UIPM 2015 World Cup #4 - Zsófia Földházi wins at home

KECSKEMET, HUNGARY - Zsófia Földházi (Hungary) was cheered by a jubilant home crowd as she snatched Women's Individual gold in the fourth stage of the 2015 UIPM World Cup Series in Kecskemet, Hungary.

Földházi, who was second in World Cup #3 in Rome started the final Combined Event in 5th position but a cool performance with the pistol and a powerful run saw her storm past leader Eloudie Clouvel (France) after the fourth and final shooting range, overcoming a 39-second gap on Clouvel.

Earlier, Földházi (HUN) had been 15th in Fencing and 4th fastest in Swimming. She cleared the Riding stage with no faults.

Clouvel (FRA), despite a brave attempt to claw back the Hungarian in the closing stages of the run, finished second overall after leading for most of the day.

Meanwhile, Margaux Isaksen (USA) recovered from a dismal shooting performance to take bronze. It was a disappointing end for one of the most consistent performers on the elite scene so far this year.

Anna Burjak (Russia) was fourth and Chloe Esposito (Australia) climbed from 15th going into the final event to take 5th.

Exhausted but delighted after her success, Földházi (HUN) said she wanted to thank her family for supporting her in today's race. "I am really happy and it's all come together for me after Rome," she said.

Clouvel (FRA) also expressed her delight with the result. "Today is a good day for me because it was difficult and second place is just very good for me."

Looking ahead to the World Cup Final next month in Minsk, Belarus, where Olympic qualifying places will be on offer, Clouvel (FRA) declared: "Now the season starts for me."

Clouvel (FRA) was the early front-runner today after taking second place in the first two events. The 26-year-old scored 23 wins in the fencing and finished the 200m in the pool in 2:10.21. She then received the maximum 300 points for a clear round in the jump, normally her weakest event.

Alice Sotero (Italy), who came sixth in the World Cup #3 in Rome, was also faultless in the jump, keeping her in second place after three rounds but just two points ahead of Isaksen (USA).

Sotero (ITA) placed 7th in the Fencing with 22 wins and 6th in Swimming with a time of 2:14.52, but ended in 7th spot after dropping back in the final stage.

There were groans from the crowd when two of Hungary's athletes, Anna Zs. Toth and Rebeka Ormandi, were eliminated in the Riding, while the hopes of Donata Rimsaite (Russia) - in fifth place going into the Riding thanks to a first place in the Fencing - were dealt a blow when she also suffered four refusals. Rimsaite (RUS), who had secured a confident third place in Rome, withdrew before the Combined Event.

Samantha Murray (Great Britain) also had a difficult day on horseback. Murray (GBR) had been fastest in the pool but ended the day in 29th place overall.

UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann was full of praise for the Women's Individual performances and said that conditions in Kecskemet were "excellent".

"The Hungarian organisers are more than happy that a Hungarian woman has won," Dr Schormann said.

"We have seen again a dramatic finish and the best athletes in the world are on the podium, so the system is working."

The Men's Individual final follows tomorrow, Sunday (May 3) before the Mix Relay closes the programme on Monday (May 4).

Follow tomorrow all the action of this UIPM 2015 World Cup #4 with our live results and live streaming of the Men's Individual Final at www.pentathlon.org, our updates through Facebook at www.facebook.com/modpen and Twitter at https://twitter.com/UIPM_HQ