UIPM 2017 Junior World Championships: Colasanti (ITA) keeps his cool to win gold

Daniele Colasanti was an unexpected winner of Men’s Individual gold at the UIPM Junior World Championships as Italy proved once again they have young talent in abundance.

Twenty-four hours after the Italians claimed team gold in the women’s event, they were on top of the podium again and this time their success included the ultimate individual prize.

Aged 21, Colasanti had never previously suggested he was ready to dominate at this level – his best individual finishes were 16th in the 2016 Junior World Championships and 8th in the 2017 European Junior Championships.

However, such is Italy’s reputation for producing multiple medal contenders at Under-19 and Under-23 level, it was no great surprise to see a member of the “Azzurri” enjoying the chords of his national anthem at the end of another dramatic final.

Joining Colasanti (ITA) on the podium were silver medallist Grycz (CZE), winner of European junior gold in Barcelona just seven weeks ago, and Colasanti’s compatriot Matteo Cicinelli (ITA), who won a thrilling sprint to the line for bronze. 

Colasanti said after receiving his individual and team gold medals: "I have known Matteo since we were kids and being on the podium together is the best thing in the world.

Cicinelli (ITA) beat Ahmed Hamed (EGY) to the line by only 1sec, and the Egyptian’s rapid Laser-Run time was only bettered by 5th-placed Jean Baptiste Mourcia (FRA), who completed the course in 10:48.51.

Earlier, it was another Italian who performed best Fencing, as Gianluca Micozzi (ITA) scored 25V/10D. Myles Pillage (GBR) was quickest in Swimming with the only time under 2mins (1:59.75), and Choi Changmin (KOR) led the standings after two events.

Seven athletes enjoyed a perfect score of 300 in Riding – including Grycz (CZE) and Mourcia (FRA) – while Colasanti (ITA) escaped with only 7 penalty points. Alexander Lifanov (RUS) had been ranked 2nd after two events but suffered a fall and his injuries made him unable to play any further part in the competition.

On a day when competition was so open, it was Gustav Gustenau (AUT) who started Laser-Run first with a 12sec advantage over Colasanti (ITA) and 17sec over Grycz (CZE) and the other two Italians.

Gustenau (AUT) held his position until the 2nd shoot, where he lost his composure and fell out of contention, sliding down the field to finally finish 15th. Colasanti (ITA) seized his chance with an excellent shoot and looked confident until Grycz (CZE) started to make serious gains on the final lap. Tension was ever-present and in the end there was only 3sec separating gold and silver, and even less separating bronze from 4th.

Host nation Hungary claimed team silver, while bronze went to Korea.

UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann said: “We saw an amazing contest today that showed how dramatic Laser-Run can be, with leading athletes overtaken at the shooting range.

“The men have underlined what we saw yesterday from the women: that our young people are competing at such a high level that we can all look forward to a great future for our sport.

“Thanks again to the organising committee of the 2017 UIPM Junior World Championships here in Hungary and we are looking forward to an exciting Mixed Relay tomorrow.”

The UIPM 2017 Junior World Championships concludes on August 14 with 17 nations taking part in the Mixed Relay.

All results are available in real time at the UIPM website.