UIPM 2025 Pentathlon Junior World Championships: Back-to-back glory for men’s champion Mohamed (EGY)
Moutaz Mohamed of Egypt came from behind to earn a second consecutive gold medal after a dramatic Men’s Final brought the UIPM 2025 Pentathlon Junior World Championships in Szekesfehervar (HUN) to a close.
Mohamed (EGY) set a new Men’s Junior world record of 1,571, extending his previous best of 1,544 – even though he did not finish highly in Fencing or Obstacle. Gold was yet another accolade for a 20-year-old who recently won his first Pentathlon World Cup title – also in Hungary.
Behind him, there was a thrilling battle for silver and bronze as James Hulme of Great Britain was overwhelmed in the heat of Laser Run, finishing 5th. Finally silver was claimed by Danylo Sych of Ukraine and there was a cherished bronze medal for the host nation thanks to European junior champion Botond Tamas of Hungary.
Team gold went to Ukraine, with Egypt claiming silver and France securing bronze.
Fencing
Juchan Lee of Korea may have equalled the junior world record in the Seeding Round with an outstanding 26V/9D, but dominating the Seeding Round does not protect an athlete from the chasing pack as much as the Ranking Round used to.
Roman Popov of Ukraine made a mockery of his 13th seeding, ending the interest of team-mate Oleg Rybak (UKR) and then outwitting Lee (KOR) 5-2 to reach the final bout.
Hulme (GBR) prevailed 5-4 in a battle of left-handers with Etienne Clergeau (FRA), and he repeated the trick by despatching Popov (UKR) 5-1 in quickfire time to claim the maximum 250 points.
Obstacle
Diego Lavillat (FRA) set the tone with a 26.61sec, then Moustafa Abouamer (EGY) raised the bar with 25.29 but it was Jonas Kalaminskas of Lithuania who tamed the course with a 25.06 to move temporarily top of the standings.
Down to the last two races, Lee (KOR) and Clergeau (FRA) were locked in an intriguing race until Clergeau (FRA) fell from the swinging globes. He narrowly managed to avoid a decisive second penalty but a time of over 50sec plummeted down the standings with so many athletes recording solid times.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man as Hulme (GBR) dominated the final head-to-head with impressive athleticism, timing 26.23 to move 20 points clear of Lee (KOR) and 26 points above Popov (UKR) in the overall.
Swimming
Mohamed (EGY) knew that in order to retain his title, he would have to finish with three strong disciplines, and a day’s best time of 2min 04.20 in Swimming was a great way to redeem himself and put pressure on the leaders.
Valery Shchukin (AIN), Tamas (HUN) and Sych (UKR) also boosted their chances by going sub-2:07 while Hulme (GBR) did enough to keep his overall cushion.
Laser Run
Lee (KOR) was immediately caught and Hulme (GBR) also started shakily in the shooting range, with the original 24sec advantage rapidly eroding. Very quickly Moutaz (EGY) made his move into the medal equation and Tamas (HUN) also looked comfortable in the podium positions.
The second shoot was remarkable as Hulme (GBR), Mohamed (EGY) and Tamas (HUN) all went sub-10sec, but the third 600m was where we saw the decisive move, with Mohamed (EGY) reining in a tiring Hulme (GBR) on the back straight.
Another 10sec shoot for Mohamed (EGY) brought him closer to the dream double, and after a fourth delivery of 8sec he raised his arms in triumph, knowing there was nobody who could catch him.
By now Hulme (GBR) saw his medal hopes evaporating with a difficult last shoot, and Tamas (HUN) left the range with Sych (UKR) on his shoulder and Popov (UKR) not far behind. After a fascinating, pulsating final lap in the Hungarian heat, Sych gritted his teeth and used his stride superbly to claim a memorable silver.
Tamas (HUN) saluted the crowd as he crossed the line ahead of Popov (UKR), with Hulme and Shchukin (AIN) rounding out the top six.
