UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup Final: Mohamed (EGY) completes dream double
Moutaz Mohamed completed a unique double for Egypt at the UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup Final in Alexandria (EGY), winning gold in a highly eventful Men’s Final and extending his own overall word record by seven points to 1,583.
Building on his first Pentathlon World Cup gold and second Junior World Championships title, Mohamed (EGY) won the biggest prize of his career by 9sec from a rampaging Matej Lukes of Czechia, a first-time Pentathlon World Cup medallist who was joined on the podium by Ugo Fleurot of France.
The success of Mohamed (EGY) followed victory in the Women’s Final by Farida Khalil (EGY) and confirmed Egypt’s current supremacy in Modern Pentathlon – both athletes won individual gold at the UIPM Pentathlon Junior World Championships in Hungary only a week ago.
There may have been a highly youthful appearance to the podium, but some longer-established pentathletes also performed strongly in the Men’s Final, with Jean-Baptiste Mourcia (FRA) sprinting to finish 4th ahead of Changwan Seo of Korea, before Andras Gall of Hungary completed the top six.
Fencing
There were two consecutive clashes of titans in the Round of 16 as Mohanad Shaban (EGY) faced up to Seo (KOR), and it was the higher-seeded Asian athlete who prevailed 5-4. Mohamed (EGY) then confronted Mihaly Koleszar (HUN) and raced into a 2-0 lead, only for the No.4 seed to storm back and win 5-4 with a shoulder barge to the throat for his trouble.
The first of three French athletes in the Quarter-finals was Valentin Belaud (FRA), but the top seed was stunned by Uladzislau Melkaziorau (AIN) as the 21-year-old continued his Semi-final heroics. A light-footed Mourcia (FRA) did rather better and Fleurot (FRA) progressed against the dangerous Akim Gnedtchik (AIN) to set up an all-French semi that went right down to the wire with Mourcia (FRA) claiming the decisive point with 1sec to go.
On the other side of the draw, an intriguing battle between Seo (KOR) and Koleszar (HUN) ended up in favour of the European, who then accounted for Melkaziorau (AIN) 5-4 after a tense struggle. Finally Koleszar (HUN) faced up to Mourcia (FRA) where his run came to an end, with defence proving the best form of attack in a 5-0 masterclass.
- Mourcia (FRA) 250pts
- Koleszar (HUN) 244pts
- Fleurot (FRA) 238pts
Obstacle
The home athletes may not have had everything their way in Fencing, but they were not prepared to be upstaged when the action moved to the Obstacle course.
Pau Salomo of Spain set the tone straight away with an electrifying 25.99sec, followed by Mohamed Hassan (EGY) who would have been just as quick if not for a late slip. Mohamed (EGY) was thrilled with a competitive time and let the crowd know about it. Another Egyptian gave the crowd yet more to cheer as Shaban (EGY) used his height to great effect for a 26.35.
The action was unrelenting and Gnedtchik (AIN) left all previous efforts in the shade with supreme agility and speed, nailing all obstacles and hitting the buzzer in 23.30.
The veteran Belaud (FRA) struggled on the Tilting Ladders and Climbing Holds, incurring a time that put him out of podium contention, and the news got worse for France as competition leader Mourcia (FRA) dropped to the mat at the end of Climbing Holds, dropping nine places overall and fading back into the chasing pack.
Running just ahead of Mourcia (FRA), Koleszar (HUN) made no such mistake and a brilliant 26.05 gave him some daylight ahead of Gnedtchik (AIN) overall.
- Gnedtchik (AIN) 376pts
- Salomo (ESP) 367pts
- Koleszar (HUN) 367pts
Overall: Koleszar (HUN) 611; Gnedtchik (AIN) 602; Fleurot (FRA) 585
Swimming
Going in the second heat, it was no surprise to see Mohamed (EGY) seek to assert himself on the leaderboard, especially as one of his potential rivals was about to disappear from contention. Shaban (EGY) was a non-starter in Swimming, leaving Mohamed (EGY) as the main home medal hope and a top time of 2min 00.34sec signalled his intent.
Roberto Micheli of Italy also did his best to give himself a chance in Laser Run with another time under 2:01, while Lukes (CZE) moved into podium contention, becoming one of several to close the gap on leading duo Koleszar (HUN) and Gnedtchik (AIN).
- Mohamed (EGY) 310pts
- Micheli (ITA) 309pts
- Lukes (CZE) 307pts
Overall: Koleszar (HUN) 906; Gnedtchik (AIN) 897; Lukes (CZE) 884
Laser Run
None of the margins at the start of Laser Run looked insurmountable, with Mohamed (EGY) lurking ominously 23sec behind the leader. Koleszar (HUN) dropped 5sec to Fleurot (FRA) at the first shoot and it was game on. Cue the arrival of Mohamed (EGY).
Running at times like he is on fast-forward with the others on standard playback speed, the sight of the 20-year-old cutting through the pack has become a Pentathlon signature. On the second 600m, Mohamed (EGY) joined the top three and then reeled in Gnedtchik (AIN). His shooting was slightly faulty at the range but by the midway point of the race he was in the lead, with no athlete of similar prowess in with a chance of catching him.
Briefly the sharp-shooting Seo (KOR) moved into the lead as Koleszar (HUN) and Gnedtchik (AIN) failed to live up to the standard around them. Fleurot (FRA) also made it to the front ofr a time, but really these were actors with a walk-on part in the Moutaz show.
As the newest face in contention, Lukes (CZE) had been looking increasingly impressive all weekend, and his remarkable stamina in the scorching heat enabled him to look the most dangerous when it became a three-horse race. So it proved on the final lap as the 23-year-old motored past a struggling Fleurot (FRA) to secure one of Czechia’s best results in individual Pentathlon since David Svoboda won Olympic gold at London 2012.
In the final analysis, that Obstacle transgression by Mourcia (FRA) cost him a medal as he recorded the second-best Laser Run time of 10min 08.80sec – only bettered by the champion’s incredible 10:00.33.
- Mohamed (EGY) 700pts
- Mourcia (FRA) 692pts
- Lukes (CZE) 690pts
Overall: Mohamed (EGY) 1583; Lukes (CZE) 1574; Fleurot (FRA) 1567.
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