UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Championships: Lukes (CZE)
A new champion stands astride of Modern Pentathlon and after his moment of glory in Guiyang (CHN), Matej Lukes of Czechia went straight to the pool for a celebratory dip.
After a series of silver and bronze medals in the past two seasons, the current World No.1 underlined his position as the man at the top of the sport with a deadly Laser Run performance to grasp gold in a gripping conclusion to the Men’s Final on Super Sunday at the UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Championships.
The 24-year-old held off European champion and now world silver medallist Egor Gromadskii of Russia, with veteran Changwan Seo of Korea claiming the first individual World Championships medal of his superb career with a fully deserved bronze.
In changeable conditions in China’s Forest City, the season’s showpiece had ups and downs for many but especially the cohort from Egypt. Reigning champion Moutaz Mohamed (EGY), who had won an imperious gold when Lukes (CZE) took bronze last year in Kaunas (LTU), couldn’t quite claw himself onto the podium but still finished strongly for 4th place.
The 2023 bronze medallist, Mohanad Shaban (EGY), was in the gold medal position until a discomfort in his torso struck on the penultimate lap and left him vulnerable to the chasing pack. Newcomer and Obstacle Racing wizard Mohamed El Ashqar (EGY) dominated Fencing and Swimming but a fall from the Flying Hoops ultimately wrecked his podium hopes.
There was plenty of excitement for the host nation as Yuang Ma of China finished 5th and Bailing Chen 14th, with Tim Leh of Germany completing the extended podium in 6th. The Egyptian cohort could console themselves with a Team silver medal, with gold going to Russia and bronze to France.
Fencing
Defending champion Mohamed (EGY) began the day with a familiar view from the bottom of the Fencing ladder. As 18th seed on the piste he faced Mihaly Koleszar of Hungary in an opening bout that set the all-action tone, Koleszar (HUN) prevailing 5-3.
The Top 16 gave the crowd its first true pop of the day when Chen (CHN) and Ma (CHN) faced off. Chen (CHN) used a straight grip and reach advantage to go 3-2 up but Ma (CHN) saved his cleanest strikes for when he needed them most, coming back in the last 10sec to win 4-3 and progress.
Another meeting of teammates was perhaps the pick of the Top 16 when Pentathlon World Cup Final champion Marvin Dogue (GER) and Leh (GER) produced a barn-burner, Leh (GER) surviving 4-4 on priority. Meanwhile Shaban (EGY) looked wily and composed as he picked off Lukes (CZE) with ease.
The Obstacle Racing and Swimming prowess of El Ashqar (EGY) is such that any Fencing progress would put him into overall contention – and he made serious progress when it counted today.
The 14th seed set the tone by knocking off No.3 seed Petr Borshchev (RUS) in the Top 16 and continued taking a wrecking ball to Russian hopes in the Top 8 as Gromadskii (RUS) also fell victim to the North African giant. Top seed Balazs Szep (HUN) and Shaban (EGY) continued their march with Shaban (EGY) remaining defensively supreme as he took out Andrey Bobrov (RUS) 3-0.
That set up a Top 4 showdown in which the artistry of Szep (HUN) was all too evident as he took an early 2-0 lead on Shaban (EGY) with two great counters, and some smart deception helped the No.1 seed progress 5-3. Meanwhile the momentum of El Ashqar already felt irresistible as he toppled Seo (KOR) to make it all the way to the final.
With Szep (HUN) having had to wait nearly five minutes for the decider, El Ashqar (EGY) came in fully warmed up and it showed as his ducking and diving approach saw him race into a 2-0 lead and wrap up a remarkable 5-2 victory with 21sec to spare.
Obstacle Racing
So many eyes would be on El Ashqar (EGY) but it was defending champion Mohamed (EGY) who kicked things off with a rapid 22.97sec to spark his move up the overall standings. That was immediately bettered in the second heat when Koleszar (HUN) blazed a trail in 21.76, a time that none of the following 13 athletes would match.
That didn’t mean they wouldn’t give it a go. A captivating side-by-side battle between Dogue (GER) and Lukes (CZE) summed up how every finalist was determined to leave everything out there, Dogue (GER) taking nearly 2sec off his personal best in 22.50 with Lukes just three split seconds behind.
