UIPM 2025 Biathle-Triathle World Championships: Hosts start the gold rush in Mossel Bay (RSA)

The gold arrived early and often as one of the most magical weeks of the UIPM calendar kicked off in fitting fashion.

The first combined UIPM Biathle-Triathle and Laser Run World Championships got underway on Monday in Mossel Bay and host nation South Africa laid down a seriously impressive marker, winning nine of the 14 gold medals on offer in a day dominated by Biathle Mixed Relay deciders. 

There were also golds for Egypt and an impressive riposte from Germany late in the afternoon as the stunning coastline of the Western Cape opened its arms to a world of contenders. Podium places were occupied by teams from across the globe as 11 of the 35 nations represented got their week off on a solid note by claiming early medals. 

The first prize of an action-packed week went to Mohamed Nassar (EGY) who came out on top in the U9 Boys in dramatic circumstances, a near photo finish as just 0.16sec separated the winner from Karlo Marais (RSA). 

Inside the top 10 was a familiar name to seasoned Modern Pentathlon watchers as Abel Dallenbach of Switzerland, son of Paris 2024 Olympian Alexandre, finished a creditable 9th place. Meanwhile in the Girls U9, the host nation got its first taste of gold with Sophia Greef (RSA) victorious. 

With almost 800 competitors gathering for just the Biathle-Triathle portion of the week, there are many impressively lengthy entry lists to whittle down and the rest of the morning session was taken up with 12 semi-finals for Boys and Girls age groups from U11 to U17.

After lunch, things picked up in a hurry with a dozen Mixed Relay finals down for decision. In a four-hour stretch of frenetic fun-filled action, the generational appeal of Biathle was perfectly summed up as teams from U9 all the way up to 70+ took to the picturesque sands of Mossel Bay to compete for glory. 

The first five races went about as well as the locals could have dreamt as South Africa’s domination of the top step of the podium continued, including the victorious Senior team of Tara Schwulst and Dylan Matthew Kruger (RSA). 

But there was an inspiring global spread of medalists as silver and bronze places went to Pentathlon powerhouses like Great Britain, France and Japan but also to less-frequent guests on the podium including Greece, India, Spain, Australia and Monaco. 

The African hegemony of gold was broken in some style in the Masters 70+ category where Emily Lean See Freund & Dr Kurt Tohermes (GER) triumphed. Behind the winners, what will surely be the most deserved medal of the week went to the British duo of Phillip Burden and Mary Collett (at 77 the joint-oldest entrant in the entire field) as they claimed silver. 

Day 2 will see the medals rain down with 20 individual Biathle finals on the schedule as well as two Para Biathle races. 

Read more – UIPM 2025 Biathle-Triathle and Laser Run World Championships: All You Need to Know