UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Final: Guzi (HUN) and Seong (KOR) stand out in Women’s Semi-finals

• Home favourite wins by comfortable margin from Fernandez (ESP)
• Olympic medallist comes from behind to overtake impressive Valencia (GUA)
• Top seed Ozyuksel (TUR) aiming for improvement on Super Sunday

Blanka Guzi of Hungary and Seungmin Seong of Korea dominated their respective Semi-finals to emerge as strong medal contenders at the UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Final.

Continuing her form throughout this season, world No.1 Guzi (HUN) was the dominant performer in Semi-final A with a consistency that provided a 7sec lead into Laser Run, which was reduced to a 3sec margin over Esther Fernandez of Spain by the conclusion.

Seong (KOR) worked hard to overcome the impressively consistent Paula Valencia of Guatemala to cross first in Semi-final B. Another big name, top-seeded Ilke Ozyuksel of Türkiye, will be hoping for a big improvement on Super Sunday after struggling in Fencing and Obstacle consigned her to an energy-sapping battle for 9th.

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Semi-final A

Cicelle Leh of Germany was the surprise top scorer in Fencing with a brilliant performance through three rounds. Seeded 12 in this group, Leh (GER) began by knocking off Rita Erdos (HUN) 4-0 and then holding off Unju Kim of Korea in the Top 8.

That momentum continued into the Top 4 where home favorite Guzi (HUN), having already seen off No.1 seed Ozyuksel (TUR), surged into a 3-1 lead only for Leh to pull off a 5-4 upset with a decisive hit with 3.5sec left. That set up a final match against Laura Heredia (ESP), who had advanced with a 5-4 win over Louison Cazaly of France, but the Spaniard was unable to deny Leh, who prevailed 5-2 in the Top 2.

Zeina Amer of Egypt bolted to the fastest time in Obstacle with a flying run of 27.5sec, just ahead of compatriot Jana Attia (EGY). There was a setback for three-time Olympian Ozyuksel (TUR), whose fall dropped her down the standings.

To the delight of local supporters, Guzi (HUN) moved into the overall lead with a 33.9, while Leh (GER) struggled on the Bars to drop to 12th overall.

Winning the third and final heat of Swimming, a time of 1min 1.41sec extended the overall points lead of Guzi (HUN), ahead of Attia (EGY) and Viyaleta Hureyeva of Belarus. The fastest mark was recorded by Valentina Martinescu of Italy, whose mark in the first heat of 58.55 catapulted her into the top seven.

With a 7sec cushion in Laser Run, Guzi (HUN) was comfortably able to consolidate her lead and control her destiny in Semi-Final A ahead of Fernandez (ESP) and team-mates Mathilde Derval (FRA) and Cazaly (FRA).

With an air temperature of 39C making the outdoor section highly challenging, a thrilling battle for 9th ensued between Karolina Krenkova of Czechia and Ozyuksel (TUR). The Turk relentlessly chased and eventually broke her rival on the final lap to climb up from 15th to 9th, qualifying by just five points with a chance now to reset for Sunday’s final. The other successful qualifiers were Hureyeva (BLR), Heredia (ESP), Erdos (HUN) and Attia (EGY).

Semi-final B

She may only have a fraction of the Pentathlon experience of team-mate Ozyuksel (TUR) but Sidal Aslan (TUR) made a powerful impression in winning the Fencing round in Semi-final B. Seeded 14 out of the 36 qualifying athletes, she progressed from the Top 16 all the way to a decisive fight with Coline Flavin (FRA), where she prevailed 5-4. Valencia (GUA) and Emma Meszaros (HUN) also caught fire with a run to the Top 4.

Nobody managed to break the 30sec mark in a slower Obstacle round, but again the Egyptian mastery of the course shone through as Ganah Elgindy (EGY) performed best with a 31.87, with Meszaros (HUN), Lucie Hlavackova of Czechia and Valencia (GUA) all nailing solid 32s.

Swimming was another tight affair as Anastasiya Malashenoka (BLR) came within 0.06sec of a sub-60 time, but was separated by less than a second from Seong (KOR) and the ever-present Valencia (GUA).

Overall leader Valencia (GUA) started Laser Run with a 13sec cushion from Meszaros (HUN), while in the battle for 9th, Adomaityte (LTU) was probably looking up rather than down, holding a slender 7sec advantage over Jurt (SUI), with Malashenoka (BLR) just 2sec further back.

Both of those duly leapfrogged the Lithuanian, leaving her in a battle with Sumin Shin (KOR), Flavin (FRA) and Elgindy (EGY) for the right to return on Super Sunday.

At the 4th shoot, Elgindy (EGY) moved into the top nine and then reeled in Aslan (TUR), who then found Flavin (FRA) on her shoulder. A World Cup bronze medallist here last year, the French athlete had a poor final shoot but had enough in the tank to secure the precious 9th spot.

Valencia (GUA) performed impressively, never giving the pack a chance to shoot alongside her until the final visit to the range, where Seong (KOR) assumed the top spot. Other comfortable qualifiers were Hlavackova (CZE), Meszaros (HUN) and Malgorzata Karbownik of Poland.

Watch and follow

The UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Final continues tomorrow (June 27) with the Men's Semi-finals, followed by the Women’s and Men’s Finals on June 28

Live stream is available free on UIPM TV and all competition results are available at the UIPM website.

Schedule with start times in Central European Time:

Saturday 27 June 

• Men’s Semi-final A (10:30); Men’s Semi-final B (14:30)

Sunday 28 June

• Women’s Final (10:30); Men’s Final (14:30).