UIPM 2026 Pentathlon U19 World Championships: Akim Gnedtchik keeps family run going with Men’s Relay gold

The Gnedtchik family is rapidly becoming one of the most prolific in Pentathlon. On the same day as his sister Mariya became a senior world champion for Belarus in the Women’s Relay, and two days after his brother Klim tasted success in the Tetrathlon U15 Men’s Relay, Akim Gnedtchik had gold around his neck too.

Teaming up with fellow neutral athlete Aliaksandr Chuyashkou, Gnedtchik anchored Laser Run to added the U19 Men’s Relay crown to his collection on the second day of the UIPM 2026 Pentathlon U19 World Championships in Madrid (ESP).

The duo secured victory by 11sec from a rampaging Ukraine duo, Maksym Kovalchuk and Oleksandr Chernyshev, while Türkiye (Muhammet Emir Kurtulan and Arda Meric) claimed bronze after a controversial incident in Laser Run. Another neutral twosome, Artem Knizhnik and Artem Ivanovskii, suffered the agony elimination after they were penalised for an incorrect transition.

Gnedtchik & Chuyashkou had emerged on top of Fencing one bout ahead of Egypt (Omar Abdelkader and Mostafa Amer), before the Turks showed their Obstacle Racing prowess with a combined 48.56. Having timed 3rd-fastest on the course, Gnedtchik & Chuyashkou topped the standings in Swimming to give themselves plenty of breathing space, and even a superb 12min 48.92sec from Kovalchuk & Chernyshev (UKR) did not cause them undue alarm as they confidently secured the gold.

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