UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest: Golden Dogue (GER) is back with a bang
An epic Men’s Final at UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest saw 30-year-old Marvin Dogue of Germany resurrect his career in the best possible style with a career-first gold.
Dogue (GER), emerged triumphant from a classic Laser Run after conceding his lead to silver medallist Ugo Fleurot of France for half of the final 600m. For Fleurot (FRA) it was a second consecutive Budapest medal, and he and Dogue (GER) were joined on the podium by Yuriy Kovalchuk of Ukraine, who rose 10 places in a tight Laser Run.
Marek Grycz of Czechia finished just 3sec behind the bronze medallist, joined on the extended podium by Sebastian Forrest of Great Britain and Leo Bories (FRA).
Medallist reaction
Gold medallist Dogue (GER) said: “It feels like really special for me, because last year I didn't train normally, I thought I would stop, but then in September I got the call that [the German team] would give me a chance to come back, so I knew I would have to work hard to come back on the same level, because there are so many strong athletes, and with the new discipline.
“Thanks to all the other athletes in my training group who showed me all the things at Obstacle, I was able to catch up, and yeah, this is not just a medal for me, it's a medal for the whole team, you know.
“I saw Fleurot was a little bit ahead of me, but sorry against him, but he's not like Joseph Choong, so I knew I could beat him quite easily. That's why [I won], sorry for him.”
Silver medallist Fleurot (FRA) said: “I want to thank Marvin Dogue. We started from the same Qualification four days ago, and we were all the time close during the Laser Run event, so it was tough. It was maybe the most stressful day of my life, because after I had a great Fencing, I knew I was capable of something, and I stressed, stressed a lot.
“I was shaking during Obstacle, Shooting, Swimming was hard, Running last round, but I stayed focused, I stayed concentrated, and after the two World Cups at the beginning of the year, it was very bad. I was a little bit down, but I still worked, I stayed smart, not over freaking, and will focus myself to prepare as well as I can for the World Cup Final.
“Modern Pentathlon became so much fun. I love Modern Pentathlon. Look, the venue is amazing, the crowd is amazing. We are all very close, so the spectacle is amazing. I think we deserve more viral visibility, but we will come as soon as possible, and I think it will be the best thing in years. Back-to-back podiums in Budapest!”
Bronze medallist Kovalchuk (UKR) said: “It was great, but I had to stay in the moment, step step step, and I could do it. So amazing. Thank you, Budapest. Thank you, UPM. This is an amazing competition and amazing people. So I'm very, very happy to be here.
“In shooting you must be here in the moment, don't see anybody, only you and the target. So it's only like this.”
Fencing
Mihaly Koleszar of Hungary, seeded 15, earned the right to join an intriguing Top 16 and went 2-1 up against Dogue (GER) but had to vacate the piste after a 3-3 draw with the top seed having priority. Dominik Olejarz (GER) impressed with a 5-1 demolition of Charles Brown (GBR). The towering Oleksandr Tovkai of Ukraine repeated his Semi-final success by eliminating the dangerous Changwan Seo of Korea by the same margin, while Woongtae Jun (KOR) was halted by Mohamed Hassan of Egypt.
To the delight of the crowd, Csaba Bohm (HUN) entered the fray and, back in the form that made him a superstar in the Paris 2024 cycle, made it look easy as he thrusted and parried his way into the Top 4, where he faced Hassan (EGY) and prevailed 4-2. On the other piste, Dogue (GER) faced the in-form Fleurot (FRA) and was forced to accept a 3-1 defeat after a late riposte.
Into the Top 2, Fleurot (FRA) struck first but two effective counters gave the higher-seeded Bohm (HUN) a 2-1 advantage. Fleurot (FRA) drew level with 10sec to go, and there was a double touch before Bohm (HUN) struck the decisive blow with a calculated lunge for the maximum 250 points.
Obstacle
There was a fascinating hare-and-tortoise meeting in Heat 2 as Koleszar (HUN) took off fast against Brown (GBR), only to slip off the Flying Hoops and lose the lead. Remarkably the local hero got back in front of his rival as they both hit the buzzer at around 31sec.
The next generation of pentathletes then entered the fray to show how it was done. Forrest set a time of 22.21sec that would not be beaten all day and Matous Tuma of Czechia also broke 23sec.
Jun (KOR) fell from the Tilting Ladders, hurting his lower back as team-mate Seo (KOR) charged off to win their all-Korea battle in 24.28.
Much was expected of world record-holder Mohamed El Ashqar (EGY) but a few minor errors saw him fall short of his usual standards – though a 22.78 still made him highly competitive overall.
Moriz Klinkert (GER) was a non-starter and the final race between Dogue (GER) and Hassan (EGY) shaped up to be potentially decisive. Hassan (EGY) struggled on the Tilting Ladders, allowing Dogue (GER) to extend his overall lead with a solid 26.22.
Swimming
There was very little to separate the athletes in the pool, though Brown (GBR) and El Ashqar (EGY) deserve special mention for breaking the 56sec mark for 324 and 323 points respectively, with Kovalchuk (UKR) and Jun (KOR) each taking 320 to strengthen their position.
It added up to an incredibly tight Laser Run start line, with El Ashqar (EGY), Fleurot (FRA) and Dogue (GER) all starting within 1sec of each other and Bohm (HUN), Hassan (EGY) and Grycz (CZE) lurking in close proximity.
Laser Run
El Ashqar (EGY) was immediately caught out by a slow shoot, slipping down to 8th, while Hassan (EGY) took 17sec to get his first set away. It led to a defined 1-2 battle between high-flying Dogue (GER) and hard-working Fleurot (FRA), with Grycz (CZE), Bohm (HUN), Bories (FRA), Hassan (EGY) and Forrest (GBR) in the chasing pack.
At the second shoot, Fleurot (FRA) made a mistake and Grycz (CZE) caught up with him, while Bohm (HUN) was unable to find his shooting prowess and it was Forrest (GBR) who looked the more likely to enter the medal equation.
Dogue (GER) remained steady with 12/13sec shoots, while Kovalchuk (UKR) became the big mover from a starting position of 13th. At the final visit to the range, Fleurot (FRA) shot out of the range to overtake Dogue (GER) in a bolt for gold. Sadly for him, the experienced double Olympian found his kick and passed his rival in the outdoor section of the course, to re-emerge into the arena as an unconquerable gold medallist. Similarly for Grycz (CZE), the running pace of Kovalchuk (UKR) was irresistible.
Watch and follow
UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Budapest has now concluded and the next competition is the UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Final, also in Budapest (HUN) from June 26-28.
Upcoming events
