The bespectacled Ahmed Elgendy claimed Olympic gold in modern pentathlon at the Palace of Versailles on Saturday, 10 August for the first Olympic gold medal for Egypt and Africa in the sport. The Tokya 2020 silver medallist did so with a world record score of 1,555 points.
Japan won their first ever Olympic medal in the sport courtesy of Sato Taishu with silver with 1,542 points and Giorgio Malan took bronze with 1,536 points, Italy’s first medal in modern pentathlon since Seoul 1988.
“It means a lot because the last three years that I’ve been competing, I’ve had a lot of struggles and many physical and mental problems with injuries and pain,” said Elgendy. “I’m happy that it didn’t stop me. I’m happy to win at these games in 2024, with the last horse riding.
“It’s the only gold medal (for Egypt) in this Olympic Games (so far). We had one bronze earlier, and one silver today in weightlifting. I’m so proud to get this medal for Egypt.”
“I was aiming for the gold medal,” said Sato. “Still, I am happy because this is my first medal as a Japanese athlete.
“I’m very excited to see the people’s reaction when I get home to Japan.”
“The laser run was very hard,” said Malan. “All are very good, and I had to try to reach my highest limits. The last shooting, I did (well). I gave it all the last lap, and it was enough for bronze.”
Defending Olympic champion Joe Choong of Great Britain struggled with the fencing aspect, leaving him with too much to do in the final laser-run, finishing in ninth (1,519 points).
Elgendy had promised he would win Olympic gold after claiming silver to Choong in Tokyo and honoured that pledge in style with an almost faultless performance, with all five sports taking place in one venue for the first time.
Heading into the final laser run, which comprises five 600m laps broken up by four visits to the shooting range, Elgendy’s 50-second lead — amassed through the equestrian jumping, fencing and swimming disciplines — enabled him to uncharacteristically miss a few shots on the range but still win with ease.
The second-placed athletes heading into the laser run, 17 seconds after the Egyptian, were Switzerland’s Alexandre Dallenbach and Jun Woongtae of the Republic of Korea, who had the same number of points.
The Swiss struggled with the first phase of shooting, eventually finishing 14th. Jun, the bronze medallist in Japan, was overtaken in the final stages by the first sprinting Italian duo of Malan and Matteo Cicinelli (1,532), who finished fifth, and Mexico’s Emiliano Hernandez, in fourth (1,532).
source/content: olympics.com (headline edited)
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Picture by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
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EGYPT