time of 2:00.03.

Laser Run

After the difficulties suffered by so many teams in Riding, only five of the 13 nations began the Laser Run with a chance of a medal. Egypt were clearly in pole position with a 19sec lead over Great Britain (Follett & Curry) but Hungary (Erdos & Kasza), Italy (Rinaudo & Colasanti) and Mexico (Oliver & Carrillo) all knew that the podium was within reach.

The immediate move was made by Oliver (MEX), but a rapid second shoot enable Erdos (HUN) to hit back in the early battle for silver. As Erdos (HUN) handed over to her partner 4sec ahead of Oliver (MEX), Follett (GBR) appeared in the picture, creating a three-way battle for silver and bronze.

As the most experienced and decorated athlete in the field, Kasza (HUN) was always likely to impose himself on proceedings and he duly moved clear of his rivals to ensure the second-best outcome for the home supporters. Behind him, Curry (GBR) overtook Carrillo (MEX) on the first lap and his better running speed seemed to be the telling factor, until he froze on the final visit to the shooting range, allowing Carrillo to put a safe distance between them.

By the time of this dramatic denouement in the battle for bronze, the leading pair were almost ready to celebrate as Karim (EGY) picked up the baton from Morsy (EGY) and ran and shot effortlessly to continue the Egyptian gold rush.

Brazil (Abreu & Fagundes) made up four places to clinch 6th in the standings.

UIPM reaction

Martin Dawe, UIPM Executive Board Member for Marketing, said: “We had 13 nations taking part in today’s Mixed Relay here in Budapest. The Riding, Fencing and Swimming were all very exciting and then we saw a thrilling race in the Laser Run with Egypt in 1st place and Hungary, Mexico and Great Britain contesting the other medal places.

“The new format made it very exciting and I’d like to thank the local organising committee and volunteers for making the competition so successful.”

Watch and follow

UIPM 2022 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest has now concluded, but video highlights can be viewed at UIPM TV and results can be found at the UIPM website and via the UIPM Central app.

The next competition on the calendar is UIPM 2022 Pentathlon World Cup Albena, taking place in Bulgaria from May 10-15.

 

Rank	Team	Nation	MP Points
1	MORSY Haydy KARIM Noureldin	EGY	1350
2	ERDOS Rita KASZA Robert	HUN	1311
3	OLIVER Catherine Mayran CARRILLO Duilio	MEX	1304
4	FOLLETT Charlie CURRY Samuel	GBR	1292
5	RINAUDO Alice COLASANTI Daniele	ITA	1290
6	ABREU Isabela FAGUNDES Danilo	BRA	1037
7	WALSER Julie OLEJARZ Dominik	GER	1027
8	JOGISU Johanna Maria KALLASTE Carl Robert	EST	1023
9	ARMANAZQUI Martina SERRANO Franco	ARG	1016
10	YAMANAKA Shino ASHIDA Yoshiki	JPN	1013
11	DOMINIAK Natalia DUKIELSKI Maciej	POL	1012
12	ROUBICKOVA Anna SVECHOTA Ondrej	CZE	998
13	POLAT Yaren Nur CALISKAN Yunus	TUR	979