UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest: Koleszar (HUN) joined by Egypt duo at sharp end of Men’s Semi-finals

• Local favourite takes charge of Semi-final A alongside British and German rivals
• El Ashqar (EGY) atones for Obstacle fall to boss Semi-final B alongside Shaban (EGY)
• Mourcia (FRA) wins sprint finish to secure Final place but Malan (ITA) falls short

The stage is set for a double showdown between Egypt and Hungary on Super Saturday at UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest.

The Men’s Semi-finals, like the Women’s Semi-finals 24 hours earlier, saw the African and European powerhouse nations rise to the top as Mihaly Koleszar (HUN) won the first one and team-mates Mohamed El Ashqar (EGY) and Mazen Shaban (EGY) dominated the second.

Koleszar (HUN) was closely followed across the line by James Hulme of Great Britain and Moriz Klinkert of Germany on a day when several of the sport’s more established names found themselves fighting for scraps in the race for Final berths. Jonas Kalaminskas of Lithuania then finished 3rd in Semi-final B.

Koleszar (HUN) was unflappable all day in Semi-final A. His Fencing run ended in the Round of 4 against Micheli (ITA), but he was 3rd-fastest and 8th-fastest in Obstacle and Swimming respectively. Superb shooting then enabled him to cruise home at the front of the Laser Run pack.

Roberto Micheli of Italy was a second away from winning Fencing, only for Temirlan Abdraimov of Kazakhstan to have the final say in their Round of 2 match, winning their 3-3 draw on account of a higher seeding.

With only one elimination in Obstacle, the standard was consistently high and two athletes broke the 30sec mark to enhance their Final prospects, Mohamed Hassan (EGY) and Klinkert (GER). The best performer in Swimming was Charles Brown (GBR) in 2min 00.98sec.

Laser Run was a story of comebacks as Moutaz Mohamed (EGY) timed an electrifying 9:48.95 to move serenely into the top nine and qualify for the Final. It was a lot more dramatic for Jean-Baptiste Mourcia of France, but the Paris 2024 Olympian finally held off a lung-bursting challenge from Andras Gall (HUN) to clinch 9th place.

When four athletes were eliminated in Obstacle including top 10-ranked Changwan Seo of Korea, Semi-final B was blown wide open and Shaban (EGY) was perfectly positioned to take advantage. Having already beaten Seo (KOR) in the Fencing Round of 2, he also left the Paris 2024 Olympian trailing on the Obstacle course to record the 3rd-fastest time.

Kalaminskas (LTU) set the standard in Obstacle with 31.87, while El Ashqar (EGY) atoned for a slip on the course with a blistering Swimming time of 1:57.15, as Shifan Ge of China also went under 1:59.

Giorgio Malan (ITA) started Laser Run in 10th with an 18sec deficit and chased Yan Chen (CHN) hard all the way, finally overtaking on the indoor section of the final 600m. However, a slight trip on the final bend saw the Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist lose momentum and Chen (CHN) stormed past him to clinch the coveted 9th place and reach the Final in his second Pentathlon World Cup.

• UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest: All you need to know

Pentathlon World Cup Budapest concludes tomorrow (April 26) with the Women’s and Men's Finals. Live stream is available free on UIPM TV and all competition results are available at the UIPM website.

The following 18 athletes qualified for the Men's Final: