UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Pazardzhik: El Ashqar (EGY) smashes Obstacle world record in Men’s Qualification
Moutaz Mohamed of Egypt may be the hot young talent who currently sits atop the Pentathlon world but a record-shattering opening salvo of Men’s competition at UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Pazardzhik was a reminder that the veterans are hanging around too.
*UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Pazardzhik: All you need to know
Day two in southern Bulgaria saw a whopping 115 entrants split into four qualification groups and the action was fast and frenetic. A landmark world record was set when Mohamed El Ashqar (EGY) became the first pentathlete in history to go sub-20 seconds in the Obstacle discipline. The 24-year-old sent the record keepers scrambling with a new mark of 00:19.95.
World No.1 Mohamed (EGY) made it safely through in the day’s first group, Hungary’s Csaba Bohm joining him in progressing to Saturday’s Semi-final. In the next group, Valentin Belaud of France was in imperious form as the 33-year-old led all qualifiers, fellow veterans Marvin Faly Dogue of Germany and Changwan Seo of Korea not far behind.
Seo’s compatriot and longtime teammate Woongtae Jun (KOR) made a hugely impressive return to the sport in the subsequent group as the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallist and fan favourite crossed the line joint-fastest with Matteo Bovenzi of Italy.
The day’s final group was highlighted by the Obstacle wizardry of El Ashqar (EGY) with Mathis Rochat (FRA) continuing a fine day for French competitors by leading the nine qualifiers, Paris 2024 bronze medalist Giorgio Malan (ITA) also impressing.
Click here for a full list of the athletes who qualified for the Men’s Semi-finals.
Watch and follow
UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Pazardzhik takes place from May 13-17, with live stream of the Semi-finals and Finals available free on UIPM’s YouTube streaming service.
Daily schedule with stream start times (Central European Summer Time) as follows:
- Friday May 15: Women’s Semi-final A (13:00); Women’s Semi-final B (16:00) | Men’s and Women’s Fencing Seeding Rounds
- Saturday May 16: Men’s Semi-final A (09:00); Men’s Semi-final B (13:00)
- Sunday May 17: Women’s Final (09:00), Men’s Final (13:00).
Got the app? Download UIPM Central via Apple or Google to track what’s happening in Bulgaria.
You can also visit the UIPM website for the latest results and daily news.
Follow UIPM on your favourite social media throughout the season for more content:
Upcoming events
