UIPM 2025 PENTATHLON WORLD CUP PAZARDZHIK: ASTONISHING OZYUKSEL (TUR) REACHES WOMEN’S FINAL
- Three-time Olympian recovers from Obstacle fall to finish first in epic Laser Run
- Khalil (EGY) extends Obstacle world record on the way to winning Semi-final A
- Whitaker (GBR) stays in charge of Semi-final B to earn Super Sunday place
As 14-year-old Farida Khalil of Egypt continued to show her incredible maturity at UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup Pazardzhik, a more established star of the sport made history with an awe-inspiring comeback.
Having fallen from the Obstacle course in her first Pentathlon World Cup Semi-final appearance since the change of format, Ilke Ozyuksel of Türkiye looked to have no chance of reaching the Final as she started the Laser Run in 17th place with the maximum 1min 30sec handicap.
The greater the challenge, the greater a champion emerges, and Ozyuksel (TUR) simply devoured the field, overtaking all 16 rivals to cross the line 1st with a time of 10:50.60 that was just 12sec off the world record.
Ozyuksel (TUR) thus became the first athlete under the new rules to reach a Final with the maximum handicap, leaving 10th-placed Jing Fu of China crestfallen. But it took some minutes to establish whether or not the three-time Olympian had accrued enough points to finish in the top nine, and when the result became official, the world No.3 burst into tears.
Behind her at the finish line but ahead of her in the points standings, Emma Whitaker of Great Britain had an assured day, finishing 5sec clear of Rebecca Castaudi of France in Semi-final B, followed by Sumin Shin of Korea and Malak Ismail (EGY).
Top seed Whitaker (GBR) had lost the Fencing Final to Aurora Tognetti of Italy, who shone on the Obstacle course with a time of 33.87 only bettered by Malgorzata Karbownik of Poland (33.59), and Yuri Suzuki of Japan then delivered a top swim of 2:19.29.
While Ozyuksel (TUR) stormed the Laser Run course to show that an Obstacle slip need not be the end of the story, another top athlete failed to recover from the setback of a fall, Blanka Guzi of Hungary finishing 14th overall.
Earlier, Khalil (EGY) had extended her own Obstacle world record on the way to winning Semi-final A, propelling her into a Final where she will be favourite to add gold to the gold and silver medals she has already accumulated this season.
Khalil (EGY) timed a mind-blowing 29:30 in Obstacle, with only Florina Jurt of Switzerland keeping her company sub-35sec. This came after an early defeat for Khalil (EGY) in Fencing, where Beatrice Mercuri (ITA) emerged triumphant after winning the Final against Martina Rutkauskaite of Lithuania, whose team-mate Guste Peciulyte (LTU) timed the day’s fastest time in Swimming (2:15.82).
In Laser Run, Olympic record-holder Anna Jurt (SUI) was the big mover, dashing through the field to finish 6th with a time of 11:13.60, while Johanna Maria Jogisu of Estonia also emerged from the pack to breach the top nine and book a place on the start line for Super Sunday.
Pentathlon World Cup Pazardzhik continues tomorrow (May 10) with the Men's Semi-finals, followed by the Women’s and Men’s Finals on May 11.
Live stream of the Semi-finals and Finals is available free on UIPM TV and all competition results are available at the UIPM website.
Click here to see the 18 athletes qualified for the Women's Final.
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