Pentathlon GB’s Joe Choong has completed his collection of global titles – and achieved a childhood dream – after winning gold in outstanding fashion at the UIPM 2022 Pentathlon World Championships in Alexandria, Egypt this afternoon.
There was more gold for Britain in the women’s final as Olivia Green, Jess Varley and Charlie Follett all recorded terrific top-10 finishes to secure the team title.
Reigning Olympic Champion Choong, who also won gold at the 2019 World Cup Final, dominated the men’s final, building on his lead from the fencing ranking round by producing a perfect ride and the third-fastest time in the swimming pool to start the laser-run with a 20-second lead.
Home athlete Mohamed Elgendy managed to close to within four seconds going into the final shoot but Choong had left more than enough in the tank to sprint over the finish line and add World Championships gold to his Olympic title.
“I have the set now, so I’m pretty pleased,” said a beaming Choong, who won silver when Britain last contested the World Championships in 2019.
“Ever since I was a kid I’ve always wanted to say I was the best in the world at something. I won the Olympics, and that’s the biggest thing you can do, but World Champion means you are literally number one in the world.
“I took a lot of time out after the Olympics, which I needed mentally, and this was the first competition where I have felt anywhere close to the level I had at Tokyo. I’ve been super-focussed and it’s been a nice competition.”
Pentathlon GB Performance Director Jon Pett told UIPM TV: “For Joe to win his first world title is brilliant. We’re building to Paris 2024 and defending his Olympic title, and now he’s the World Champion – what a place to be.”
Pentathlon GB will host the next edition of the UIPM Pentathlon and Laser-Run World Championships, taking place at the University of Bath in August 2023 and doubling as a qualifying event for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Story of the day – women’s final
Olivia Green was the highest-ranked Brit going into Saturday’s final, starting the day in sixth following her 19 wins from 35 bouts in Thursday’s fencing ranking round. Charlie Follett, with 18 wins, was 14th but just five pentathlon points behind while Jess Varley was 16th after recording 15 victories.
As in the men’s final, more than half of the competitors recorded a perfect round in the riding including a faultless Follett, while Green and Varley picked up just one obstacle penalty each to score 293 points apiece.
Follett’s climb up the rankings continued in the swimming pool as her time of 2:15.39, the fifth-fastest of the final, moved her to sixth in the overall standings. Green – the only Brit to add additional points in the fencing bonus round, recording one win – touched the wall in 2:17.15 and Varley was just behind her in 2:18.04, meaning they started the laser-run eighth and 15th respectively.
Italy’s Elena Micheli and Hungary’s Michelle Gulyas quickly pulled clear of the field, going on to win gold and silver respectively, but Green found herself in the hunt for bronze after a brilliant start to the laser-run. After a third rapid-fire visit to the shooting range, she emerged three seconds clear of World Cup Final champion Elodie Clouvel in third place.
The final shoot proved tense for both and allowed other athletes to join the podium-chasing pack, including Turkey’s Ilke Ozyuksel who went on to take bronze. Green left the range in sixth but produced a sprint to cross the line in fifth – her best-ever finish in a senior international women’s individual final.
World Cup Final silver-medallist Varley once again produced an excellent laser-run, clocking the second-fastest time of 11:18.50, but had to settle for seventh on this occasion. Follett crossed the line in 10th and the Brits’ combined scores ensured they took the team title with 4,161 points, well clear of second-placed South Korea.
Story of the day – men’s final
With his excellent return of 24 victories and just 11 defeats during Wednesday’s fencing ranking round carrying over, it meant Joe Choong went into the final in a three-way tie for first place with Pele Uibel of Germany and South Korea’s Jinhwa Jung.
Both Choong and Uibel were among 10 pentathletes to record maximum points in Saturday’s opening discipline, producing perfect rides to add 300 to their tallies and strengthen their position at the front of the field.
Choong edged his nose in front by picking up two more victories in the fencing bonus round before stretching his advantage with an excellent swim, his 200m freestyle time of 2:01.12 only being bettered by two other athletes in the 18-man field.
That meant he started the laser-run with a healthy 20-second advantage over Uibel and third-placed Mohamed Elgendy of host country Egypt, brother of Olympic silver-medallist Ahmed.
Elgendy quickly moved up to second and gradually ate away at the Brit’s lead, closing to within four seconds going into the final shoot, but Choong had conserved his energy well and was able to sprint over the finish line to take gold in magnificent style. Elgendy was a couple of seconds back and Hungary’s Balazs Szep completed the podium after an outstanding laser-run, moving up from 11th to third.
With thanks to the Team Bath Press Office at Matchtight Ltd
