UIPM 2022 Pentathlon Junior World Championships: France strike first with Women’s Relay gold
France enjoyed the opening day of the UIPM 2022 Pentathlon Junior World Championships with success in the Women’s Relay in Zielona Gora (POL).
Rebecca Castaudi (FRA), who will be aiming to defend her individual junior world title later in the week, teamed up with Jessye Gomesse (FRA) to secure the gold medal with a 10sec cushion.
Host nation Poland celebrated silver thanks to Adrianna Kapala and Malgorzata Karbownik, while Italy duo Elisa Sala and Teresa Gioia completed the podium, with Tully Watt and Zara Temesi of Australia finishing 4th.
Winners’ reaction
Castaudi (FRA) said: “We had a very positive start today, we were confident and most importantly very well trained because we were lucky to have various training camps in recent months.
“We have a cohesive and great team, for sure it helped a lot for us to gain advantage against other competitors today. This week the [individual] objective is top five. It would be nice.”
Asked if she had ambitions in respect of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, taking place in her home country, the reigning junior world champion said: “We push senior athletes going to Paris 2024. We believe in them and support them. For the two girls going to Paris it matters that we are behind them.”
Gomesse (FRA) added: “It’s the strength of having a collective behind. We won today, but this medal is for all the team here, all the French national team, coaches, it’s an ‘individual medal’ but for all of us.
“Being rational, top 10 [in the Women’s Final] would be logical. But of course we are thinking about the podium. Rebecca is champion, we all think about winning. Everything can happen.”
Fencing
Sisters Charlotte Ahaus and Viktoria Ahaus of United States, competing in unison for the first time at world level, enjoyed spectacular success in the Fencing discipline.
The Americans were untouchable in the Fencing Ranking Round, scoring 29 victories for a 254-point bounty that they topped up to 258 with victory in the final bout of the Bonus Round. Their nearest adversaries were some distance behind, as France (Gomesse/Castaudi) and Australia (Watt/Temesi) each managed 22 victories.
Riding
There was plenty for local spectators to cheer when the action moved to the Riding arena, as Pola Wolska and Michalina Wierzba (POL) became the only duo to notch a clear round and the maximum score of 300.
France (Gomesse/Castaudi) remained very much in the hunt with only eight points conceded, while Italy (Sala/Gioia) and Australia (Watt/Temesi) stayed in touch with scores of 286 and 285 respectively. But the Riding round was an unforgiving experience for the Fencing champions, as USA (Ahaus/Ahaus) conceded 65 penalties and slipped back to 4th overall.
Swimming
The top three in the overall standings remained neck and neck during Swimming, as France (Gomesse/Castaudi), Australia (Watt/Temesi) and Italy (Sala/Gioia) were 6th, 7th and 5th fastest in the pool respectively.
The top swimmers were from the host nation, as Kapala & Karbownik (POL) timed 2min 05.95sec.
Laser Run
France (Gomesse/Castaudi) started with a 4sec advantage over Australia (Watt/Temesi), with Italy (Sala/Gioia) only 2sec further behind, and the leaders controlled the race well to secure gold.
The big movers of the Laser Run were Poland (Kapala/Karbownik), whose time of 14min 14sec was 10sec quicker than the champions’ 14:24 and enabled them to snatch silver with a 7sec margin over Italy (Sala/Gioia).
The second string of Poland (Wolska / Wierzba) and Italy (Giorgia Agazotti and Agnese Petricca) finished 5th and 6th respectively, with United States (Ahaus/Ahaus) achieving 7th.
Watch and follow
The UIPM 2022 Pentathlon Junior World Championships runs from October 2-9, continuing on Monday, October 3 with the Men’s Relay.
Visit the UIPM website or download “UIPM Central” from your app store to keep track of live results throughout the UIPM 2022 Pentathlon Junior World Championships.
Follow World Pentathlon on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram throughout the season for additional content.
Competition schedule
UIPM 2022 Pentathlon Junior World Championships
October 2: Women’s Relay
October 3: Men’s Relay
October 4: Women’s Qualification
October 5: Men’s Qualification
October 6: Women’s Semi-finals
October 7: Men’s Semi-finals
October 8: Women’s Final; Men’s Final
October 9: Mixed Relay
| Rank | Team | Nation | MP Points |
| 1 | FRA CASTAUDI Rebecca GOMESSE Jessye |
FRA | 1236 |
| 2 | POL 1 KARBOWNIK Malgorzata KAPALA Adrianna |
POL | 1226 |
| 3 | ITA 1 SALA Elisa GIOIA Teresa |
ITA | 1219 |
| 4 | AUS TEMESI Zara WATT Tully |
AUS | 1199 |
| 5 | POL 2 WIERZBA Michalina WOLSKA Pola |
POL | 1176 |
| 6 | ITA 2 PETRICCA Agnese AGAZZOTTI Giorgia |
ITA | 1132 |
| 7 | USA AHAUS Charlotte AHAUS Viktoria |
USA | 1128 |
| 8 | HUN MESZAROS Emma BASA Lili |
HUN | 911 |
| 9 | KAZ PONER Yaroslavna RYABOVA Kristina |
KAZ | 799 |
| 10 | EGY KANDIL Amira ISMAIL Malak |
EGY | 0 |
| 11 | GER WALSER Julie WALTERMANN Anna |
GER | 0 |
| 12 | GUA VALENCIA FRANCO Paula Sophia PONDAVEN Isabela |
GUA | 0 |
