UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup Cairo: Khalil (EGY) and Gulyas (HUN) are perfect pioneers

• Olympic champion destined for Super Saturday collision with host nation hopeful
• Demanding Obstacle course tests pentathletes to the limit
• Direct elimination Fencing adds intrigue at start of new season

History was made by pioneering pentathletes as another stage in the evolution of Modern Pentathlon was reached at UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup Cairo.

After three decades of refinement, another yet more quickfire format was introduced to athletes competing in the Women’s Semi-finals. After a seeding round the previous evening, a direct elimination knockout added jeopardy to Fencing, with Malak Ismail of Egypt and Michelle Gulyas of Hungary respectively emerging victorious in the two Semi-finals.

That was followed by Obstacle, featuring in a senior UIPM competition for the first time, where a highly challenging course tested the athletes’ newly developed upper-body strength to the limit. Coline Flavin of France was the day’s top performer in 37.41sec, as seven athletes including Ismail (EGY) suffered elimination in over-exerting themselves to reach the Final.

Points were carried forward to Swimming and finally to Laser Run, where the first nine finishers in each Semi-final earned the right to compete on Super Saturday (March 1).

Semi-final A was won by 14-year-old sensation Farida Khalil (EGY) with a high of 1,403 points, ahead of Flavin (FRA) and world No.2 Blanka Guzi (HUN).

Khalil (EGY) goes into the Final as the top-seeded fencer on the back of her exceptional 24V/6D in the Seeding Round.

Paris 2024 Olympic champion Gulyas (HUN) will be seeded 2nd after scoring 22 victories and then qualifying comfortably through Semi-final B in 5th place behind Rebecca Castaudi (FRA), Mariya Gnedtchik (AIN), Anastasiya Malashenoka (AIN) and Aurora Tognetti of Italy.

Later, the Men’s Fencing Seeding Round was fiercely competitive with two athletes tying for supremacy in Group A – Yauheni Arol (AIN) and Oleksandr Tovkai of Ukraine scoring 24V/10D apiece. In Group B, with 22 victories Maksim Maruk (AIN) edged two-time world champion Valentin Belaud (FRA).

• UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup Cairo: All you need to know

Pentathlon World Cup Cairo continues tomorrow (February 28) with the Men's Semi-finals, followed by the Women’s and Men’s Finals on March 1.

Live stream of the Semi-finals and Finals is available free on UIPM TV and all competition results are available at the UIPM website.

The following 18 athletes qualified for the Women's Final: