After a nerve-racking build-up, the UIPM 2024 Pentathlon World Cup Final gives 72 of the world’s finest pentathletes the chance to make a statement about their chances of Olympic glory at Paris 2024.
The 2024 season has already been highly eventful and dramatic – as portrayed in UIPM’s new TV series, A Passion For Paris – but while some athletes are still searching for that elusive winning form, others have calmed their nerves with assured performances.
The competition represents the penultimate chance for athletes to earn points towards the Olympic World Rankings that will determine the majority of the remaining 28 places at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Click here to read the official welcome of UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann to the UIPM 2024 Pentathlon World Cup Final.
Ones to watch – men
Egypt has had an extraordinary season, especially in men’s Modern Pentathlon. The North African powerhouse won 12 medals in the four Pentathlon World Cups of the regular season, including two in every Men’s Final, and will be represented this week by Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist Ahmed Elgendy, his younger brother Mohamed Elgendy and this season’s breakthrough star, Moutaz Mohamed.
When everything falls into place for the elite athletes of Korea, success looks almost effortless, and it will be intriguing to see if Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallist Woongtae Jun can return to form here, or if Pentathlon World Cup Ankara gold medallist Changwan Seo can complete a 2024 Turkish double.
The withdrawal of Joseph Choong of Great Britain and resting of the athlete who defeated him in a sprint finish last year, Shaban (EGY), means there will be no retention of the title. But one athlete who knows how to win the trophy is three-time champion Valentin Prades of France, who lines up alongside Laser Run specialists Pierre Dejardin and Jean-Baptiste Mourcia.
As ever, there will be multiple European contenders, not least from Hungary as they send the talented trio of Balazs Szep, Csaba Bohm and Bence Demeter. Another country with three representatives is neighbouring Czechia, led by Jan Kuf, Martin Vlach and Marek Grycz, while Germany is monitoring an intense internal battle for Olympic selection between Fabian Liebig and brothers Patrick and Marvin Dogue.
Ones to watch – women
While a late injury issue has deprived the field of reigning World Cup Final gold medalist and World No.1 Elena Micheli of Italy, Ankara will still be blessed with a truly star-studded collection of Women’s contenders.
All four individual gold medallists from the regular season will be present with Hungary teammates Michelle Gulyas and Blanka Guzi both rounding into impressive Olympic season form. Kerenza Bryson of Great Britain and Mariya Gnedtchik (AIN) were the other two to stand atop a World Cup podium this season. World No.3 Bryson, whose remarkable consistency over the past year has marked her out as a major contender for gold in Paris, is joined in the Great Britain contingent by reigning Olympic champion Kate French.
Not to be outdone by their male counterparts, Korea’s women have made World Cup prizes their own this season with Seungmin Seong and Sunwoo Kim accounting for three of the year’s four silver medals. The challenge of Egypt is just as strong with Malak Ismail and Salma Abdelmaksoud always reliable World Cup performers.
National pride will surely be front of mind for Ilke Ozyuksel of Turkiye who was disappointed to only make it to the Semi-finals earlier in the season in Ankara but rebounded impressively with a top five finish in Budapest (HUN) last time out.
The pedigree of the field is further underlined by veteran talents Elodie Clouvel of France and Laura Asadauskaite of Lithuania — who boast an Olympic gold and two silvers combined — eager for the kind of performance which can fire up further Olympic dreams.
Watch and follow
Live coverage of the UIPM 2024 Pentathlon World Cup Final is available to subscribers on UIPM.TV where annual packages cost €14.99.
Visit the UIPM website or download UIPM Central from your app store to keep track of live results. Follow World Pentathlon on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X or YouTube for additional content.
Competition schedule
UIPM 2024 Pentathlon World Cup Final
Times denote start of UIPM.TV live coverage (CEST and BST)
Thursday, 23 May
Women’s Semi-final A starts at 10:00 local (09:00 CEST / 08:00 BST)
Women’s Semi-final B starts at 16:00 local (15:00 CEST / 14:00 BST)
Friday, 24 May
Men’s Semi-final A starts at 10:00 local (09:00 CEST / 08:00 BST)
Men’s Semi-final B starts at 16:00 local (15:00 CEST / 14:00 BST)
Saturday, 25 May
Women’s Final starts at 10:00 local (09:00 CEST / 08:00 BST)
Men’s Final starts at 16:00 local (15:00 CEST / 14:00 BST)
Sunday, 26 May
Mixed Relay starts at 13:30 local (12:30 CEST / 11:30 BST)
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