UIPM 2016 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – VALENTIN BELAUD IS THE NEW WORLD CHAMPION

Modern Pentathlon has another new world champion after Valentin Belaud of France won Men’s Individual gold at the 2016 UIPM World Championships.

One day after his girlfriend, Elodie Clouvel (FRA), won individual silver, Belaud (FRA) summoned fantastic stamina to rein in the leaders having started 6th in the Combined Event and he completed victory with a final 800m lap of stunning power.

Aleksander Lesun (RUS), who has won a medal at every World Championships since 2010, again saved his best form for the grandest stage and he claimed silver in front of his home crowd, while Jung Jinhwa (KOR) took the bronze.

Egypt’s El Geziry brothers, Omar and Amro, had been the early pacesetters along with Jung (KOR) but they suffered fadeouts in the final two events of the day and failed to make the podium.

Belaud thus became France’s first individual world champion since 2008 and first male since Sebastien Deleigne in 1998.

Ranked No.5 in the world, Belaud (FRA) is likely now to be considered one of the favourites for Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro after he, along with Lesun (RUS) and Jung (KOR), guaranteed their places.

Belaud (FRA) said: “It feels amazing to win. I’m now realising that this is a very good day for me. I think I had a good competition. My swimming was okay but my fencing was very good and after the Combined, it was just a case of ‘go fast go fast!’

“I won in the last 100 metres and I am very happy. It’s amazing. Yesterday Elodie Clouvel won a silver medal and I’m very happy for her. Today, I won the gold medal and I’m just so happy.

“This year I have won the world senior championships and now I will go into training in preparation for the Olympic Games but right now I am just happy for this day.”

Silver-medallist Lesun (RUS) said: “I am very happy. It was hard and the season in all hasn’t been so lucky. I didn’t have a great start but I’m pleased that it ended so well.

“I was delighted to perform in Moscow and I would like to thank all of the supporters for cheering me on. We don’t have big stadiums and I’m not used to it so to have the crowd behind me felt great.”

Third-placed Jung (KOR) said: “I am really happy to win the bronze medal and I hope this will help me when it comes to the Olympic Games in Rio.

“In qualification I was 36th so every time there is a world competition, I’m very nervous. My swimming this time was my best ever and my focus has been on shooting so this I am very happy with the medal.”

In the early stages, Amro and Omar El Geziry (EGY) both put in strong performances.

In Swimming, Amro El Geziry (EGY) took first place after a hard-fought battle against James Cooke (GBR) and Maksim Kustov (RUS). The Egyptian finished in 1:56:50, just ahead of Cooke’s 1:57:57 and third-placed Kustov’s 1:59:16.

In Fencing, it was Omar El Geziry (EGY) who took first place, winning 25 times and securing 258 points. His closest rival Jung (KOR) managed 24 wins and 250 points, in a confident start to a consistently strong day.

Justinas Kinderis (LTU) enjoyed an exceptional run in the Bonus Round, winning seven bouts to take seven points forward.

In Riding, Amro El Geziry (EGY) saw his challenge hit the skids but his brother Omar managed to take maximum points and this allowed him to go through as the leader in the Combined Event.

Jung (KOR) set off 2nd ahead of Amro El Geziry (EGY) in 3rd, with the World Championships’ perennial contender lurking narrowly behind him.

True to form, Lesun (RUS) leaped ahead of the chasing pack with a blistering performance in the first shooting round, making up time and leaving the range just behind Amro El Geziry (EGY).

Shortly after, Jung (KOR) began making up ground and after the second shooting round, it looked as if Amro El Geziry (EGY) and Jung would be fighting it out to finish in the top position.

However, by the third lap El Geziry appeared to be struggling, with his strides becoming noticably shorter and his running looking increasingly strained. At the shooting range, he crumbled under the pressure as Lesun (RUS), Jung (KOR) and Belaud (FRA) raced out ahead of him.

From then on, he never looked like mounting a comeback and instead it was home hero Lesun (RUS) who led the athletes as they made their way into the final 800 meters.

Finally, Belaud (FRA) aggressively overtook the Russian and opened up the burners to secure a comfortable lead as they re-entered the stadium. Coming into the final stretch, Belaud glanced over his shoulder and smiled, knowing his gold medal was firmly secured.

Dr Klaus Schormann, President of UIPM, said: “We saw the biggest drama of the whole season today in the final, when the places changed and Valentin Belaud finished stronger than Lesun, who was the favorite.

“The Egyptian athletes also gave a great performance but in the end, you have to be strong in the laser shooting. You have to perform well.

“The public supported all of the athletes and for this reason, I think it was the best final of the whole season and therefore, I would like to thank all of the athletes for everything they have achieved and for entertaining the public. I think we have a great winner today from France.”

2016 UIPM World Championships, Moscow, RUS
Men’s Individual Final Final Standings:

1 BELAUD Valentin 1514
2 LESUN Aleksander 1510
3 JUNG Jinhwa 1504
4 EL GEZIRY Omar 1494
5 HEFNY Yasser 1490
6 EL GEZIRY Amro 1489
7 KUSTOV Maksim 1487
8 KINDERIS Justinas 1487
9 COOKE James 1485
10 PRADES Valentin 1482
11 KUF Jan 1477
12 DEMETER Bence 1475
13 FERNANDEZ Charles 1468
14 NAKONECHNYI Ruslan 1466
15 PETRONI Pierpaolo 1464
16 BUSTOS Esteban 1463
17 GUO Jianli 1459
18 LANIGAN-O KEEFFE Arthur 1457
19 TIBOLYA Peter 1450
20 JUN Woongtae 1442
21 KASZA Robert 1441
22 ROMANI Gauthier 1435
23 HERNANDEZ USCANGA Ismael 1432
24 CAO Zhongrong 1425
25 FRANCESCHINI Auro 1416
26 TYMOSHCHENKO Pavlo 1405
27 RODRIGUEZ Christobal 1401
28 MIGUCHI Tomoya 1399
29 INZUNZA Jorge 1397
30 KASYANIK Kirill 1396
31 TSIKHANAU Pavel 1375
32 DOGUE Patrick 1369
33 IWAMOTO Shohei 1368
34 POLIVKA Ondrej 1348
35 SUKHAREV Vladislav 1273
36 PUCHKAREVSKIY Egor 303

he Combined Event of the Mixed-Relay Competition at the 2016 World Championships is available to watch via live stream at UIPMTV.org whilst a full results service is available at pentathlon.org.