Modern Pentathlon at Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Exceptional Elgendy (EGY) wins gold in Men’s Final
- First African Modern Pentathlon champion sets new overall world record
- Silver medallist Sato secures Japan’s first Olympic pentathlon podium
- Malan breaks Italy’s 32-year wait with Paris 2024 bronze
PARIS, FRANCE: August 10, 2024 – Ahmed Elgendy of Egypt is the Olympic champion, becoming the first athlete from Africa to win the ultimate prize in Modern Pentathlon.
The 24-year-old delivered a supreme performance to claim the gold medal with a new world record of 1,555 points, winning by 13sec from another pioneering silver medallist, Taishu Sato becoming the first pentathlete from Japan to achieve an Olympic podium.
It looked likely that there would be an Asian double as Woongtae Jun of Korea was prominent in pursuit of Elgendy (EGY) throughout the competition. But Giorgio Malan struck back for Italy and Europe, overtaking Jun (KOR) with a brilliant Laser Run to claim his country’s first Olympic medal since Barcelona 1992.
There was an even better Laser Run from Emiliano Hernandez of Mexico, who broke the Olympic record for the discipline to finish 4th, one position behind his brother Ismael who won bronze at Rio 2016.
The Italians had double reason to celebrate as Matteo Cicinelli (ITA) finished an excellent 5th, pushing Jun (KOR) back to 6th as Changwan Seo (KOR) and Marvin Dogue of Germany completed the top eight and Joseph Choong of Great Britain pipped Balazs Szep of Hungary in a dash for 9th.
For France, it was a case of what might have been. Both of their athletes reached the Final and enjoyed incredible vocal support, but Jean-Baptiste Mourcia and Valentin Prades could only finish 11th and 16th respectively.
However, in a scene that encapsulated the spirit of respect and fair play that has been a theme of this competition, the French duo joined Elgendy (EGY) on his lap of honour and posed for pictures with the champion and the Egyptian flag as the crowd roared with delight.
Medallists’ reaction
Gold medallist Elgendy (EGY) said: “It means a lot because the last three years that I’ve been competing, I’ve had a lot of struggles and many physical and mental problems with injuries and pain. I’m happy that it didn’t stop me. I’m happy to win at these Games in 2024, with the last horse riding.
“It’s the only gold medal [for Egypt] in this Olympic Games. We had one bronze earlier, and one silver today in weightlifting. I’m so proud to get this medal for Egypt.
“Did I have doubts? Before the Riding, maybe. Because yesterday the Riding was maybe not the best. But today we planned for better Riding and correcting the mistakes and here we are. I felt bad for [Mohanad] Shaban because he got eliminated on the last fence.
“Let me say I always shoot [well] when I am under pressure. My best shooting ever was in Tokyo. Yesterday in the Semi-final it was very good. But today it wasn’t amazing in the first shooting. I had to run very fast so I could compensate but finally I made it to the gold medal.
“I was running for a world record and an Olympic record, of course, but after the average shooting I was in doubt of breaking the world record. But after I finished I found out I broke it anyway.
“I’m feeling great and thankful for the Egyptian people and my family. For my brother Mohamed Elgendy, my whole family and my coaches, all the Egyptian people. It was amazing support from them the last two days. I saw the support and I just want to tell them I love them so much and I appreciate the support.
“Maybe I’m a little bit more famous in Egypt now. But I’m still humble and still appreciating what people made for me in the last three years after Tokyo. There were a lot of struggles but the struggles made me better, made me stronger and made me here.”
Silver medallist Sato (JPN) said: “I came to get a medal, so I am happy. My Laser Run was the best but the Riding was very good today as well.
“I will celebrate first of all with family. It will be a great change in my life because it is the first time in Japanese history that we have won a Modern Pentathlon medal.
“I was 19 when I started Modern Pentathlon. I wanted to be in the Tokyo Olympics in Modern Pentathlon but I couldn’t make it.
“I was aiming for the gold medal. Still, I am happy because this is my first Olympic medal. I’m very excited to see the people’s reaction when I get home to Japan.”
Asked if he could win gold one day, Sato (JPN) added: “I will do my very best. I will keep training and keep trying. Then we will see.”
Bronze medallist Malan (ITA) said: “It’s amazing. It’s a dream to be here. This year I dreamed about so many things, but this is amazing.
“It was a very hard race, but I enjoyed it so much, and I’m super happy. I got a lot of energy today from friends and family. I had them all with me in the race.
“The laser run was very hard. All athletes were very good, and I had to try to reach my highest limits. The last shooting, I did well. I gave it all the last lap, and it was enough for bronze.
“I imagined this day a lot of times this year. This final, I enjoyed every moment, and this was my goal. I enjoyed it all, amazing.
“I’m from Italy, it’s near to here. All my friends, all my family, were here and then gave me a lot of energy. I have to thank my family, my group of supporters, the Azzurri, my team, my coaches, and all of the staff.”
More reaction from medallists who competed in the Men’s Final can be found here.
Riding
Knowing that this was their last-ever ride in Modern Pentathlon, the world’s leading male pentathletes showed excellent horsemanship with the vast majority completing the course without undue alarm.
However, the athletes at the bottom of the standings knew they needed to make serious gains. Choong (GBR) kept in touch with a 293 while world No.1 Csaba Bohm of Hungary and Hernandez (MEX) could only manage 286. The dream of a medal in his home Games died for Prades (FRA), with four knockdowns leaving him too far adrift. Mohanad Shaban (EGY) was in a good position until the last fence when his horse refused and he was unable to stay on and prevent elimination.
The stars of the round whose 300-point scores remained intact were Malan (ITA), Sato (JPN), Mourcia (FRA), Szep (HUN) and Fabian Liebig (GER). Then it came to the last rider. If Elgendy (EGY) was feeling any nerves, he didn’t show it, with an elegant ride leaving him in a formidable position at the top of the leaderboard.
