The second 2017 Pentathlon GB National Ranking Competitions is taking place this weekend with Great Britain’s best modern pentathletes set to do battle once again.
The second Senior (22+) and Junior (19-21) ranking competition of the year takes place on Sunday with the second Youth (U19) ranking event on Saturday. Both events will be held at Pentathlon GB’s National Training Centre, the University of Bath, with the ride taking place at West Wiltshire Equestrian Centre on Sunday.
Fresh from their victories in the first ranking competitions last month, Gravesend’s Kate French and Salfords’ Sam Curry will both be looking for further success on home soil. However, they are set to face tough competition with French joined by fellow 2016 Olympian Samantha Murray and 2015 Junior World Champion Francesca Summers in the women’s field. Meanwhile, Curry will once again compete against Rio Olympians Jamie Cooke and Joe Choong in the men’s field.
The competition draws top pentathletes from all over the UK with athletes based from Yorkshire to London set to compete.. Plymouth’s Kerenza Bryson who recently finished as the top Brit at the Hungarian Indoor Competition, the opening 2017 international event of the season, will also return to action.
The men’s and women’s fields contain over 20 athletes who competed internationally for Great Britain in 2016 with others harbouring the same ambitions for 2017.
Saturday’s youth ranking competition will see potential stars of the future in action with many of the athletes currently on the Pentathlon GB World Class Talent Pathway. There will be a strong contingent from Pentathlon GB’s clubs around the country, with athletes from over 15 different clubs competing.
Olivia Green and Oliver Murray who claimed success at the first youth ranking competitions last month will be looking for further victories but will face tough competition with strong fields set to compete once again. The youth competitions will also feature a small contingent of German athletes, adding an international flavour to the competition.
In alignment with international level competitions, the Junior and Senior athletes will compete in a full modern pentathlon (fencing, swimming, riding, combined laser-run) with the Youth athletes competing in a modern tetrathlon (fencing, swimming, combined laser-run).
Results from this weekend’s ranking competitions and the first ranking events last month will be used to create the first 2017 British ranking lists. These ranking lists will then provide the basis for international selection for the first few months of the season.
With such a wealth of talent on show and all athletes desperate to be selected for the 2017 season, this weekend promises to provide a great 2 days of competitive sport.
Full Timetables
Saturday 11th February – National Youth Ranking Competition 2
- Girls’ Fencing – 08:00
- Boys’ Fencing – 11:00
- Girls’ Swimming – 12:20
- Boys’ Swimming – 13:15
- Girls’ Laser-Run – 13:55
- Boys’ Laser-Run – 15:25
Sunday 15th January – National Ranking Competition 2
- Swimming – 08:35
- Fencing – 10:00
- Laser-Run – 12:55
- Riding – 15:30
Report courtesy of Pentathlon GB
