Extraordinary pentathlon week - Sports - Al-Ahram Weekly

Al-Ahram Weekly

3 days ago

Within a week, Farida Khalil set records in her beloved sport. A week after winning gold at the Modern Pentathlon Junior World Championship and World Cup, Khalil continued making history by adding another gold medal in Johannesburg, South Africa to add the Under-17 gold to U19 and Junior titles, with a final tally of 1,452 points to set a new U17 world record.
The International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) sang the praises of Khalil, calling her 'The Egyptian wonder' for her wins and in keeping with a season that has sent statisticians scrambling through the history books.
'Farida Khalil of Egypt shattered more records en route to glory in the women's final at the UIPM 2025 Pentathlon U17 World Championships', the UIPM wrote on its website.
The 14-year-old's incredible performances had the UIPM naming the young Egyptian a phenomenon of the sport who has turned 2025 into a procession at every level of the sport. She did just that again in Johannesburg as Khalil ensured that she is now the reigning world champion at U17, U19 and junior levels to go along with her stunning breakthrough at the senior level, which saw her crowned the UIPM 2025 World Cup final gold medalist last month.
As reported by UIPM, Khalil finished 27 seconds clear of her closest challenger, Annachiara Allara of Italy, who improved on her fifth place finish at last year's U17 World Championships by taking a satisfying silver. In South Africa's most populous city there was joy for the host nation when bronze went to an emotional RSA's Tatiana Thomatos thanks to a stirring laser run performance. Thomatos and her South African compatriots also celebrated a team silver with gold having gone to Egypt while Hungary celebrated team bronze.
After receiving her gold medal, Khalil told the media how happy she was about another achievement. 'I am very happy with this performance and to get a new world record in the OCR, just a few weeks after winning the World Cup final. I will try to go to the U19 World Championships. I'm still an U15 athlete but it's totally different between the junior and senior competitions. I am very excited to go to the senior World Championships too. I am aiming for a gold medal for sure. I'm training very hard for that.'
The week before, Egypt also did well at the UIPM World Junior Championships and World Cup in Alexandria. There was joy for the host nation in Alex as Egypt's Malak Ismail and the sport's current phenom Khalil combined to deliver an utterly dominant women's relay gold for Egypt.
Khalil followed recent World Junior Championships and World Cup final individual triumphs with yet another prize for her swelling collection while Hungary 's Kinga Dulai and Blanka Guzi took silver with bronze going to Poland's Malgorzata Karbownik and Adrianna Kapala.
The men's relay was eye-catching as France's Leo Bories and Mathis Rochat found the final kick mere metres from the finish to overtake Czechia's Marek Grycz and Matej Lukes with bronze going to Egypt's Moutaz Mohamed and Omar Wael.
Khalil continued to redefine the modern pentathlon, setting two new world records on the way to gold in the women's final. She was in irresistible form after winning gold and silver in the first two pentathlon World Cups of the season, and she held off the challenge of Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Seungmin Seong of South Korea to cross the line 19sec ahead of her nearest rival. Having racked up two historic gold medals in the previous two weeks, Khalil had her eye on making it a rapid hat-trick alongside Egyptian compatriot Ismail. A pairing of the current world No 1 and No 8 respectively made the host nation the hottest of favourites among the six competing nations, representing four continents.
A new obstacle world record of 27.70sec was key to her success and the posting of an overall world record of 1,485 points, nine more than Michelle Gulyas of Hungary managed two weeks ago in Pentathlon World Cup Budapest. And there was more good news for the Egyptian team as Ismail claimed bronze and her first medal of 2025.
France finished with two athletes on the extended podium after an exceptional laser run by Rebecca Castaudi, with Emma Whitaker of Great Britain sandwiched between her and sixth-placed Louison Cazaly.
Gold medalist Ismail told the media following her victory: 'It was a very nice competition. It was a little bit hard. We started fencing in second position and showed great determination to stay in that position. The OCR and swimming was very good. In laser run, we finished with the gold medal.'
Teammate Khalil added: 'It was a happy day. I want to thank Malak because she helped me going through this day. The competition was good; we made a big lead in obstacle and swimming and it's great to get the gold at the end of the day.'
For the second week in succession, Khalil and Moutaz Mohamed lifted Egypt to the very top of the pentathlon world, confirming their status as five-discipline superstars with sublime individual victories at the UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup final.
Crowned the week before as junior world champions, this was another step up as the young Egyptian duo of Khalil and Ismail owned another super day with irresistible performances across the disciplines. For both athletes, aged 14 and 20 respectively, it was a debut success at this level and their combined efforts wrote Egypt into history as the first nation to win both individual gold medals at a Pentathlon World Cup final.
Men's gold medallist Mohamed told journalists: 'If you want to know what is my motivation, you should look up in the stands right there and see my family, my friends. They are the most incredible thing in this competition and that's what helped me today. I am really happy. I really can't express how I'm feeling but I'm over the moon.
'It was very difficult and challenging after changing from horse riding to OCR. A very different and challenging experience. But as a modern pentathlete, you have to adapt, so I tried to adapt minute by minute, and every competition gave me the courage to do better in the next one. I managed to be an average or a great athlete in OCR, and today I did a great time in the OCR.'
Proud of the achievements of the sport, UIPM Vice President and President of the Egyptian Modern Pentathlon Federation Sherif Al-Erian said 'we have transformed the modern pentathlon into a symbol of national success.
'It was certainly a bold gamble, but one that was perfectly mastered. Organising the World Cup final from 4-6 July, immediately followed by the first World Relay Championships until 14 July, was a colossal logistical challenge that few countries are capable of meeting. But Egypt has demonstrated that it has the expertise, infrastructure, and teams necessary to host major competitions. We were able to count on a leading strategic partner: the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport. They have been supporting us for five years, and they have once again excelled in organising these events. This lasting collaboration has helped professionalise the organisation and made Egypt a benchmark in the organisation of major sporting events.
'Indeed, for the first time, the equestrian event has been replaced by a show jumping event, a change validated by the International Federation after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This is a revolution in modern pentathlon. Egypt is proud to have been the first country to implement this new format in such a large-scale event after implementing it at the start of the season during the first stage of the World Cup in Cairo. This reflects the extent of the trust the international federation has placed in us, and our ability to introduce major developments. This change makes the sport more dynamic, more accessible and better suited to public expectations, particularly in view of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
'We achieved a feat in this World Cup final by winning both the women's and men's titles, a first in history. In the women's event, Farida Khalil was exceptional. She perfectly embodies this new generation of athletes trained in Egypt. At only 14 years old, Farida won the World Cup final, competing with the best senior athletes in the world. In the men's event, Moetaz Wael put in a remarkable performance, particularly in the laser run (running and shooting). His gold medal was well deserved and he broke the world record for the total. He is a mature, hard-working athlete, and his sporting development is impressive. These two athletes won both titles (women's and men's) at the Under-21 World Junior Championships, a week before the World Cup final. This confirms their undeniable supremacy and development.
'The International Modern Pentathlon Federation decided to organise the World Relay Championships as a separate competition from the World Championships. They asked us to host this first edition, held in all age categories. We agreed to hold it on the condition that the World Relay Championships take place immediately after the World Cup final for logistical and financial reasons. Organising the first edition of the World Relay Championships immediately after the World Cup was a real challenge, but we successfully met it. From a technical standpoint, Egypt achieved a great feat by dominating the competition with 12 medals: nine gold, two silver, and one bronze.
'It's a long-planned strategy. As a federation, we've invested in training, infrastructure, and spotting young talent. Our first successes at the Youth Olympics with Salma Ayman and Ahmed Al-Gendi (who each won a gold medal) were the starting point. Ahmed then won silver at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, followed by gold at the Paris Olympics in 2024. These were moments that changed the image of modern pentathlon in Egypt. We've also worked hard on coaching, training and regular participation in international competitions to strengthen the experience of our young athletes.
'The World Relay Championships had barely ended when our U17 delegation left for Johannesburg to compete in the World Championships. We have great confidence in our youth. The future of Egyptian modern pentathlon is assured.
'Thanks to the performances of our athletes, the visibility of modern pentathlon has exploded. The shift to obstacle events instead of horse riding has also helped expand our audience. It's a spectacular, comprehensive sport that's now more accessible. But that's not enough: we need to structure, publicise, and support the sport at all levels,' Al-Erian said.
Al-Erian revealed the federation's next goal. 'We will continue to structure our base, maintain the momentum achieved at the highest level, and promote modern pentathlon throughout the African continent. We also want Egypt to be a key player in major upcoming competitions, including the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Our dream is for modern pentathlon to become a major national sport in Egypt. Egypt is no longer content to simply be present on the international stage; it is becoming the main player. Thanks to a rigorous strategy, a clear vision, and an exceptional generation of athletes, we have transformed modern pentathlon into a symbol of national success and global influence.'
Al-Erian added that Egypt had transformed the sport of modern pentathlon into a symbol of national success. 'I am proud of my athletes, coaches and administrators who have developed the sport.'
* A version of this article appears in print in the 24 July, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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