UIPM 2022 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest: Demeter (HUN) leads the charge

Bence Demeter of Hungary powered into pole position for Men’s Individual glory on a captivating day of Semi-finals dominated by the host nation.

Demeter (HUN) was one of seven Hungarian athletes to earn a place in Saturday’s Final and with only 11 others remaining in the competition, the home team’s podium credentials could hardly be stronger.

A former Pentathlon World Cup winner, Demeter (HUN) won the second Semi-final by 5sec from Balazs Szep (HUN) and Christian Zillekens of Germany, and he leads the Finals standings after a terrific performance in the Fencing Ranking Round (29V/6D).

Giuseppe Parisi of Italy won’t be far behind when Saturday’s showcase begins after an excellent 28V/7D, with a big gap to 3rd-placed Taishu Sato of Japan. Parisi (ITA) won the first Semi-final, finishing 6sec ahead of Richard Bereczki (HUN).

Other notable qualifiers for the 18-strong Final line-up are world champion Adam Marosi (HUN), Valentin Prades of France, Marvin Dogue (GER) and Martin Vlach of Czech Republic, who atoned for a poor fence with the fastest Laser Run of the day (10:12.30).

Former Pentathlon World Cup winner Manuel Padilla of Mexico ensured that a third continent would be represented in the Men’s Final.

UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann said: “It was exciting to see the athletes performing in the new format, some of them for the first time and others for the second time after Cairo.

“The Hungarian Modern Pentathlon Association have prepared all conditions for the athletes in a very proper way. Luckily the weather was with us today and we can see all the technology that is involved in the TV coverage and graphics, and everything is as we want it to be.

“We are looking forward to tomorrow for the Women’s Semi-final and then a great day on Saturday with the Finals for women and men and the Mixed Relay on Sunday. Good luck to everybody.”

UIPM 2022 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest continues tomorrow (April 29) with the Women’s Semi-final before the Finals 24 hours later and the Mixed Relay on Sunday, May 1. 

Live stream of all Semi-finals and Finals is available on UIPM TV and up-to-date results of all competitions are available at the UIPM website and via the UIPM Central app.

The list of qualified athletes for the Men's Final is as follows: