UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Cairo: Guzi and Erdos (HUN) are Semi-final hot shots
- Hungarian duo ease into Women’s Final along with Olympic champion Gulyas
- Host nation Egypt also impress with four reaching Super Sunday
- Ozyuksel (TUR) in pole position after Fencing Seeding Round heroics
Blanka Guzi and Rita Erdos dominated the Women’s Semi-finals at UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Cairo, setting up a mouthwatering Super Sunday clash with Hungary team-mate Michelle Gulyas, the reigning Olympic champion.
Semi-final A was won by world No.3 Guzi (HUN), with Paris 2024 gold medallist Gulyas (HUN) and fellow Pentathlon legend Ilke Ozyuksel of Türkiye not far behind. Erdos (HUN) performed even better in Semi-final B, scoring a new high of 1,435 points as Zeina Amer became the highest finisher among four Egypt athletes reaching the Final.
Great Britain duo Poppy Clark and Chloe Johnson also performed with distinction, crossing 2nd in their respective Semi-finals. But it will be Ozyuksel (TUR) who goes into the Final as the top-seeded fencer, on the back of an excellent 24V/11D in the Seeding Round, with Viyaleta Hureyeva (AIN) and Gulyas (HUN) next in the standings.
In the evening, the Men’s Fencing Seeding Round saw two-time world champion Valentin Belaud (FRA) emerge as the top seed with 24 victories, one more than Lukasz Gutkowski (POL), heading into tomorrow’s Men’s Semi-finals.
Semi-final A
In Fencing, Ozyuksel (TUR) was knocked out immediately and one of the lowest-seeded fencers turned the tables to dominate the Direct Elimination round. Paula Valencia of Guatemala marched through the table, defeating local favourites Salma Abdelmaksoud (EGY) and Haydy Morsy (EGY) in the Semi-final and Final to claim the maximum 250 points.
Performances in Obstacle were steady but unspectacular, with Ozyuksel (TUR) and Clark (GBR) going marginally fastest, dipping under 36sec along with Anna Jurt of Switzerland.
The new 100m Swimming distance saw an impressive burst of speed from Valentina Martinescu of Italy, who almost broke the 1min mark with her standout time of 1:00.18. But the 11-point cushion gained in the pool was not enough to power Martinescu (ITA) to the Final.
Instead, it was Guzi (HUN) who controlled the Laser Run as Valencia (GUA), Gulyas (HUN), Ozyuksel (TUR) and Anastasiya Malashenoka (AIN) comfortably earned their places in the last 18 for Super Sunday.
Clark (GBR) was the big mover, climbing from 13th on the start line to finish 2nd in 11:27.54, a time only bettered by back-marker Mathilde Derval of France in 11:24.20.
Sisters Anna Jurt and Katharina Jurt (SUI) worked hard to move clear of the key battle for 9th place, leaving Abdelmaksoud (EGY) to finish in that spot with Xiyao Wu of China in 10th.
Semi-final B
Coline Flavin (FRA) atoned for a poor seeding performance as she made it through to the Semi-final, only to be hammered 5-1 by the impressive Viktoriia Sazonova (AIN), who had dominated the Seeding Round with an exceptional 27 victories. Sazonova (AIN) duly took care of Erdos (HUN) 5-4 in the Final, with Jana Attia (EGY) the other athlete to reach the last four.
Obstacle times were quicker among this group, with three top performers scorching the course in less than 33sec. Johnston (GBR) set the tone, followed by two athletes using home advantage to good effect, Attia and Amer (EGY).
Alisa Melikhova (AIN) earned a six-point boost in Swimming with a fastest time of 1:01.80, followed by Jing Fu (CHN) and Hanna Jakubowska of Poland.
It all translated into a narrow lead for Sazonova (AIN) going into the Laser Run, but the 20-year-old struggled with her stamina on the sandy track and gradually dropped back. Attia (EGY) was the first to take advantage, with Johnson (GBR) and Erdos (HUN) then pushing through the pack.
The most impressive gain was made by Laser Run specialist Mariya Gnedtchik (AIN), who came all the way from a starting position of 18th to burst into the top nine with two laps to go, eventually finishing 6th. The battle for 9th mostly centred around Louison Cazaly (FRA) and team-mate Flavin (FRA), who looked too far back on the final 600m but saw a glimmer of hope when Sazonova (AIN) faded and found enough in the tank to steal the final qualification spot.
Watch and follow
UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Cairo takes place from April 8-12, with live stream of the Semi-finals and Finals available free on UIPM’s YouTube streaming service.
Weekend schedule with stream start times (Central European Summer Time):
- Saturday April 11: Men’s Semi-final A (11:00); Men’s Semi-final B (15:00)
- Sunday April 12: Women’s Final (10:00), Men’s Final (15:00).
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