UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup Pazardzhik: Finals report, reaction and links
- Teen queen Khalil (EGY) reinforces class with two world records on her way to gold
- Malan (ITA) adds first global gold to Olympic medal and European title
- Belaud (FRA) wins comeback bronze as Cicinelli (ITA), Seong (KOR) and Ismail (EGY) secure medals
They may be separated in age by 11 years but Farida Kahlil of Egypt and Giorgio Malan of Italy confirmed they will both be hard to beat on the road to LA28 as they dominated Super Sunday at UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup Pazardzhik.
Fourteen-year-old sensation Khalil (EGY) completed a sequence of gold-silver-gold in the first three global competitions of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle with another extraordinary performance. She is almost single-handedly redefining the sport as the first athlete born in the 2010s to show that all five disciplines can now be mastered from a young age, inspiring a global generation of multisport athletes to dream of new possibilities.
This morning in Bulgaria, Khalil (EGY) did not have everything her own way but two new world records enabled her to cruise home 19sec ahead of world No.1, world champion and Paris 2024 bronze medallist Seungmin Seong of Korea, with fellow Olympian Malak Ismail (EGY) clinching bronze.
Three hours later, another Paris 2024 bronze medallist, Malan (ITA), showed great conviction alongside team-mate Matteo Cicinelli (ITA) to overtake Obstacle hero Mohamed El Ashqar (EGY) in a captivating Laser Run to claim the top two podium positions. The duo finished 3rd and 5th respectively at the Paris 2024 Olympics and owned the podium today.
Valentin Belaud of France did not qualify for his home Olympics but he has worked relentlessly at adopting the new format and secured a popular bronze medal ahead of potentially becoming a father next week. His partner Elodie Clouvel, a two-time Olympic silver medallist, is expecting their first child.
Three new world records were set during the competition, as Jean-Baptiste Mourcia (FRA) timed an incredible 9:39.63 in Men’s Qualification to erase the mark set by Emiliano Hernandez of Mexico when he finished 4th in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Khalil (EGY) raised the bar in Obstacle with two new world records of 29.30 and 27.70, extending by more than 3sec the standard she set in Pentathlon World Cup Budapest just two weeks earlier. The starlet also achieved a new high mark of 1,485 overall points, nine more than Michelle Gulyas of Hungary managed two weeks ago in Pentathlon World Cup Budapest
Click here to read the Women’s Final report
Click here to read the Men’s Final report
Click here to view photography from the Finals
Medallist reaction
Women’s gold medallist Khalil (EGY) said: “I am very happy about this. I was very upset that I got the silver medal in Budapest, but I came here today and I felt that I would have to perform well in Obstacle to get this gold.
“Even though the Fencing round was not good, I told myself I needed to get a new world record in OCR to get the gold medal, and I did it three times in this competition, and also got the total world record today.
“I’m very happy and I want to thank my mom and my brothers, who did a good job in helping me get this gold medal.”
Women’s silver medallist Seong (KOR) said: “After I finished last season at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, it took a bit of time to prepare for the Obstacle, and it went badly in the World Cup in Hungary and I was very sad.
“The next competition came soon here in Bulgaria, and I got an incredible result so it’s nice, I’m very happy.
“Obstacle is a bit different in terms of muscles, and it is tough on our hands, but it’s a very exciting sport and I tried to use today as a training session for the next competition, and now I’m in a good position.”
Women’s bronze medallist Ismail (EGY) said: “I’m very proud of myself today, very happy with this first medal of the season after a tough four days in a row.
“It’s not an easy transition. I had to rest for more than a month after the Paris Olympics. But it was very exciting to see all the new generations doing Obstacle, and I’m new to it. It’s very adventurous and challenging.
“I was waiting to see with Obstacle – if I did Obstacle well I knew that a medal was a possibility after my 4th place two weeks ago in Budapest. Today, better Obstacle led to a better position and I’m very proud.”
Men’s gold medallist Malan (ITA) said: “I’m super happy. It was in the end very difficult after the Olympics, because I took some rest. Then to restart training in a new sport with a new format was very difficult, but I said to my staff: ‘this year the goal is not to take a medal, we want to improve and learn better the new format’. But when you are an athlete you want to win the race and take the gold, and today I am super, super happy.
“It’s amazing [to be an Olympic medallist], but I want to be myself always and not to think that now I’m the best or something like that. I like what I do, I like sport, I liked it before and I like it now in the same way.”
Men’s silver medallist Cicinelli (ITA) said: “I cannot explain it. I’m getting familiar with this competition, and I love how it works more each time. I think it’s not so bad!
“We have a very good movement in Team Italy, and I love how we feel like the best in the world, and I hope it can continue for the next three years. In the men’s team we are following the women’s team which did very well in recent years.”
Men’s bronze medallist Belaud (FRA) said: “I’m so very excited today. It’s a long time since the World Championships in Budapest, six years, but today I won a medal and I’m so happy.
“Elodie told me all the time throughout Paris 2024, ‘next year is your time, Valentin’. Next week perhaps I will be a Dad, and I am so excited and have a lot of emotion. With all my team and my family, I am so very happy, and it’s not finished!
“I love the new discipline of Modern Pentathlon, it’s the best new discipline. I love the action and it’s dramatic and I’m happy it’s in my sport. We had a lot of guys who were better today, and I look at who is the best – El Ashqar is a very great athlete. I look very closely and it’s step by step. I’m so emotional today.”
UIPM reaction
UIPM Secretary General Shiny Fang said: “What a day, what a competition! The weather was beautiful today and we saw 36 outstanding female and male athletes performing our fantastic new Pentathlon in a new destination of Pazardzhik, Bulgaria.
“These two Finals again proved the strength of our athletes and their capacity and ability. We are really glad to see our TV product for Pentathlon evolving with a lot of new graphics and information during the broadcast providing so many fresh possibilities as well.
“We are determined to promote the sport more and more to reach a much wider global audience, and every of those steps matters as we will build our path to LA28!”
Watch and follow
Pentathlon World Cup Pazardzhik has now concluded and the next major competition on the calendar is UIPM 2025 Junior World Championships in Szekesfehervar (HUN) from June 25-29, followed by the UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup Final in Alexandria (EGY) from July 4-6.
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