Fencing
Choong (GBR) continued to hint at a comeback by winning the first two bouts of the Fencing Bonus Round, but that was nothing compared to the athlete who knocked him off. Hernandez (MEX) defeated a third of the athletes in the competition as he mounted a run of six victories, adding a very useful 12 points to his score.
After he was defeated by Shaban (EGY), athletes struggled to mount a run until Jun (KOR) proved his class on the showpiece inflatable piste. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallist defeated Alexandre Dallenbach of Switzerland and Pavels Svecovs of Latvia before also accounting for the winner of the Ranking Round, Elgendy (EGY).
Swimming
Refusing to let his Olympic title fall into the hands of another without a fight, Choong (GBR) beat Bohm (HUN) in the fastest of the three Swimming heats, timing 1min 57.52sec to his rival’s 1:58.94.
Dallenbach (SUI) also starred in the eight-lap event, taking place within sight of the 17th-century Palace. His time of 1:57.64 put him in the elevated position of joint 2nd overall, tied with Jun (KOR) – and only 17sec off the lead.
Laser Run
“Average shooting,” is how Elgendy (EGY) described his laser shooting in his second Olympic Final. Many athletes would give anything for a sequence of 16sec, 12sec, 9sec and 10sec when leading a race – but the Olympic champion has the highest standards.
Elgendy (EGY) never looked troubled as he defended his lead with unflappable class. It was a shock to see another medallist from Tokyo 2020 fail to summon those qualities, which usually come as second nature. An opening shoot of 26sec for Jun (KOR) clearly dented his confidence and allowed rivals to step up.
Cue the confirmation of Sato (JPN) as a major star of the sport. In his first Olympics he found peak performance with a series of nerveless shoots and hard running, moving quickly from 4th to 3rd and then into the silver slot which he never relinquished.
With Hernandez (MEX) moving through the pack, there was clear pressure on the leaders but the top two didn’t show it, and in the closing stages it was only Jun (KOR) who became drawn into a battle. He still held bronze after the final shoot, but halfway through the lap Malan (ITA) showed he had plenty left in the tank and confidently strode past the great champion, suggesting that he could be growing into one himself.
In the final analysis, Hernandez (MEX) could not have done more to join his brother in the Olympic pantheon. He was 4sec away from an Olympic medal after an exceptional 9:40.80 Laser Run, extending by 4sec the world record held for 14 months by Martin Vlach of Czechia. Mourcia (FRA) also went inside that time.
And, in case anyone was in doubt about the calibre of this men’s field, a total of nine athletes completed the Laser Run course in under 10mins.
Elgendy (EGY) is truly a champion among champions tonight.
President’s reaction
UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann said: “It’s a pleasure to speak about this special day we had in the Pentathlon Stadium in Versailles where the equestrian element of our sport was performed exactly the way we wanted to achieve.
“The whole Modern Pentathlon family enjoyed this day and we had so many spectators who created a really incredible atmosphere. I thank the National Federations and National Olympic Committees who supported our athletes so well and we saw great, great performances from our male athletes and a big showcase for our sport.
“Thank you so much to the organising committee and the volunteers who have done so much to prepare this competition at such a high level. The athletes have competed in such a fair way and also the spectators supported all athletes including those who were not in leading positions.
“It was amazing to see how the Olympic spirit came out in the birthplace of Coubertin. It has been an inspiring day for all of us, and tomorrow we are looking forward to the Women’s Final. And we also have to note, as Ahmed Elgendy mentioned, he is also focusing on the future and Los Angeles 2028 with another way to promote our multi-sport with Obstacle instead of Riding.”
Follow the action
Want to watch the Olympic Modern Pentathlon on TV or live stream (web / app)? Click here to check which networks hold the rights in your region.
Are you keeping track of what’s happening on social media? Follow World Pentathlon on your favourite platform for additional content:
If you are a fan of elite athletes such as Elodie Clouvel (FRA), Elena Micheli (ITA), Shaban (EGY) and Hernandez (MEX), you will love A Passion For Paris, a six-part docuseries now available to watch free on YouTube.
Need more biographical information about the athletes or want a recap on the sport’s glorious history? The UIPM 2024 Media Guide: Olympic Edition is available for download.
All results are available at the Paris 2024 website.
Competition schedule
There is only one day remaining of the Paris 2024 Olympic Modern Pentathlon at the Palace of Versailles. Start time below in Central European Summer Time.
Sun 11 Aug: Women’s Final (11am).
| Rank | Name | Nation | Points |
| 1 | ELGENDY Ahmed | EGY | 1555 |
| 2 | SATO Taishu | JPN | 1542 |
| 3 | MALAN Giorgio | ITA | 1536 |
| 4 | HERNANDEZ Emiliano | MEX | 1532 |
| 5 | CICINELLI Matteo | ITA | 1527 |
| 6 | JUN Woongtae | KOR | 1526 |
| 7 | SEO Changwan | KOR | 1520 |
| 8 | DOGUE Marvin Faly | GER | 1520 |
| 9 | CHOONG Joseph | GBR | 1519 |
| 10 | SZEP Balazs | HUN | 1519 |
| 11 | MOURCIA Jean-Baptiste | FRA | 1512 |
| 12 | LIEBIG Fabian | GER | 1507 |
| 13 | BOHM Csaba | HUN | 1505 |
| 14 | DALLENBACH Alexandre | SUI | 1500 |
| 15 | GUTKOWSKI Lukasz | POL | 1492 |
| 16 | PRADES Valentin | FRA | 1470 |
| 17 | SVECOVS Pavels | LAT | 1452 |
| 18 | SHABAN Mohanad | EGY | 1181 |
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