UIPM 2025 Pentathlon Junior World Championships: Men’s Semi-finals

Reigning champion Moutaz Mohamed of Egypt will be the man to beat in the Men’s Final after qualifying comfortably from the first of two intriguing Semi-finals at the UIPM 2025 Pentathlon Junior World Championships in Szekesfehervar (HUN).

Mohamed (EGY), who recently won his first senior Pentathlon World Cup gold medal, will hope that his all-round brilliance is enough to fend off 2023 U19 world champion Etienne Clergeau of France and disciplinary specialists such as Juchan Lee of Korea – who equalled the Junior Men’s world record of 26 victories in the Fencing Seeding Round – and Obstacle fliers Moustafa Abouamer (EGY) and Jonas Kalaminskas of Lithuania.

Semi-final A

Carrying impressive momentum from the Fencing Seeding Round, where he equalled the Men’s Junior world record with 26V/9D, Lee (KOR) continued his supremacy in Direct Elimination where he won all four bouts to take the maximum 250 points forward. Mohamed (EGY), seeded 5th, enjoyed an important last-touch win over 4th seed Andrey Bobrov (AIN).  

A testing Obstacle course brought out the best in the field with Kalaminskas (LTU) using his height to full advantage with an impressive 25.57sec – the fastest time of either Semi-final – gaining six more points than any other athlete. Oleg Rybak of Ukraine had similar success in Swimming with a standout time of 2min 06.13sec.

The Laser Run was relatively processional, with Mohammed (EGY) unsurprisingly making his way from 5th to a tie for 2nd, crossing the line together with Hassan (EGY), Rybak (UKR), Kalaminskas (LTU) and Bobrov (AIN).

But there was one dramatic storyline that brought a reward for the fastest runner. Kivanc Tasyaran of Türkiye snatched the 9th and final place in the Final, overtaking a stuttering Denis Agavriloaie of Italy at the final shoot to qualify with an excellent 10:33.90.

Semi-final B

Unlike in Semi-final A, there was an upset at the top of the draw as 1st seed Danylo Sych (UKR) was defeated 5-4 in the Round of 8 by Clergeau (FRA). The French athlete almost went all the way only to find an immovable object in the form of Attila Marschall of Hungary, who went unbeaten.

Characteristically, and having struggled in Fencing, Abouamer (EGY) made up considerable ground in Obstacle with a 25.75 that vaulted him into the top six overall, a position he further strengthened in Swimming where Valery Shchukin (AIN) was the fastest over the four 50m laps in 2:06.06.

Laser Run was interesting with plenty of transitions between the starting top nine and the chasing pack. Ivan Manzanas of Spain particularly caught the eye with a blistering 10:04.96 that enabled him to soar from 18th to 8th. Behind him there was a gripping battle for 9th, where Yauheni Khviadchena (AIN) gritted his teeth on the final lap to keep Reuben Cawley of Great Britain at bay.

At the front end, Clergeau (FRA) eased up to cross at ease with Sych and Roman Popov (UKR), Shchukin (AIN) and Abouamer (EGY).

Click here for a full list of the 18 athletes who qualified for the Men’s Final.

 

Watch and follow

Live stream of the Semi-finals and Finals is available free on UIPM TV and YouTube and all competition results are available at the UIPM website.

The UIPM 2025 Pentathlon Junior World Championships conclude on June 29, based on the following schedule (YouTube live coverage times in Central European Summer Time):

Sunday June 29: Women’s Final (LIVE from 13:00); Men’s Final (LIVE from 17:30).