UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup Final: All you need to know
- LA28 format rehearsal provides three days of breathtaking action
- Tognetti (ITA) and Arol (AIN) announced as top seeds for Fencing
- Can anyone topple gold-medal favourites Khalil (EGY) and Malan (ITA)?
It may be three years away, but can it ever be too soon for a LA28 rehearsal?
The Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games will be the first to feature the new-look Modern Pentathlon with Obstacle making its debut and Fencing held according to the Direct Elimination system.
It will be shorter, sharper, more dynamic and compelling – and Alexandria (EGY) is about to be the first host city to rehearse the Olympic format during its hosting of the UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup Final. Two days of Semi-finals followed by a Super Sunday of Finals. A weekend of breathtaking multisport played at high speed.
So who will claim the first major titles of the LA28 cycle?
Home advantage is always helpful but Farida Khalil of Egypt has already proved she can beat anybody, anywhere. The 14-year-old is a clear favourite to win the women’s title having followed a sequence of gold-silver-gold in the UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup series with another gold at the UIPM 2025 Pentathlon Junior World Championships. It won’t harm her chances that she will be seeded No.2 in Fencing (see below).
On the men’s side, the equation is far more open with Paris 2024 bronze medallist Giorgio Malan of Italy currently topping the world rankings having won gold in Pazardzhik (BUL). The others to top the podium this season were Matteo Cicinelli (ITA) and Moutaz Mohamed (EGY), but there were numerous top-six finishes for France too.
A unique distinction of this Pentathlon World Cup Final is that it will be the first where seedings for Fencing in both the Semi-finals and Finals are determined not by results earned at the competition venue – but according to the UIPM Fencing World Rankings.
In the women’s competition, the top Fencing seeds will be:
- Aurora Tognetti (ITA)
- Farida Khalil (EGY)
- Blanka Bauer of Hungary
- Malak Ismail (EGY)
In the men’s competition, the top Fencing seeds will be:
- Yauheni Arol (AIN)
- Oleksandr Tovkai of Ukraine
- Valentin Belaud (FRA)
- Jean-Baptiste Mourcia (FRA)
The action this weekend takes place at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport, which has hosted numerous global UIPM competitions in recent years.
Watch and follow
The UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup Final takes place from July 4-6, with livestream of the Semi-finals and Finals available to watch free on YouTube or UIPM TV based on the following schedule (TV times listed in Central European Summer Time):
- Friday July 4: Women’s Semi-final A (08:00); Women’s Semi-final B (15:00) | Men’s Fencing Seeding Round
- Saturday July 5: Men’s Semi-final A (08:00); Men’s Semi-final B (15:00)
- Sunday July 6: Women’s Final (08:00); Men’s Final (15:00).
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How it works
Get set for three days of individual competition in the sequence of Fencing, Obstacle, Swimming and Laser Run – a new format that was introduced at the start of the 2025 season.
Fencing now features a quickfire Direct Elimination format where athletes must win 1min bouts to remain in the competition. In regular competitions, prior to the Semi-finals there is a Seeding Round that dictates where athletes are placed in the knockout draw. In the Pentathlon World Cup Final, seedings are dictated by the UIPM Fencing World Rankings for Women and Men.
Fencing is followed by Obstacle, a new addition to senior Modern Pentathlon where athletes race head to head over a 70m course featuring eight obstacles.
Action then switches to the Swimming pool for a 200m freestyle before athletes line up for Laser Run – five running laps of 600m with four visits to the shooting range. The first athlete across the finish line wins!
