Press Release: Junior World Championships about to begin in Poland

The 47th UIPM Junior World Championships (21 and under), the finale of the Junior circuit, it set to take place 3-9 September 2012 in Drzonkow, Poland.

150 of the best junior Pentathletes from each continent will battle it out in the traditional pentathlon heartland of Poland for the honour to call them the best junior Pentathlete on the planet.

“UIPM is very excited about international Pentathlon arriving back in Poland” stated UIPM Secretary General Joël Bouzou. “The Junior World Championships are always the most exciting event of the year, so I urge everyone in the area to get down to Drzonkow and watch the Olympic Champions of tomorrow compete.”

Underlining the strength of field is that 7 Olympians will be backing up their heroics from London 2012 to compete in Drzonkow.

With the experience of competing in front of 25,000 people, Margaux Isaksen (USA), Chloe Esposito (AUS), Gintaire Venckauskaite (LTU), Tamara Vega (MEX), Narumi Kurosu (JPN), Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe (IRL), Estaban Bustos (CHI) will relish the chance to use their new found experience at another huge event in 2012.

Isaksen, who’s 4th place was the highest finish for a junior athlete at London 2012 stated: “London was quite possibly the most mentally challenging day of my life. I feel like competing under such pressure not only prepared me for future competitions, but instilled a sense of bravery in me. It would be a great honor to win gold here. This is my last Junior year, and I would love to take home the title.”

The 21 year old former Youth A World Champion who is competing in her last Junior World Championships will be pushed all the way, not only by her fellow Olympians, but also by the likes of triple Youth A World Champion Zsofia Foldhazi (HUN) and Svetlana Lebedeva (RUS) who both looked impressive this year on the senior circuit.

Reining Junior Word Champion Jamie Cooke (GBR) has been a shade of his world beating self from 2011, which resulted in him missing out on Olympic selection, but despite breaking his hand in a training accident less than a month ago, he will be giving it his best shot to defend his gold: “I broke my hand on the last day of training in France, so it means my preparation has been disrupted but I have been back a week now and have brilliant support staff around me helping me to come back in the best shape. To defend my world title would be a brilliant way to end of a disappointing year.”

Cooke will have to be at his best to keep away a star studded field, headed by Ilya Shugarov (RUS) who won gold in a senior World Cup this year, and Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe (IRL) who has improved at a remarkable rate in the past 12 months and will be eager to build on the 25th position he secured at London 2012.

In addition to the Junior individual World Championships being crowned, these Championships will also determine the best women, men and mixed relay team in the world.

Competition Schedule:

3 September Women’s Relay
4 September Men’s Relay
5 September Women’s Qualification
6 September Men’s Qualification
7 September Women’s Final
8 September Men’s Final
10 September Mixed Relay

You can follow all the action from Poland with live updates and results and daily highlights at Pentathlon.org/2012juniorworlds.

Will Isaksen win the Junior title she desperately wants in her final attempt? Will Cooke fight through the pain barrier and defend his title? Can Shuagrov convert his senior form onto the junior circuit? Let's see... Come and back your national heroes and visit the Junior World Championships at Drzonkow, Poland visit our website at pentathlon.org/2012juniorworlds.