Two-time world champion Valentin Belaud (FRA) made the day’s first error, having to repeat on the Flying Hoops, while an unfortunate knee injury to Mohamed Hassan (EGY) left Borshchev (RUS) in the unenviable position of running solo but even he clocked a respectable 26.90.
At the business end, the showdown of Ma (CHN) and Leh (GER) delivered on its potential with Ma (CHN) overcoming an early misstep and a missed swing at the final buzzer to record the day’s 2nd-fastest time of 22.08.
Two stars of the Paris 2024 Olympic cycle, Shaban (EGY) and Seo (KOR), made for a veteran pairing but they delivered too, putting up the 4th and 7th fastest runs respectively.
El Ashqar (EGY) has spent the past year constantly looking to lower his world record progression in Obstacle Racing, and in the final race the crowd wondered if he would manage to go sub-18sec to take a stranglehold on the competition. Instead, disaster struck on the Flying Hoops when he reached for the final ring but lost his grip and crashed to the mat. Remarkably, he was still able to clock 28.31 but the chance to move commandingly clear had been lost.
Swimming
Mohamed (EGY) is the master of the comeback and in the first of three heats in the pool, the 2025 champion raged against the end of his reign as he powered past the rest of his rivals and clocked a rapid 54.02.
The reverberations of El Ashqar’s dramatic fall rippled in the pool with so much still up for grabs but no one quite took full advantage in the second heat. Lukes (CZE) won it by a clear margin, though his time was a full second slower than that of Mohamed (EGY).
Among the top six in the standings there was plenty to be gained but Leh (GER) trailed behind, losing prominence on the leaderboard. It was El Ashqar (EGY) who showed he had put his error to one side as he powered through the turns and seared clear in a quickest time of 52.96 with Shaban (EGY) not far behind in 54.12.
Laser Run
Despite the ups and down of a dramatic afternoon, El Ashqar (EGY) was still out in front with everything to be decided in the Laser Run. The winds continued to buffet the picturesque lakeside course, but with the rain holding off, the chasing pack would have been very aware that the leader’s brilliance in other disciplines has not yet translated to the run-shoot.
All of the top seven within 37sec of El Ashqar (EGY) likely fancied their chances and perhaps even the comeback king Mohamed, 44sec back, would have believed a medal was still possible. Local eyes were fixed on Ma (CHN), setting off in 4th.
By the time the leaders reached the range for the first time Shaban (EGY) had already taken the lead and with a nerveless 10sec shoot, he took command. Lukes (CZE) and Bobrov (RUS) both started in flying form with 8sec shoots.
Seo (KOR) had moved ahead of El Ashqar (EGY) by the second shoot, but then opened the door for everyone around him with a laboured 22sec discharge. Gromadskii (RUS) showed the momentum of his European triumph as he loomed into view, closing rapidly on the top three.
With just one podium place in the past two years, Shaban (EGY) has doggedly worked his way back into this kind of company and looked faultless with a sub-9sec shoot on his third visit, while positions behind him chopped and changed. But just as he approached the range for a fourth time, Shaban (EGY) reached for his side, the first signal of a physical issue that would derail his 2026 dream.
Very soon he would be overtaken by three rivals, and as the bell sounded for the final lap, just 10 metres separated Seo (KOR), Lukes (CZE) and Gromadskii (RUS) with everything up for grabs. In keeping with a season where he has shot to the summit of the world rankings, it was Lukes (CZE) who cemented that position in emphatic fashion, a 10.5sec final shoot enabling him to race away towards the glory of the tape.
Gromadskii (RUS) had enough legs to hold on to his silver-medal position but not enough to threaten the champion in waiting. Behind him, Seo (KOR) was not threatened even though Mohamed (EGY) was eating up the ground from starting in 9th to finish 4th.
It was left to the new champion to celebrate with partner and Women’s Final contender Laura Heredia of Spain and then, in a picture-perfect moment for TV cameras, he wandered to the pool and leant backwards to fall in for a well-deserved cooldown.
WATCH AND FOLLOW
The UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Championships concludes with the Women’s Final on 30 August at 10:30 Central European time. And the Race Across China continues with the UIPM 2026 Obstacle World Championships from September 2-6. Livestreams are available to watch free on YouTube.
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