- 3 years ago
Men's final
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SportsTranscript
00:00:00 (upbeat music)
00:00:02 - Welcome back to Budapest here in Hungary
00:00:19 for the conclusion of Super Saturday.
00:00:23 It is of course now time for the men's individual final.
00:00:26 A very exciting women's individual final
00:00:28 a little bit earlier today is now the turn of the men
00:00:32 as Super Saturday reaches the end of its serving
00:00:35 here in Budapest, the third World Cup
00:00:38 of the 2024 pentathlon season.
00:00:40 Weather conditions are pretty much perfect.
00:00:42 A slight breeze in the air, 20 degrees Celsius,
00:00:45 the sun is coming through the clouds
00:00:47 and the athletes will be enjoying themselves
00:00:48 out there today, make no doubt about that.
00:00:51 We'll take a look at the Olympic rankings
00:00:52 in a moment's time, but first let's just take a look
00:00:54 at the new format which starts with qualifications
00:00:56 where athlete numbers are reduced to two groups of 18
00:00:59 with semifinals A and B.
00:01:01 After the semifinals we're left with 18 best athletes
00:01:03 who contest in the final.
00:01:04 The event's taking place over a content 90 minute duration,
00:01:07 five disciplines with 18 athletes up against each other
00:01:09 and competing for those medals.
00:01:11 Today is of course finals day,
00:01:13 so we will be awarding medals.
00:01:15 The riding rules point scoring system is on your screens now.
00:01:18 We'll go into greater detail later in the competition.
00:01:21 It then moves over quite quickly to the fencing bonus round
00:01:25 for the one-on-one bouts with the conclusion
00:01:28 of the fencing action.
00:01:29 Two points per victory up for grabs in fencing bonus round.
00:01:33 Then things move over to the pool
00:01:35 for the heats of the 200 meter freestyle here in Budapest.
00:01:38 It's a 25 meter pool, so we could see some quick times.
00:01:42 We conclude with the ever dramatic laser run,
00:01:44 five laps of the 600 meter circuit
00:01:46 with four laser shooting rounds
00:01:48 where the athletes have to shoot the five targets.
00:01:51 The first over the finish line, as always, is the winner.
00:01:53 This is the new format.
00:01:55 It's fast, it's frantic,
00:01:57 and a new challenge for athletes to overcome.
00:01:59 It's Olympic year, everybody, so strap yourselves in
00:02:02 and welcome to Modern Pentathlon 2024.
00:02:06 Those are the medals that the athletes are competing for.
00:02:08 Let's just take a quick look at the Olympic rankings.
00:02:11 You can see Ahmed El Gendy, top of the pile,
00:02:14 ahead of Moultas Mohamed.
00:02:15 An Egyptian won too.
00:02:17 Emiliano Hernandez in third place.
00:02:19 Seyo has moved up into fourth place
00:02:21 after his gold medal in Ankara just a few weeks ago.
00:02:24 Jean-Baptiste Morseille, an exciting young French athlete.
00:02:27 He's in today's final.
00:02:28 We'll keep a keen eye on how he's getting on.
00:02:31 Valentin Bello looking to try and get himself
00:02:32 further than 10th place here at this competition.
00:02:35 Shababum Andres Torres and Lukas Kutkovski
00:02:38 have dropped down the order, but bear in mind,
00:02:40 these are just the rankings as things currently stand,
00:02:43 and they will, of course, change
00:02:44 throughout the course of this season.
00:02:45 We still have World Cup Four
00:02:47 and World Cup Final to bring you.
00:02:49 Right, we'll take a look back at the fencing ranking round
00:02:52 before we launch ourselves
00:02:53 into our first live discipline of the day.
00:02:55 This is a couple of days ago now
00:02:57 that the athletes took part in their fencing ranking round.
00:03:00 Those scores carrying from semifinals
00:03:02 right through to the finals.
00:03:03 An important part of the competition
00:03:05 is with many big points up for grabs.
00:03:08 You can see Emiliano Hernandez getting very excited there,
00:03:10 although he didn't sadly qualify for today's final.
00:03:13 Let's take a look then at those scores.
00:03:15 Wung Tai-Jung, the Olympic bronze medalist,
00:03:17 sits top of the pile.
00:03:18 He is one victory ahead of Pavel Svekov's 2021
00:03:22 Budapest gold medalist.
00:03:23 Bence Demeter back with a vengeance.
00:03:25 He's in third place.
00:03:26 Seyo looking to make it back to back medals.
00:03:28 Pratt's in fifth, Shaban in sixth, Kuf in seventh,
00:03:31 El Gendy in eighth place, and Kovalchuk
00:03:34 making up that top nine.
00:03:36 Looking a bit further down the rankings,
00:03:38 then some of these athletes perhaps
00:03:39 could look to make a bit of a push through.
00:03:42 Leo Bory from France made a very good performance
00:03:45 in his laser run in semifinals to get himself
00:03:48 into this final.
00:03:48 Seba Bum and Bala Szyep, two Hungarians
00:03:50 in front of the home crowd, as well as Michaly Koleser.
00:03:54 Jean-Baptiste Morser is a quick laser runner as well.
00:03:56 So this competition should be exciting from beginning to end.
00:04:00 Time now to introduce our co-commentator for the day,
00:04:04 European champion and British athlete, Charlie Follett.
00:04:07 Welcome to the Comments Box once again, my friend.
00:04:09 Good to have you here.
00:04:10 Hi.
00:04:11 Thank you so much for having me.
00:04:12 It's great to be here.
00:04:14 Absolutely amazing day for it.
00:04:15 I can't get over how lucky we've been with the weather today.
00:04:18 I know.
00:04:18 It's been brilliant, hasn't it?
00:04:19 It's nice, a bit windy.
00:04:22 A little bit windy.
00:04:22 Would that affect the riding?
00:04:23 Do you think a little bit of wind in the air?
00:04:25 I feel like when it's a little bit of wind, it's not too bad.
00:04:29 Yeah, hopefully the horses will be in good spirits today
00:04:32 and ready to get started.
00:04:33 We walked the riding course before we came on air,
00:04:35 didn't we?
00:04:36 What did you make of the course?
00:04:37 Obviously, Jean-Baptiste Morser, he's on the course now.
00:04:40 It was quite tricky for the female athletes.
00:04:42 Only one score coming close to a perfect score.
00:04:45 What did you make of the course?
00:04:46 Yeah, I mean, I think the arena is quite a small arena.
00:04:48 The jumps are all quite close together.
00:04:50 And I think, yeah, you've got to have full control of the horses,
00:04:53 kind of keep them going, keep a good speed, keep the tempo good.
00:04:58 And yeah, it was--
00:05:00 I think when the jumps are quite close together like that,
00:05:03 it's really easy to make mistakes.
00:05:05 Jean-Baptiste Morser demonstrating out there
00:05:07 with one knockdown.
00:05:07 So seven points off the score of Morser.
00:05:11 It's a 2.93.
00:05:13 And the time on the course, we haven't got the time and clock
00:05:16 on the screen at the moment.
00:05:17 If memory serves correct, it was a 1.03.
00:05:19 So it's quite a quick course, this one, as well.
00:05:21 Yeah, quite a quick course.
00:05:22 But again, it's trying to keep that balance
00:05:24 between getting the horses going to hit the time,
00:05:26 but also keeping that propulsion and getting around the course
00:05:32 smoothly.
00:05:32 Yeah, it certainly is.
00:05:33 It's a combination of all those skills.
00:05:35 Jean-Baptiste Morser is going well here, by the way.
00:05:38 If he can get a 2.93, which is what he's on track for
00:05:41 at the moment, it could boost him up those rankings.
00:05:44 We haven't got a time on the screen at the minute.
00:05:47 It's four points taken off his score, so it's a 2.89.
00:05:49 Pretty good score, that, isn't it?
00:05:50 Yeah, pretty good.
00:05:51 I'm sure he'll be OK with that.
00:05:53 Yeah, as we saw in the women's, there
00:05:55 were a lot of not quite so great scores.
00:05:57 I feel like quite a few people were quite disappointed.
00:06:00 So I'm sure he'll take that.
00:06:02 And what riding gives you an opportunity to do.
00:06:04 If you are a bit further down the rankings,
00:06:06 it gives you the chance to make your way up the rankings.
00:06:08 I mean, it can also have the opposite effect.
00:06:11 And sorry to bring this back, but obviously
00:06:12 in Ankara in 2022, you were top of the pile.
00:06:16 You're not supposed to bring that up.
00:06:17 I know, sorry.
00:06:18 I've gone a bit early with that one, haven't I?
00:06:20 No, no, I know.
00:06:21 For me, I was having the best competition.
00:06:24 And it's so much changed just from one mistake in the ride.
00:06:27 And you do see it a lot.
00:06:29 But also, it's a great opportunity for some athletes
00:06:31 to make up those points.
00:06:33 And the reason I bring that up as well
00:06:34 is because it does seem that there is increased pressure
00:06:36 if you are in first place.
00:06:37 And you do see increasing happen.
00:06:39 It happened with Patrick Dog.
00:06:40 It happened with Christian Pate this year.
00:06:41 Is that something that plays in your mind
00:06:43 when you're in first place?
00:06:44 You think, well, everyone else has gone now.
00:06:45 And all pressure, all eyes are on me.
00:06:47 Yeah, maybe.
00:06:48 I guess as you're in the warm-up arena
00:06:49 and you see everyone going around,
00:06:50 the pressure definitely builds.
00:06:52 But I guess that's what distinguishes these.
00:06:54 And secretly, no one would ever admit this,
00:06:56 but secretly, they want you to drop points.
00:06:57 Because then it makes you more catchable, doesn't it?
00:07:00 Exactly.
00:07:01 Balaszyep now on the course.
00:07:03 The Hungarian crowd watching on in the background.
00:07:07 Balaszyep is a multiple World Cup medalist
00:07:10 and doing his best now to get himself up that ranking.
00:07:13 He's on 5.05 at the moment with his first--
00:07:16 I think that was a double knockdown there.
00:07:17 So it does move him back down below Jean-Baptiste Morsier.
00:07:20 Just like that, riding from chains.
00:07:22 Going to lose 14 points in the blink of an eye.
00:07:25 Yeah, I think that horse just had
00:07:28 a little bit of a long neck, maybe just needed
00:07:29 a little bit more propulsion into those fences.
00:07:32 But he did a good job there, I think.
00:07:34 That's an interesting point that you draw upon there.
00:07:37 So you're talking about almost the physics of the horse.
00:07:41 Is that something they take into account?
00:07:43 It's just in a sense of trying to-- you're obviously
00:07:44 trying to collect the horses and get some energy underneath you
00:07:47 going into the fences.
00:07:48 And sometimes when the horses are just a bit long
00:07:51 and their neck's out, they're not necessarily
00:07:53 underneath you and ready to produce their best, I guess.
00:07:57 Obviously, this is the unique thing about Pensathlon
00:08:00 is you were given just 20 minutes with a local horse
00:08:02 to warm up.
00:08:03 A lot of athletes have never met these horses before.
00:08:05 Do you take a look at the horse and go, right, long neck,
00:08:08 longer leg?
00:08:09 I mean, it sounds silly, but--
00:08:10 Yeah, I guess it's just how different horses are ridden.
00:08:14 Some horses like to be collected up and ridden into the bridle.
00:08:17 And some horses prefer to go a bit longer, I guess.
00:08:20 So it's working with the horse itself and the mechanics
00:08:23 of how it goes, and also you as a rider.
00:08:26 And that's the unique concept of it, I guess,
00:08:29 is working together.
00:08:32 But, yep, he seems to be doing a good job at this so far.
00:08:36 So Sebastian Stasiak, actually, Balashev
00:08:39 hasn't gone below Jean-Baptiste Morset.
00:08:42 Just two points difference between them.
00:08:43 Sebastian Stasiak with that one knockdown so far,
00:08:46 heading into the latter stages of this course.
00:08:48 Over eight towards the double obstacles of 9A and 9B.
00:08:52 293 the score at the moment.
00:08:53 It's a time of 103.
00:08:54 They have to beat.
00:08:56 It's time-wise OK.
00:08:58 He's drifted a little bit wide there
00:08:59 as he heads into the final obstacle.
00:09:01 I think this is going to be good time-wise, actually.
00:09:04 Just knocked down that final obstacle.
00:09:06 And then that becomes 8286.
00:09:09 So we are seeing a similar story to what
00:09:11 we saw in the beginning of the women's final,
00:09:14 where you're seeing some lower scores than you
00:09:17 might see in other events.
00:09:18 Yeah, I guess it's just--
00:09:20 yeah, it's trying to find that balance.
00:09:23 But I mean, he did do a good job there.
00:09:25 I think on a few of the corners, maybe the horse wasn't just
00:09:27 quite looking the way it was meant to go,
00:09:29 and maybe lost a little bit of attention.
00:09:31 But I think, yeah, generally, I feel like he--
00:09:33 I'm sure he'd be happy with that.
00:09:35 Yep, I think so, too.
00:09:36 So no one's got 290 or above yet.
00:09:39 Shababoom, who will have a slight advantage,
00:09:41 because obviously, local horse, local lad.
00:09:43 He's from Budapest.
00:09:45 I mean, you've competed in Bath.
00:09:47 You knew those horses, right?
00:09:48 Yeah, yeah, exactly.
00:09:49 When you've ridden the horses, or at least you've
00:09:52 got that inside knowledge, and you know how they like to be
00:09:55 ridden, that definitely always helps.
00:09:57 So I'm sure he'll have a bit of an advantage here.
00:10:00 I was about to say, you expect--
00:10:01 it was a bit of a rough entry into 4A there, wasn't it?
00:10:05 Yeah, but he did a good job at getting it over,
00:10:07 although I think he's lost both stirrups.
00:10:09 Oh, he has.
00:10:10 So that's going to prove very tricky.
00:10:13 Can you get the stirrups back on if that happens?
00:10:16 Is that something you will focus on?
00:10:18 Looks like he's got one in.
00:10:19 Yeah, he has.
00:10:20 Or has he?
00:10:20 Maybe.
00:10:21 It's hard to-- I think they're both still out, by the way.
00:10:23 This is really fantastic, to be able to ride around with--
00:10:26 How do you steer the horse?
00:10:27 --neither stirrups, yeah.
00:10:28 Losing both your pedals when dry,
00:10:30 I don't know if the comparison works,
00:10:32 but it's really tough.
00:10:33 Yeah, this is great horsemanship.
00:10:35 If he can get around this, that's
00:10:38 a great testament to the Hungarian riding,
00:10:41 because that's a big ask.
00:10:43 Wow.
00:10:44 Amazing.
00:10:45 Very impressive.
00:10:46 So it's 21 points off the score.
00:10:48 It's a 2.79.
00:10:49 That was absolutely incredible.
00:10:52 So just talk to us about how that works with the stirrups
00:10:55 then, as someone who's never ridden in their life.
00:10:59 And I'm sure lots of people watching at home
00:11:00 will be in a similar position.
00:11:01 How does that work with the stirrups?
00:11:03 How does that work in terms of directing the horse?
00:11:04 So it's not so much directing the horse,
00:11:06 but I guess it's more just a balance thing for you.
00:11:08 Obviously, your weight's going down through your heels,
00:11:10 and it's a balance.
00:11:13 You're balancing yourself, and then also balancing the horse.
00:11:16 So to have neither stirrups is a big ask.
00:11:19 But he did an amazing job there at getting around.
00:11:23 Yeah, I'm sure he'll be very proud of himself for that.
00:11:25 Yeah, I'm sure he will.
00:11:29 So it's Ahmed Hamed next up on the course,
00:11:34 following on from that impressive ride from Shabba
00:11:37 Boom.
00:11:37 Interesting to hear the thoughts of Charlie Follett,
00:11:39 British athlete, who's with us for the course of this men's
00:11:42 final, and how it all works with the stirrups
00:11:45 and the setup on the horse.
00:11:47 It's all interesting insight.
00:11:49 So knock down there.
00:11:50 That was the same spot, actually,
00:11:51 which Shabba Boom got caught out.
00:11:53 Yeah, that double does seem to be proving a bit difficult.
00:11:55 I think when they're coming off the corner into that,
00:11:57 it does seem to come up quite quickly.
00:11:59 And maybe the horses just aren't quite focused or quite latched
00:12:03 onto it.
00:12:04 But yeah, it seems to have caught quite a few people out
00:12:07 there.
00:12:08 Yeah, it's a tricky part of the course.
00:12:10 Ahmed Hamed in 14th place.
00:12:13 Going well here.
00:12:14 He's currently on track for a 2.93.
00:12:17 Ahmed Hamed was a silver medalist in Budapest in 2021.
00:12:22 It was Pavel Zvekov who won gold in that competition.
00:12:24 And that went right down to the finish line.
00:12:26 Zvekov's running out of steam.
00:12:28 But here we go.
00:12:28 Ahmed Hamed with just the one two time penalties.
00:12:31 It's a 2.91.
00:12:32 And that's the best score so far.
00:12:34 Yeah, that was a very good ride from him.
00:12:36 I'm sure he'll take that.
00:12:39 And yeah, the best we've seen so far for this men's final.
00:12:43 So far, with both finals, not one perfect score.
00:12:47 I know.
00:12:47 It's just crazy.
00:12:49 We had a 2.99 from Michele.
00:12:50 I mean, that's blissing hairs, really, isn't it?
00:12:53 Giorgio Mallan next up on the course.
00:13:00 Giorgio Mallan, Italian athletes.
00:13:03 Came 11th in Ankara in the last World Cup.
00:13:07 And looking to improve on that.
00:13:11 Would you say Olympic year's all about just consistency,
00:13:13 getting yourself top 10 finishes,
00:13:15 and trying to finish in as high a position as much as you can,
00:13:19 rather than focusing on the medals?
00:13:21 Yeah, I mean, I guess it's every competition,
00:13:24 you want to give it the best you can.
00:13:25 I mean, the riding element of it always provides--
00:13:29 it can mix things up so much.
00:13:30 So I guess at this point of the competition,
00:13:33 the athletes will be focusing on just trying to produce
00:13:35 the best ride they can.
00:13:38 Put in a good swim, hopefully get some points
00:13:40 in the bonus round.
00:13:40 And then, obviously, it's all to play for in the later round.
00:13:43 Anything can happen there.
00:13:44 So yeah, at this point, the ride is the sole focus.
00:13:48 And then I guess they'll just reset.
00:13:49 Yep, one discipline at a time, basically.
00:13:52 Definitely.
00:13:52 Giorgio Mallan then with that one knockdown.
00:13:54 Otherwise, it was looking like it could have
00:13:56 been our first perfect score.
00:13:57 9A knockdown as well.
00:14:00 So that knocks him down below.
00:14:02 Ahmed Hamed.
00:14:04 The brakes are heading into, obviously, 10.
00:14:07 But it's a 2.86 for Mallan.
00:14:09 And that's a solid score.
00:14:12 In other pentathlon years, when it's not an Olympic year,
00:14:15 for example, 2022, for example, let's say,
00:14:18 if you had a year where you picked up one gold
00:14:21 and then the rest of the events you didn't pick up,
00:14:23 you wouldn't make it for a final, for example.
00:14:25 You probably consider that a good year.
00:14:27 Whereas an Olympic year, maybe like fourth place finishes
00:14:30 might be better.
00:14:31 It's that consistency of points, isn't it?
00:14:33 Yeah, definitely.
00:14:33 Consistency of points when you're
00:14:35 trying to meet that qualification standard.
00:14:38 And also for a lot of countries, especially for the GB girls,
00:14:42 you're also fighting for places within your country.
00:14:46 So it's an extra challenge, isn't it?
00:14:47 Yeah, it adds a whole different dimension to it.
00:14:49 Same situation, I think, for the French boys, isn't it?
00:14:52 Leo Bory, Jean-Baptiste Moussaier,
00:14:54 Valentin Praz, Valentin Bello.
00:14:57 They're all fighting for Olympic spots.
00:14:59 Although Praz, I think, has secured a spot.
00:15:01 But it all comes down to internal rankings.
00:15:02 It's kind of complicated, isn't it?
00:15:04 Yeah, it does.
00:15:05 I mean, this year adds a whole other dimension to it.
00:15:08 And I guess, yeah, it's just about athletes managing that
00:15:10 and trying to provide their best performances
00:15:14 at every competition.
00:15:15 Yeah, certainly seems to be the case.
00:15:18 Leo Bory, then, with two knockdowns so far
00:15:22 in 13th place.
00:15:23 He's dropped down below Ahmed Hamed.
00:15:25 So Ahmed Hamed has climbed up a few places here.
00:15:28 Leo Bory over obstacle eight, two to go, 9A and B, and then 10.
00:15:36 Bory's a good laser runner.
00:15:37 So we'll look to try and close this out
00:15:39 without any more mistakes, although that now becomes
00:15:41 costly.
00:15:42 Three knockdowns and time penalties to come.
00:15:46 So it's a 26 point off of his score, a 274.
00:15:53 And yeah, Leo Bory's been punished.
00:15:56 Yeah, yeah.
00:15:57 The cause is proving quite difficult in terms
00:15:59 of that time.
00:16:00 And like we were saying earlier, it really
00:16:02 is a fine balance between wanting to get round and get
00:16:06 that clear round or not have as many knockdowns as you
00:16:09 can, but also meet that time that's put in place.
00:16:13 So it's a big ask and a balancing act, really.
00:16:18 Yeah, it is.
00:16:21 OK, next up, we have Yuri Kovalchuk from Ukraine,
00:16:26 currently in 11th place.
00:16:29 Yuri Kovalchuk was eighth at the Europeans in 2023,
00:16:34 first at the European under-24s in 2022.
00:16:40 And here we can see the Ukrainian athlete in 11th place.
00:16:45 And going well here.
00:16:50 And Budapest, there's a refusal into 4B.
00:16:54 That was a knockdown and a refusal, I think, wasn't it?
00:16:56 Yeah, so they're going to have to put the fence back up now
00:17:00 so that he can try and attempt that double again.
00:17:03 Which is, I think, that in itself is more tricky
00:17:07 because you lose momentum, you lose the time you have to get
00:17:10 the horse back going again.
00:17:11 If he's clever about it, which he seems to have been.
00:17:15 Yeah, so I'll have to go round and miss that fence now.
00:17:18 And if he attempts that fence, it would be an elimination,
00:17:20 wouldn't it?
00:17:20 Yeah.
00:17:22 But yeah, sometimes when you have knocked it down like that
00:17:24 and it has to be rebuilt, it can be a sneaky way to kind of--
00:17:29 Oh dear.
00:17:30 So he's off the horse.
00:17:32 He's OK.
00:17:33 But that is an automatic elimination.
00:17:35 It's heartbreaking when that happens, isn't it?
00:17:37 It is.
00:17:37 Describe those emotions because in the blink of an eye,
00:17:40 everything you've been working towards from qualifications,
00:17:43 semifinals, it just ends in a flash.
00:17:45 It must be quite hard to take as an athlete.
00:17:47 It is really difficult. Yeah, it's never an easy one
00:17:51 to accept.
00:17:52 But I guess, yeah, that is kind of the nature of it.
00:17:55 And it's how, I guess, the sport works.
00:17:58 And it does kind of distinguish the riders from the less
00:18:02 riders.
00:18:03 But like I said, it's happened to me.
00:18:04 And it can happen to anyone.
00:18:05 It's happened to everyone.
00:18:07 Yeah, it has happened.
00:18:08 Every athlete will have a story of that happening to them.
00:18:11 And as you're walking away, obviously everyone's different.
00:18:14 But as you're walking away there, I'm sure it all syncs in.
00:18:16 You've got the crowd in the background as well.
00:18:18 Yeah, it's a really, really difficult one to take.
00:18:21 But yeah, I guess that's just the nature of the sport
00:18:24 sometimes.
00:18:25 So Yuri Krivalchuk eliminated from the riding.
00:18:28 And that means 300 points off of his score.
00:18:31 It's the nature of riding.
00:18:34 It's the only discipline where you can be so heavily punished.
00:18:38 Yeah, it really is a make or break in a competition.
00:18:42 So much can change as we've just seen.
00:18:46 Having said that, fencing ranking round
00:18:48 is so important as well.
00:18:49 If you fence badly, if you've got like 10, 11 touches,
00:18:52 you're pretty much out of medal contention, aren't you?
00:18:54 Yeah, definitely.
00:18:55 The fence is a big weighting.
00:18:57 But when you get to the finals--
00:18:58 It's not that instant moment either, is it?
00:19:00 Yeah, you get to the finals day and it's
00:19:02 all about trying to get around the ride
00:19:05 and get the best performance you can.
00:19:07 And this really seems to be catching people out here.
00:19:11 Yep, so Xu Hailu with a similar story
00:19:15 to what we saw with Yuri Krivalchuk.
00:19:19 Refusal and-- does that count as a knockdown too?
00:19:22 That would just be a refusal.
00:19:24 But if he's clever here, he'll try and get the horse round--
00:19:27 Going before the bell starts.
00:19:28 --into a good position, yeah.
00:19:29 Just to try and save some of the time
00:19:31 so he has less of the time penalties at the end.
00:19:34 But it's also about trying to make the horse calm again
00:19:37 as well, isn't it?
00:19:37 Because the horse will obviously be a bit surprised by that.
00:19:41 So you've got to just take him in with a knockdown, I think.
00:19:47 It's a tricky part of the course, that, isn't it?
00:19:49 4A.
00:19:50 And actually, I think we've seen the male athlete struggling
00:19:53 more than the female athletes were,
00:19:54 because that is proving to be a tough part of the course.
00:19:59 Yeah, it does.
00:20:00 It seems to just come up so quickly off the corner,
00:20:02 unless the horse is sort of latched onto it.
00:20:06 They seem to be struggling.
00:20:08 Yeah, they do, don't they?
00:20:10 8A-- 8 is cleared now.
00:20:12 It's 9A and 9B.
00:20:14 So it's damage limitation time now for--
00:20:19 Xu Hailu sets another knockdown.
00:20:22 24 points off of the score.
00:20:24 There will be time penalties to come off as well.
00:20:26 Yeah.
00:20:27 [APPLAUSE]
00:20:29 Let's have a look then.
00:20:30 Well done for getting the course finished at 20 time penalties.
00:20:33 So it's, say, 2, 5, 6.
00:20:36 Yeah, this is the thing with the refusals.
00:20:38 Not only are you losing those 10 points from the stop,
00:20:41 but also the time penalties that it
00:20:43 takes for you to get back round the fence to reattempt it.
00:20:47 It can be so costly.
00:20:49 How much are you aware of what other athletes are doing
00:20:51 when you're warming up like the likes of Mohamed El-Kendi
00:20:55 and Mohamed Shaban are doing right now?
00:20:57 How much are you aware of what's going on elsewhere?
00:21:00 I think you try to kind of stay in the moment
00:21:03 and focus on what you're doing and detach from it.
00:21:07 But when it's right next to the warm-up arena, as it is here--
00:21:10 You hear it, don't you?
00:21:11 You hear the reaction from the crowd.
00:21:13 It really is impossible to fully switch off from it.
00:21:17 But yeah, I guess the athletes would just focus on warming
00:21:20 their horses up and--
00:21:23 Focusing on themselves, won't they?
00:21:25 Mihaly Kolhazar is one of four Hungarian athletes
00:21:28 in this final.
00:21:29 It is Ben Stemmer to the highest ranked athlete.
00:21:31 Mihaly Kolhazar is in ninth place.
00:21:34 Had some good results last year, 13th in Ankara,
00:21:38 fifth in Budapest.
00:21:39 Was first in the 2022 Judo World Championships in Poland.
00:21:44 And that's the second knockdown now for Kolhazar.
00:21:48 We're seeing quite a few knockdowns
00:21:50 in this little midfield pack, which
00:21:52 gives those lower down a chance to move up.
00:21:54 The likes of Jean-Baptiste Morset, who posted a 2.89.
00:21:58 We'll see how this affects the scores at the end.
00:22:01 And that is one time penalty for Kolhazar, 22 jumping penalties.
00:22:07 That is a 2.78.
00:22:10 Just a reminder, everyone starts with 300.
00:22:13 And it's not about making points,
00:22:15 it's about conserving points.
00:22:17 And Mohamed El Gendy is up next.
00:22:20 El Gendy had a decent ranking round, 20 touches.
00:22:23 20 would be a pretty good score.
00:22:24 You'd be happy with that?
00:22:25 I'd say 20 is a score that a lot of people
00:22:28 would be happy with.
00:22:29 Obviously, you want to get as many as possible.
00:22:31 But in a field like this, it is tough.
00:22:34 So I'm sure he would have been happy with 20.
00:22:37 Talking to Rebecca Langer the other day,
00:22:39 I think she got a 24, might have been 22.
00:22:42 22 or 24 in the ranking round.
00:22:43 She was like, normally that would
00:22:44 be the highest ranked athlete.
00:22:46 But she was like in fourth or fifth place.
00:22:47 The standard of fencing in the women's
00:22:49 was absolutely ridiculous.
00:22:51 Mohamed El Gendy, who can sometimes
00:22:55 be a little bit nervy in the riding arena.
00:22:57 Let's see how he gets on here.
00:22:58 El Gendy in eighth place at the moment
00:23:06 in this internal battle in the Egyptian team
00:23:09 to try and qualify for Paris.
00:23:12 She banned one World Cup final last year.
00:23:15 Ahmed El Gendy is qualified as well as brother.
00:23:18 But look at this battle between El Gendy and Shaban,
00:23:21 who are seventh and eighth.
00:23:22 And this is going well for El Gendy.
00:23:24 I know he's been working hard in his riding.
00:23:26 He's looking pretty good so far, isn't he?
00:23:28 Yeah, he's looking pretty comfortable.
00:23:31 The horse is going-- oh.
00:23:34 One knock down, but that's fine.
00:23:36 I think he will be more than happy if that is the only one.
00:23:41 I still think that's OK.
00:23:43 Fence does seem to be catching people out.
00:23:45 But no, he's got his heels down.
00:23:47 He looks pretty--
00:23:48 Oh, well done.
00:23:49 So he's got one time penalty.
00:23:50 It's a 2.85 for El Gendy.
00:23:54 I mean, normally a 2.85, I feel people
00:23:57 would be pretty disappointed with.
00:23:58 But in this competition, given the nature of the time--
00:24:01 It's four points off the best--
00:24:03 sorry, no, it was a 2.91, wasn't it?
00:24:05 Six points off the best score.
00:24:06 So that's bang average, basically, isn't it?
00:24:08 Solid stuff.
00:24:09 Now, Mahana Shaban was eliminated
00:24:13 from the riding in Ankara.
00:24:15 And Mahana Shaban won a medal at every event last year,
00:24:20 bar the World Cup in Cairo.
00:24:25 He hasn't had the start to the year that he would have wanted.
00:24:27 A clear ride here for Mahana Shaban.
00:24:29 And I would say, watch out.
00:24:31 It could be a medal for Shaban.
00:24:32 Yeah.
00:24:33 I have to say, this is Charlie, the horse
00:24:36 I rode at Europeans when I won.
00:24:37 Really?
00:24:38 So for me, this is--
00:24:39 You love this horse.
00:24:40 This is my favorite horse.
00:24:41 It makes me happy just watching.
00:24:42 That's good insight.
00:24:43 Good horse, then, I'm guessing, right?
00:24:44 Yeah.
00:24:44 Liv also rode him earlier today.
00:24:46 And he was lovely.
00:24:48 Hopefully--
00:24:49 Olivia got a 2.93.
00:24:50 Yeah.
00:24:51 So hopefully the same can be said here.
00:24:53 So one knock down there for Shaban.
00:24:55 Putting that down to 5.23.
00:25:00 Very focused here, Mahana Shaban, at this competition.
00:25:04 He withdrew from Ankara because he fell off the horse
00:25:06 and had a little bit of a lower back injury.
00:25:08 But he's over that now, which is good news for Shaban.
00:25:12 Olympic hopeful.
00:25:14 Could even win a medal in Paris if he secures his qualification
00:25:19 spot.
00:25:21 He's secured a place for the Egyptian team.
00:25:23 This is solid from Shaban.
00:25:25 Coming around the final few corners.
00:25:27 And that is the best score of the day
00:25:29 so far in the men's final, a 2.92 for Mahana Shaban.
00:25:35 You saw the look of delight on his face there, by the way.
00:25:37 There was a little bit of a sketchy moment at the end.
00:25:40 But he made it through the finish line.
00:25:41 He waddled over the line, didn't he?
00:25:43 Yeah.
00:25:43 No, I'm sure he will be very, very happy with that.
00:25:46 I mean, that's a great score.
00:25:48 It was like a car fish tailing on a motorway, wasn't it?
00:25:51 But the delight on his face.
00:25:53 It's always good to see athletes overcoming
00:25:55 a previously bad experience.
00:25:57 Definitely.
00:25:58 Here we have Yankouf, who is building momentum this year.
00:26:02 The 2016 European champion-- in fact,
00:26:04 a two times European champion.
00:26:06 And a two times Olympian, Yankouf.
00:26:08 And he's in a good position now, in sixth place,
00:26:11 with 21 victories from the fencing ranking round.
00:26:15 A solid athlete, Yankouf.
00:26:16 He's been going for a few years, hasn't he?
00:26:18 Yeah.
00:26:19 Yeah, no, he's always been a solid athlete.
00:26:23 I'm sure he'll be-- yeah, he's in a good position
00:26:25 to really push for one of those top places today.
00:26:27 So hopefully, with a good ride, he
00:26:30 can put himself in contention.
00:26:32 15 points off of silver.
00:26:35 20 points off of gold.
00:26:37 As things stand, 10 points off of bronze.
00:26:39 Yankouf is off to a good start.
00:26:42 He's a good rider, Yankouf, as well.
00:26:44 Yeah, he's a lovely-- he just sits very quietly.
00:26:48 Makes it look kind of easy, doesn't he?
00:26:49 Yeah.
00:26:49 That's always something I notice about riding.
00:26:51 You think, oh, that looks quite smooth and almost slow,
00:26:54 because it's so smooth.
00:26:56 Not saying that this ride does look slow,
00:26:58 but it just doesn't look problematic.
00:27:00 So it just looks like he's gliding around.
00:27:01 And this is the case.
00:27:02 Can Yankouf get our first perfect score of the day?
00:27:06 And not just the men's final, but in the women's final,
00:27:08 as well.
00:27:09 Ellen McKellie got a 2.99.
00:27:10 That's the closest we've come overall.
00:27:12 But in the context of this men's competition,
00:27:14 this is looking like a very solid ride.
00:27:15 Skims the top of eight, but gets away with it.
00:27:18 Cuts round left now.
00:27:20 It's a big gap in between 9A and B.
00:27:22 It will go over the time limit, but that's OK.
00:27:25 9A clear, 9B clear.
00:27:28 He's losing a point per second now.
00:27:31 But no knockdowns, and that is a very solid ride for Yankouf.
00:27:35 It's a 2.91, and it's our joint second best score of the day.
00:27:40 You can hear a huge round of applause
00:27:42 from those watching on.
00:27:43 I think that was the first ride without a knockdown.
00:27:45 Yeah.
00:27:45 I mean, it was a lovely, lovely round.
00:27:47 He sat very quietly, had a very light seat,
00:27:50 but just had that energy and propulsion
00:27:52 going into the fences, which the horse needs.
00:27:55 It's a shame, real shame, about the time penalties,
00:27:57 because he rode that lovely.
00:27:58 But I'm sure he'll take that score.
00:28:02 If you're not going to ride quickly
00:28:03 and you don't get any knockdowns,
00:28:05 then that's the way that-- it's one way of doing it, isn't it?
00:28:08 Yeah, definitely.
00:28:09 If you lose those points, time penalties
00:28:11 is way more forgiving than if you've
00:28:12 got two or three knockdowns.
00:28:14 So good stuff.
00:28:14 Yeah, definitely.
00:28:15 Good ride that there from Yankouf.
00:28:17 We now turn our attention to Vence Demeter,
00:28:26 who is in fifth place.
00:28:28 And there's a hush that's ascended across the stadium
00:28:31 here in Budapest, because the local crowd know
00:28:34 that this is their best chance of seeing a Hungarian medal.
00:28:38 His partner and his young son are
00:28:41 watching on from the sidelines, probably nervously
00:28:44 at the moment.
00:28:45 Yeah, I think riding is the most nervous one for spectators.
00:28:48 I know when my family are watching,
00:28:50 they're always on the edge of their seats.
00:28:52 Yes, I bet they are.
00:28:54 Yeah.
00:28:55 This is going well, though, for Vence Demeter, who's
00:28:58 also a multiple World Cup medalist, bronze
00:29:01 in Hungary in 2018 in Kecskemét.
00:29:04 And the competition was there.
00:29:05 He lives just down the road in Sikásféleva.
00:29:09 This is looking very smooth from Demeter, isn't it?
00:29:12 Yeah, again, he's riding so nicely.
00:29:14 Oh, there we go.
00:29:15 It's as close as you get to a perfect score.
00:29:18 We're still being spoiled with not getting a perfect score.
00:29:22 But it's a 2.99 for Demeter.
00:29:25 And that is a really good ride.
00:29:28 Vence Demeter, medal prospect, potentially.
00:29:31 Yeah, I reckon he's put himself in a very, very good position
00:29:34 with that ride.
00:29:35 If Vence Demeter gets gold here, by the way,
00:29:36 he's in with a good chance of qualifying for the Olympics.
00:29:39 That's how quickly things can change.
00:29:42 And if he'd have had a bad ride, then it's just crazy.
00:29:45 It can literally change in the space of one afternoon
00:29:49 competing.
00:29:50 So a lot is on the line for these athletes.
00:29:54 But just amazing to have his friends and family here
00:29:56 supporting and definitely for the Laser Run.
00:29:59 I can imagine it being a great atmosphere.
00:30:01 Agreed.
00:30:02 So now all attention turns to the gold medalist from Ankara,
00:30:07 the in-form Changwang Seow, who is now a two-times pentathlon
00:30:15 medalist.
00:30:15 He got a World Cup silver medal in the World Cup Final 2022.
00:30:22 Gold medal in Ankara last time.
00:30:24 Ankara seems to be good hunting ground for Seow,
00:30:26 who gets one knockdown there.
00:30:28 And Seow could be dangerous from this position,
00:30:30 but got away with that, didn't he?
00:30:32 Yeah, that was a lucky one, I think.
00:30:35 Again, fine, fine margins between seven points.
00:30:38 If you think if you pick up two or three victories in fencing
00:30:41 bonus round, that's six points.
00:30:42 But one knockdown like that is seven points
00:30:44 gone from your score.
00:30:45 So riding is a punishing--
00:30:49 it's an unforgiving points deductions
00:30:53 if you do lose points.
00:30:55 But Seow's going well here.
00:30:56 In towards 9a and b, knocks down 9a.
00:31:00 Oh, and a refusal into 9b.
00:31:03 Oh, my goodness me.
00:31:04 So--
00:31:04 It's a shame.
00:31:05 It is a shame.
00:31:06 And Seow will have to wait whilst they rebuild that.
00:31:08 And the double obstacles are the ones
00:31:10 you don't want to get a refusal on, aren't they?
00:31:11 Because you've got to do the whole thing again.
00:31:13 There's effectively two obstacles you have to do again.
00:31:14 Yeah.
00:31:15 Yeah, I think he really needs to focus now on, yeah,
00:31:18 trying to get that horse round and just
00:31:22 get a little bit more energy behind it going
00:31:25 into that double because--
00:31:27 Damage limitation time, isn't it, really?
00:31:29 I mean, he's lost 24 points.
00:31:31 He's going to lose at least, I'd say, 10 points from the time.
00:31:35 He's got to make sure he finishes off now because he's
00:31:37 still in a good position.
00:31:38 Still in-- what's the point?
00:31:39 Oh, no.
00:31:40 And it's another refusal for Seow.
00:31:43 He can go around it now.
00:31:44 But look how expensive this has come for gold medalist
00:31:49 from Ankara.
00:31:50 And he finishes, which is the--
00:31:53 I mean, yeah, that's 54.
00:31:55 It's not taken right down to 16th place.
00:31:58 That is a shame for Chang Wang Seow, who's on such a good run.
00:32:04 And now with a score of 246, he's
00:32:09 dropped right down the rankings.
00:32:10 Yeah, that's a very, very costly ride for him.
00:32:14 Yeah, real shame after his amazing performance last week.
00:32:17 But yeah, at least he got round and got over
00:32:22 that last fence in the end.
00:32:26 So Valentin Prad's now up.
00:32:30 Yeah, Valentin's in good form here.
00:32:31 Yeah, he seems to have--
00:32:33 well, I mean, he's had an amazing run up to this point.
00:32:36 Yeah, absolutely.
00:32:37 A great fencing ranking round.
00:32:39 So it will be interesting to see what he can do here.
00:32:43 10 points off the lead.
00:32:44 Valentin Prad is a multiple medalist, a really impressive
00:32:48 athlete of the sport.
00:32:51 And very consistent, Valentin Prad as well.
00:32:55 Yeah, I mean, he's got a huge history of success.
00:32:58 World Cups, obviously, was world champion in silver in 2018.
00:33:05 So that's an amazing--
00:33:07 One of the stories of pentathlon, that, wasn't it?
00:33:09 I know, it's almost-- yeah, the craziest story,
00:33:12 I think, to come out of pentathlon with him
00:33:15 against Jamie Cook.
00:33:16 But he made up for it with a World Cup final victory
00:33:19 the following year.
00:33:20 I think it was 2020.
00:33:21 No, it was a couple of years later.
00:33:22 But anyway, he won a World Cup final gold.
00:33:23 And that kind of put that to bed for him, if you like.
00:33:26 Yeah.
00:33:26 No, I mean, he's got such a history of success.
00:33:30 And I mean, with a fencing ranking round like he's done,
00:33:33 he's put himself in great contention here.
00:33:35 He has.
00:33:36 Another knock down there.
00:33:37 So one obstacle left, and he gets around.
00:33:41 And it is a 2.86.
00:33:43 That's a good score in the end for Valentin Pradz.
00:33:46 But yeah, you mentioned that, Charlie,
00:33:47 a 2.23 in the ranking round.
00:33:50 So interestingly, Pradz just getting that knock down
00:33:55 towards the end of the ride there.
00:33:57 Absolutely packed stadium here in Budapest.
00:34:00 There's barely a spare seat.
00:34:01 I think partly to do with the popularity of pentathlon
00:34:04 in Hungary, partly to do with the fact
00:34:06 that they have got popular athletes.
00:34:08 And also, we're in a good location here.
00:34:10 People are coming by, seeing the sport,
00:34:11 hearing the atmosphere, and thinking,
00:34:13 oh, I want to go watch that.
00:34:14 Yeah, definitely.
00:34:15 I mean, there's been a great turnout.
00:34:17 And I mean, it is a great sport to spectate.
00:34:20 Especially in a public area like this,
00:34:22 you can see the attraction for--
00:34:24 Yeah, they can see almost all the disciplines here as well.
00:34:26 They can't obviously see the riding, because--
00:34:28 the riding.
00:34:29 They can definitely see the riding.
00:34:31 The swimming, they can't see, because that's obviously--
00:34:33 it's about a five-minute walk, isn't it?
00:34:35 Yeah.
00:34:35 Which is another challenge for the athletes, by the way.
00:34:39 Pavel Svekovs now in second place,
00:34:42 looking to build on a gold medal that he picked up in 2021
00:34:49 for the cleared.
00:34:52 This is nervy for Pavel Svekovs.
00:34:54 And we're going to have Wung Tai Chung to follow.
00:34:56 And that will complete the riding
00:34:57 part of this men's final.
00:35:01 Svekovs in second place on 545 pentathlon points.
00:35:07 Only six points ahead of Ben Stemmeter,
00:35:09 who had a solid 299 to his score.
00:35:14 This is looking very good, very calm and composed
00:35:17 from Svekovs as he goes towards the back end of the course.
00:35:22 One knock down there.
00:35:23 That moves him now down to third place.
00:35:26 Final obstacle gets it done, gets it over.
00:35:29 One time penalty.
00:35:31 It's a very solid 292.
00:35:34 Yeah, it didn't look like the most comfortable ride.
00:35:37 So I think he should be pretty happy with that.
00:35:42 Yeah, I think he maybe struggled a little bit,
00:35:46 especially into that last fence.
00:35:47 Yeah, got it over with, didn't he?
00:35:50 And what's good about that is you know that you're not
00:35:53 preparing for the fence behind that
00:35:54 because it's the final fence.
00:35:55 I suppose you can just give it everything
00:35:57 getting through that final fence.
00:35:58 And it worked out for him.
00:36:00 So good stuff.
00:36:01 Now, here we go.
00:36:02 Yeah, the pressure is definitely on this guy right here.
00:36:06 It's happened to Wung Tai before, by the way,
00:36:08 where he's been in first place and been
00:36:12 eliminated from the riding.
00:36:13 So that's the position you never want to be in.
00:36:16 Having said that, perfect score now for Wung Tai
00:36:18 would give him an 11 second lead over Ben Stamater.
00:36:21 And he's a good swimmer.
00:36:22 And I think this would be--
00:36:24 yeah, this is really a lot of attention now on Wung Tai
00:36:28 during the Olympic bronze medalist, multiple World Cup
00:36:30 medalists.
00:36:32 And--
00:36:33 Ooh.
00:36:34 Again.
00:36:35 Oh, no.
00:36:35 Oh, it's a refusal.
00:36:37 Yeah, that was a--
00:36:38 You could see it coming, couldn't you?
00:36:39 Yeah.
00:36:40 I think he knew it as well.
00:36:41 He definitely did his best to bring it back round, but--
00:36:44 That opens a competition up for everyone else, doesn't it?
00:36:48 So 17 points off the score of Wung Tai.
00:36:51 He's going to lose time as well.
00:36:57 Wung Tai Jun.
00:36:58 It looks like he's going forwards a little bit more now.
00:37:00 Got a little bit more energy behind him, which is good.
00:37:02 Yeah.
00:37:03 Hopefully he can carry this on through now.
00:37:05 Yeah.
00:37:05 I mean, there's still a good chance of a medal
00:37:07 if he gets through this now without any more knockdowns.
00:37:10 A refusal does really make a difference on your score.
00:37:13 But he's got through, got past it.
00:37:15 And he's now just got 9A and B and 10 to go.
00:37:19 Now you can see the time penalties ticking by.
00:37:22 But I think Wung Tai's going to just about get away with this.
00:37:24 Oh, no.
00:37:25 A refusal into 10.
00:37:27 That's a real shame.
00:37:29 That's medal prospect potentially over there,
00:37:31 isn't it?
00:37:32 Here we go.
00:37:33 Another chance.
00:37:34 Last chance for Wung Tai.
00:37:35 He gets it done.
00:37:37 That's 50 points off of the score, though.
00:37:40 And that moves him down to ninth place.
00:37:42 And actually, it's a similar situation
00:37:44 to what happened with his teammate Chang Wang Seo.
00:37:46 It's a 250 for Wung Tai Jun.
00:37:51 And that has really mixed things up.
00:37:53 Yeah.
00:37:54 It just-- it really shows how much the riding can
00:37:58 impact that overall score.
00:37:59 So much can change in such a short space of time.
00:38:04 And he'll be gutted with that, I'm sure.
00:38:06 He's in a pretty solid position.
00:38:09 So I'm sure he'll be feeling that.
00:38:13 So these are the scores then after the riding discipline.
00:38:16 And Bence Demeter has gone top of the pile.
00:38:19 Pavel Zvekov is in second place.
00:38:23 Valentin Pradz in third.
00:38:24 Mahanisha Ban in fourth place.
00:38:26 Yankov in fifth.
00:38:28 Mohamed El-Gendi in sixth.
00:38:29 Ahmed Hamed in seventh.
00:38:31 Giorgio Milan in eighth.
00:38:33 And Wung Tai Jun drops from first to ninth.
00:38:36 39 points off the lead.
00:38:39 Look at the athletes a bit further down who have moved up.
00:38:42 Jean-Baptiste Mousser has moved up now.
00:38:44 And who knows, could be one of those outside prospects
00:38:48 for a medal.
00:38:49 Shababoum is still there.
00:38:51 Thereabouts a good laser run.
00:38:53 And Balashevs as well.
00:38:54 Still plenty more action to come.
00:38:55 We'll be back in a few moments time.
00:38:56 Let's take a look back at the highlights from riding.
00:38:58 (upbeat music)
00:39:01 (upbeat music)
00:39:04 (upbeat music)
00:39:07 (upbeat music)
00:39:09 (upbeat music)
00:39:12 (upbeat music)
00:39:15 (upbeat music)
00:39:17 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:39:46 Welcome back to Budapest.
00:39:49 Here we are in Hungary for the third World Cup of the 2024
00:39:53 Pentathlon season.
00:39:54 The Olympic Games creeping ever closer in this, the obviously
00:40:01 three-year gap between Tokyo 2021 and the Paris Olympic
00:40:04 Games.
00:40:05 Let's take a look at how the competition moves on then,
00:40:07 from the riding arena to the fencing bonus round stage.
00:40:11 The big points in fencing happened a couple of days
00:40:13 ago in the ranking round, but there is still
00:40:15 a chance for athletes to make up points.
00:40:17 And what I kind of view this as is an opportunity
00:40:19 to make up lost points you may have lost in the riding.
00:40:21 For example, if you lost like--
00:40:23 if you got 2-9-3, if you got three victories,
00:40:25 that boosts you back up to maybe like a perfect score.
00:40:27 So a few bonus points up for grabs here in the bonus round.
00:40:30 That's kind of what it is, isn't it?
00:40:31 A bonus round is just bonus points.
00:40:33 It's a chance--
00:40:33 Yeah, definitely.
00:40:34 It's a chance for athletes to obviously show off
00:40:36 their fencing skills.
00:40:38 This is the thing about fencing bonus round, though,
00:40:40 is you put your fencing gear on.
00:40:42 You wait to come and obviously fence.
00:40:45 And you can be on the stage for three seconds
00:40:47 and then go and get changed again.
00:40:48 That's just the nature of it.
00:40:50 I mean, it's a great-- like you said,
00:40:51 it's a great place to try and make up some extra points.
00:40:53 But it is also a bit of a shame when you get yourself all
00:40:58 kitted up, get on the main stage,
00:41:00 and then you're knocked out straight away.
00:41:02 You're knocked out straight away.
00:41:03 Which does happen.
00:41:04 It does.
00:41:04 It happens to everybody.
00:41:06 Equally, though, you can go on a mad run
00:41:07 and pick up six, seven wins.
00:41:09 And then it's actually decent points then, isn't it?
00:41:11 Yeah, exactly.
00:41:12 Yeah, you do see it where people--
00:41:14 if you can win six and you can get 12 extra points,
00:41:17 that's going to help a huge amount in the laser run.
00:41:20 I mean, every second you can get that
00:41:23 will contribute towards that final run is super important.
00:41:27 So yeah, the athletes will all be going for it here, I think.
00:41:31 I agree.
00:41:31 Three minutes until the start of the fencing bonus round.
00:41:36 Do you have any records that you can
00:41:38 remember doing the most ever touches
00:41:40 you got in fencing bonus round?
00:41:42 I actually had a really good run when I did a relay
00:41:48 with Sam Curry a few years ago.
00:41:51 I think it was actually here in Budapest.
00:41:53 Which was it?
00:41:54 The mixed relay.
00:41:55 I can't think what that was.
00:41:56 And I can't even remember how many it was, but I remember.
00:41:58 That was the standout event for me.
00:41:59 Yeah, that was the one, was it?
00:42:01 I felt very proud of that accomplishment.
00:42:03 The world record is 13.
00:42:05 That was Rebecca Langer in 2021 in Sofia.
00:42:09 And actually in World Cup final in Tokyo in 2019,
00:42:14 the team who was in the last place,
00:42:16 I think they were in 12th place in fencing bonus round,
00:42:18 mixed relay, won every bout.
00:42:20 No way.
00:42:20 Yeah, they went all the way from 12th to first.
00:42:22 OK, yeah, that's pretty impressive.
00:42:24 But at that point, you got 1.4 because it
00:42:27 was a previous format.
00:42:28 So you would have only got 12 points for that.
00:42:30 Now it would have been worth 24.
00:42:31 And that's serious points, isn't it?
00:42:33 Yeah, definitely.
00:42:33 Yeah, 24 points, you know, 24 seconds in the laser run.
00:42:37 So that can make a huge impact on these individual performances.
00:42:41 Just out of your shot here, by the way,
00:42:42 there is a collection of about 15, 20 photographers
00:42:46 all trying to get pictures of Shababu.
00:42:50 He's got a lot of attention on him.
00:42:53 Yeah, popular.
00:42:54 I think they have you, Charlie.
00:42:56 Charlie's in the commentary box.
00:42:57 Quick, get the pictures.
00:42:59 I mean, I guess pentathlon is just a big sport over here
00:43:05 in Hungary, so he's a celebrity, I guess, over here.
00:43:09 He's got a lot of attention on him.
00:43:11 Well, there was expectations that maybe Michel Gouet
00:43:14 should pick up a medal.
00:43:15 It didn't quite work out.
00:43:16 Yeah, so they're now saying, right,
00:43:18 we need a Hungarian medal.
00:43:19 But actually, it's probably Ben Stemmeter
00:43:21 who's most likely to-- well, I say probably.
00:43:23 He's top of the standings at the moment.
00:43:25 So Ben Stemmeter is--
00:43:27 yeah, there's a lot of Hungarian attention here.
00:43:29 It's a big sporting event this year in Budapest.
00:43:31 And they know just how important it
00:43:33 is the press, the media, and more importantly,
00:43:36 the athletes.
00:43:37 The clock ticking away.
00:43:38 We're just 53 seconds away from the start of the fencing bonus
00:43:42 round.
00:43:43 What kind of warm-ups do you do for fencing
00:43:44 after the riding, stretching out, loosening up a bit?
00:43:47 Yeah, so I guess all athletes are different.
00:43:49 But personally, I actually do some kind of target practice
00:43:53 with my coach.
00:43:55 Do a few hits, a little bit of footwork.
00:43:58 Nothing too major, but obviously, you
00:44:00 want to make sure your muscles are warm and ready to get
00:44:03 straight into the action.
00:44:05 I think Shepard's got the pose in here now.
00:44:07 He's just positioned himself right
00:44:09 in front of the photographers.
00:44:10 He knows what he's doing.
00:44:12 Yeah, he's out of shot.
00:44:13 But he's doing some very intense warm-up, seriously.
00:44:17 So most have ever seen a move in a warm-up.
00:44:19 Good for you.
00:44:19 Enjoy it.
00:44:21 All right, here we go.
00:44:22 It is time for our first fencing bonus round bout.
00:44:25 Jean-Baptiste Mosser versus Balaszeps.
00:44:28 And the photographers' lenses suddenly
00:44:30 shoot back to the fencing bonus round stage,
00:44:34 because Balaszeps now looking to pick up a couple of extra points.
00:44:37 These two here could be battling for positions
00:44:40 when Laser Arm starts.
00:44:43 20 seconds left on the clock.
00:44:45 Double touch.
00:44:47 Both committed themselves there to the touch, didn't they?
00:44:49 Yeah.
00:44:50 Yeah, obviously, doubles are no good in pentathlon.
00:44:53 So the time will restart.
00:44:56 And we'll see who gets that special hit.
00:44:59 Zep versus Mosser, 15 seconds on the clock.
00:45:05 Worth two points here for the victor.
00:45:08 Another double touch.
00:45:09 It's a close bout, this one.
00:45:10 Yeah, so obviously, Zep has the priority here.
00:45:14 So it's up to Mosser to try and attack to get that point.
00:45:19 And yeah, he did that successfully there.
00:45:22 Mosser picks up those two extra points
00:45:24 and slowly get the clock-- they're
00:45:27 getting about his business, isn't he,
00:45:28 climbing up those standings.
00:45:30 This could be a great story for Jean-Baptiste Mosser, who
00:45:33 in Ankra--
00:45:34 I'm thinking he might have finished fourth in Ankra,
00:45:37 actually, Jean-Baptiste Mosser.
00:45:39 Fourth in Cairo.
00:45:40 And he came from way back, by the way.
00:45:42 He was like 16th, something like that.
00:45:44 So in 13th place, I've got to say,
00:45:48 this chance of a medal is not impossible.
00:45:50 Yeah, which sounds crazy.
00:45:52 But like you said, his laser run is so strong
00:45:54 that you definitely can't put him out of the question.
00:45:57 And the thing is, as well, with the athletes higher up
00:45:59 having lost out points on the--
00:46:02 Well, that was a very cheeky hit there.
00:46:05 Very nice hit.
00:46:06 Another victory.
00:46:07 He's moving close to the top 10.
00:46:09 With the athletes higher up, Wung Tai-Jung and Zhang Wentei,
00:46:13 for example, dropping down.
00:46:15 He's actually-- I think he's just behind Sae
00:46:17 in the standings now.
00:46:18 And that shows you how much he's turned around.
00:46:20 He was one point--
00:46:22 he was 40 points behind Zhang Wentei.
00:46:28 We'll see the last standings in a minute.
00:46:30 Shab-Bum gets a cheer from his home crowd.
00:46:35 Bum versus Mosser.
00:46:38 Yes, obviously, Bum's got the priority.
00:46:41 It's up to Mosser again to try and put an attack in.
00:46:46 Mosser with those two victories to his name.
00:46:48 The only thing is--
00:46:49 oh, nice.
00:46:52 Shab-Bum gets it.
00:46:53 Yeah, when you've been on for two, the good thing about it
00:46:56 is you're a bit warmer and ready.
00:46:58 And the new athletes coming on obviously
00:47:00 haven't done any hits yet and perhaps
00:47:02 aren't quite as warmed up and switched on to it.
00:47:04 You kind of make fencing bonus rounds stage your own,
00:47:07 don't you?
00:47:07 Yeah, definitely.
00:47:09 But unfortunately, that's Mosser done.
00:47:12 But I'm sure he'll be happy to take away four points from
00:47:14 that, obviously, four seconds to contribute
00:47:19 towards his later run.
00:47:22 So if you were to add that to his riding score,
00:47:24 that would have put him on a 2.93.
00:47:27 Yeah, so I'm sure he'll take that.
00:47:32 So next up is Ahmed Hamed, who got a 2.91.
00:47:38 Ahmed Hamed quite good at that business here.
00:47:40 Shab-Bum was 2.79.
00:47:43 He really needs to make up for what's happened.
00:47:46 I wonder if that motivates athletes more
00:47:48 if they've had a bad ride.
00:47:50 Oh, Ahmed Hamed, that was a sore one.
00:47:54 I think that might have been the floor, maybe.
00:47:58 Floor doesn't count.
00:47:59 So it's a great defensive match, Ahmed Hamed, by the way.
00:48:03 The attack came in from Ahmed Hamed, who, if I remember
00:48:05 correctly, in the semifinal put together
00:48:07 a run of like five or six victories.
00:48:09 Yeah.
00:48:09 That was it.
00:48:12 That was with the lunge possibly, there.
00:48:16 Yeah, so I think Hamed was probably
00:48:17 waiting for Shab-Bum to make his attack.
00:48:21 But he got in there and got the hit done.
00:48:24 So that was a great, great hit from him.
00:48:28 Ahmed Hamed in the semifinals, I'm sure it was him.
00:48:32 He was just doing flash after flash after flash.
00:48:34 And it just worked every time.
00:48:36 He was just launching himself at his opponents.
00:48:38 And it just gave him a really good run.
00:48:39 Egyptians are definitely known for their flashes.
00:48:41 And they're very fast and difficult to defend
00:48:45 when they do come.
00:48:46 Really?
00:48:49 Here we go then, Milan versus Hamed.
00:48:54 Second consecutive final now.
00:48:58 You're almost waiting for that flash attack, aren't you?
00:49:01 Yeah, especially as the pressure is on Hamed
00:49:04 to make that attack.
00:49:05 So--
00:49:06 Because of the priority.
00:49:07 Yeah, so Milan's probably waiting for that,
00:49:10 ready to defend himself.
00:49:12 Here it comes.
00:49:13 You know it's coming.
00:49:14 There it is.
00:49:15 And Milan ready for it.
00:49:17 Nicely anticipated.
00:49:20 And that is two points now under the name of Giorgio Milan.
00:49:26 It's quite fun actually when you know it's coming.
00:49:29 Just watching it.
00:49:30 It's like a cool spring, isn't it?
00:49:32 Yeah, Milan was definitely ready for that.
00:49:34 You can see he kind of ducked out the way to avoid it
00:49:37 and got his hit.
00:49:37 So yeah, very, very nice and well executed from Milan.
00:49:42 So next up, we have Leo Bori, I believe.
00:49:48 Leo Bori.
00:49:49 So Bori with 18 victories in the Finns' league.
00:49:57 One of three athletes to pick up 18 touches.
00:50:05 Milan versus Bori.
00:50:09 Milan has one victory to his name.
00:50:11 And you can see the difference in style once--
00:50:13 this is what's interesting about fencing backhand
00:50:15 is the priority--
00:50:16 fencing bonus hand is the priority rule, isn't it?
00:50:18 Because one is more attacking and one's more defensive.
00:50:21 It's always used-- usually the case, isn't it?
00:50:22 Yeah, definitely.
00:50:23 Although you do sometimes see the defending athlete put
00:50:27 in an attack and it can really throw the attacker off.
00:50:31 So it's all kind of a tactic.
00:50:33 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:50:34 Mind games.
00:50:35 Definitely.
00:50:36 Bori gets the victory.
00:50:37 When you get-- I mean, it's very physical fencing, isn't it?
00:50:45 It's one of the--
00:50:46 Yeah.
00:50:46 It's the physical discipline, isn't it?
00:50:48 Yeah, definitely.
00:50:49 I mean, especially with that sort of hit
00:50:51 where it's very kind of close quarters and right
00:50:53 on top of each other.
00:50:55 Do you come away with bruises after fencing?
00:50:57 I've got a fair few scars on me.
00:50:58 You've got scars?
00:50:59 Really?
00:51:01 It can be pretty brutal sometimes.
00:51:03 But--
00:51:04 Do you draw-- I mean, you're guessing you draw on blood
00:51:06 if you're getting scars?
00:51:07 Yeah, yeah, I've got a few scars on my arm.
00:51:10 Oh, yeah, they're actually there, aren't they?
00:51:12 Blimey.
00:51:12 I mean, it's the kind of nature of it, isn't it?
00:51:17 Yeah, I guess so.
00:51:18 It's actively sword fighting, isn't it?
00:51:20 So you'd expect a few cuts and grazes over the years.
00:51:23 Definitely.
00:51:25 Yeah, Bori with one victory to his name.
00:51:27 Up next is Yuri Kovalchuk.
00:51:30 They're making their way through fencing bonus rounds
00:51:33 quickly here.
00:51:33 I do feel like sometimes athletes overly
00:51:39 commit themselves on fencing bonus rounds
00:51:40 because they want to get on to the pool
00:51:42 and get themselves ready.
00:51:44 But yeah, I mean--
00:51:47 Yeah, it's a difficult one because obviously sometimes
00:51:50 you think, oh, well, it's only-- oh, it was.
00:51:52 [INAUDIBLE]
00:51:54 Not sure what happened there.
00:51:56 Did Bori say there was a touch?
00:51:57 Perhaps.
00:51:59 Did the honest thing, possibly, or did he not?
00:52:02 It's concluded somehow.
00:52:04 Yeah, I mean, it came up as a double,
00:52:05 but perhaps he was off-piste, and that's
00:52:10 why it didn't count.
00:52:11 I'm not sure on that one.
00:52:13 [INAUDIBLE]
00:52:13 And we welcome our next athlete into the top 10.
00:52:16 Ranked number 10, [INAUDIBLE]
00:52:18 --difficult to say, really, is their fencing speed is--
00:52:20 --should be lower.
00:52:22 --great shot there off the fencing bonus round, piste.
00:52:25 Anyway, we move on.
00:52:27 Shuai Lu of China up next.
00:52:31 Clear Bori now with two victories.
00:52:33 Still not sure what happened in that previous bout.
00:52:35 Charlie looks as confused as I do, so that's reassuring.
00:52:37 [LAUGHTER]
00:52:40 Number three.
00:52:41 Bori makes it three.
00:52:43 Yeah, he's on a roll here, doing a great job.
00:52:48 And again, this is just demonstrating once the athlete
00:52:50 that's on piste has sort of warmed up and got their mind
00:52:53 in that fencing headspace, I guess
00:52:56 it does put you in a good position and probably
00:52:59 a better position than those athletes that are coming on a bit
00:53:01 colder and not necessarily as warmed up and ready to go.
00:53:05 --to the [INAUDIBLE]
00:53:06 [INAUDIBLE]
00:53:09 It's a bit blustery here.
00:53:11 I wouldn't have thought it was windy enough to affect
00:53:14 shooting in the laser run.
00:53:15 Yesterday during the semifinals, there
00:53:18 was a sudden downpour just in the final shoot.
00:53:21 The heavens opened and the rain fell.
00:53:23 That was quite interesting, actually.
00:53:25 Yeah, definitely.
00:53:26 Those sorts of conditions can definitely impact the shooting.
00:53:28 But fortunately, this fencing piece
00:53:31 is under cover, which is good.
00:53:32 And we definitely don't have any of those issues.
00:53:34 It's bright sunshine here today.
00:53:36 Yeah, it's lovely weather, isn't it?
00:53:38 Bori finally defeated after picking up
00:53:40 those three victories.
00:53:42 Colossal, in front of his home crowd, picks up the win.
00:53:46 He's level on points with Unta Jun,
00:53:49 who at the beginning of this competition
00:53:51 you wouldn't have expected to see down in 10th place.
00:53:54 He picked up a 250 if you're just tuning in and wondering
00:53:56 why Unta Jun has lost 50 points in the riding arena.
00:54:01 So Unta Jun has had a rough year so far.
00:54:12 At the end of the day, ultimately, it all
00:54:14 depends on the end of the year.
00:54:15 It's the most important part of the year, isn't it?
00:54:17 If you're going to have mistakes,
00:54:18 get them out of the way now.
00:54:19 Yeah, definitely.
00:54:20 Obviously, the main focus is on Paris this year.
00:54:24 But all the athletes will be wanting
00:54:25 to do the best performances they can
00:54:27 at all of these competitions.
00:54:29 Wow, very nice.
00:54:31 Very cheeky hit there.
00:54:32 That's the example of getting ready for fencing
00:54:34 and spending a second on the stage.
00:54:37 Oh, it's not a good feeling when you've
00:54:40 had to put all your kit on, get all warmed up, ready just
00:54:42 to, like you said, have one second on there.
00:54:45 But it happens.
00:54:46 It happens to everybody.
00:54:48 You move on from it quickly, don't you?
00:54:50 Definitely.
00:54:51 Colossal loved that, didn't he?
00:54:52 Yeah, you have to give it to him.
00:54:54 That was a very, very nice hit.
00:54:55 Cheeky one, wasn't it?
00:54:57 So two victories now for Colossal.
00:55:00 Up next is Mohamed Chaban.
00:55:03 Again, we're seeing, I think, his definite medal prospect
00:55:07 here.
00:55:10 Colossal with two victories.
00:55:11 I have a feeling Chaban wins this, by the way.
00:55:13 Just based on his attitude at this competition,
00:55:17 he's here to win medals.
00:55:19 Yeah, I mean, he's a really solid fencer.
00:55:21 I actually think he probably wouldn't
00:55:23 have been super happy with the fencing score he got here.
00:55:27 Just 20.
00:55:29 Which is crazy, because that is an amazing score.
00:55:31 But he's such a great fencer that--
00:55:32 He was consistently getting, like, 24s, 25s, 26s last year,
00:55:35 wasn't he?
00:55:37 So I'm sure he'll be looking to make up some points here
00:55:40 if he can.
00:55:41 Colossal with two wins.
00:55:44 Six seconds of this fencing round.
00:55:46 About gone.
00:55:47 Colossal versus Chaban.
00:55:49 Chaban picked up 20 in the ranking round.
00:55:53 Colossal picked up 19.
00:55:54 And there you go, Mohamed Chaban does get that victory.
00:55:58 He's not happy about something.
00:56:03 I'm not sure what it is.
00:56:04 But--
00:56:05 [INAUDIBLE]
00:56:06 He leads with two victories.
00:56:07 Four seconds of a major round.
00:56:09 We'll welcome our next athlete.
00:56:11 We're now into the top six.
00:56:12 Six matches remaining.
00:56:14 Not sure what he's referring to there, but--
00:56:17 If you're a good reader of word language,
00:56:19 maybe you can work out.
00:56:20 It was either two or eyes, wasn't it?
00:56:21 I was going for eyes, but unsure.
00:56:24 Maybe it was just a celebration.
00:56:25 It's like--
00:56:26 Yeah.
00:56:26 [LAUGHTER]
00:56:28 I don't know.
00:56:30 All right, next up, it is Chaban versus Kuf.
00:56:34 Kuf with also 21 victories in the ranking.
00:56:38 Now, Kuf is in with a chance of a medal here.
00:56:42 Chaban and Kuf could be battling later on.
00:56:44 So these could be significant points.
00:56:46 It could be a four-point swing as well.
00:56:49 Chaban, so aggressive, gets the touch.
00:56:52 Yeah, he has a very awkward style that obviously
00:56:55 works amazingly for him.
00:56:57 But I think it does throw people off.
00:56:59 I mean, his attacks kind of come from nowhere, you know?
00:57:02 So fast and well-timed.
00:57:04 And his distance is amazing.
00:57:06 So yeah, I think that was a great hit from him.
00:57:09 [INAUDIBLE]
00:57:12 So Kuf loses out to Chaban.
00:57:15 Benz Demeter, who is top of the standings
00:57:19 as things stand at the minute, is looking
00:57:23 in a good position here.
00:57:28 Yeah, I think he's kind of home favorite based off
00:57:31 of these fencing results.
00:57:33 So hopefully he can--
00:57:36 Got a 299 in the ride as well.
00:57:38 Chaban's on a roll here.
00:57:40 They will take some beating.
00:57:41 Look at him.
00:57:42 He just looks locked in, confident.
00:57:45 Yeah.
00:57:46 Wants those extra points desperately.
00:57:50 Where's he gone there?
00:57:51 He's gone--
00:57:51 Hold that 8 seconds.
00:57:54 Way past 8 seconds now for Chaban to get the touch.
00:57:57 Yeah, so you know, Benz Demeter will
00:57:59 know that this attack's coming, be ready to defend himself.
00:58:04 Chaban versus Demeter.
00:58:08 Demeter does get the touch.
00:58:11 At that point, it is advantage to the higher ranked athlete,
00:58:15 isn't it?
00:58:15 Because you know that you're going
00:58:17 to get an attack coming your way,
00:58:18 so you can read the atmosphere.
00:58:19 Yeah, definitely.
00:58:21 He definitely would have known that was coming.
00:58:23 And yeah, just tried to keep as much distance
00:58:26 as he could to be in a good position to defend himself.
00:58:28 So he did that.
00:58:29 He did that well.
00:58:30 So Chang-Wan Seo has to make up some points here.
00:58:38 Chang-Wan Seo probably has made peace with the fact
00:58:40 that his medal prospects are--
00:58:43 I don't want to say in tatters, but they're not looking good,
00:58:45 are they?
00:58:45 It was a 2-4-6 for Seo.
00:58:48 We'll see the scoreboard at the end of this to see where he is.
00:58:52 But it's not where he would have hoped
00:58:55 to have been after a decent ranking round.
00:58:57 Demeter versus Seo.
00:58:59 Demeter has already extended his lead at the top of the pile.
00:59:03 Can he extend it even further with victory over Seo?
00:59:07 He can.
00:59:08 Here's the answer.
00:59:10 Two wins now for Demeter, four points.
00:59:12 Yeah, the Hungarian crowd are loving that.
00:59:15 A few extra hits to celebrate.
00:59:18 He is creeping further and further ahead here, Demeter.
00:59:23 I don't know off the top of my head how fast Demeter is
00:59:25 in the group.
00:59:28 Still looking good for Demeter, isn't he?
00:59:30 Yeah, I mean, regardless, he's so far
00:59:32 has put himself in a really great position.
00:59:34 But I mean, there's still three events technically to go.
00:59:39 So a lot can change very quickly.
00:59:41 And I mean, given some of these riding scores,
00:59:44 I think the results will be a lot more bunched up
00:59:46 and make for a very exciting laser run to come.
00:59:50 Yeah, it's really bunched things up, hasn't it?
00:59:53 So, Valentin Praz versus Ben Stemeter.
00:59:56 Praz was in third place after the ranking round.
00:59:58 Two athletes still to come after Praz.
01:00:00 Demeter with two victories to his name.
01:00:02 Praz just looking quite cool and calm and collected on the stage.
01:00:08 Demeter looking to get the job done.
01:00:10 He's already picked up two wins, making it three.
01:00:13 So our highest placed athlete is creeping further and further ahead.
01:00:17 Yeah, I thought Praz had got that one.
01:00:20 It looked like it.
01:00:21 It's got a little bit tangled up.
01:00:23 And yeah.
01:00:25 Demeter's enjoying himself out there today.
01:00:28 And all these victories are just edging that lead further ahead.
01:00:32 And when you're in first place and you've got a bit of a lead over second and third,
01:00:37 these extra points really do start to make a difference.
01:00:40 Yeah, definitely.
01:00:41 Like we were saying, every second counts.
01:00:44 You really, you want to go for these and see how many extra seconds you can get.
01:00:50 So, yeah, Ben's doing a great job here.
01:00:55 Svekos in second place after the ranking round.
01:00:58 And indeed, he's maintained that second place after the ride.
01:01:02 Demeter with three victories to his name.
01:01:05 Svekos luring him in and set trap, which worked.
01:01:10 Svekos picks up the victory.
01:01:13 Yeah, obviously he's got a pommel grip there, so a little bit of an advantage.
01:01:18 And just picked him off over the top.
01:01:20 Gives him that extra length, doesn't it?
01:01:21 Yeah.
01:01:22 What's the disadvantage to the pommel grip?
01:01:23 Why doesn't everyone do it?
01:01:25 I mean, it gives you a bit less control.
01:01:27 So, had Demeter sort of got him in a strong parry, it's difficult to come off that.
01:01:35 But it just depends on style of fencing, really.
01:01:38 It does work really well for some people.
01:01:41 I've actually never given it a go myself.
01:01:44 Really? You've never tried it?
01:01:45 I'd be interested. No, no.
01:01:46 Does anyone ever change styles?
01:01:49 Well, all of the GB, all of us pentathletes fence with pistol grip rather than pommel.
01:01:55 Two pommel athletes on the show here, by the looks of it.
01:01:58 Wungtai and Svekos.
01:02:00 So, Wungtai suffered after losing out points in the ranking round.
01:02:05 In the riding, Svekos picks up another victory.
01:02:11 And in doing so, has actually moved back up closer to the leader.
01:02:19 And, yeah, Wungtai Jun has had the sting taken out of his competition a little bit here, hasn't he?
01:02:25 Yeah, I mean, I think he's not having his best day, that's for sure.
01:02:30 But I'm sure, I mean, as much as you want those extra points, it is just a couple of seconds.
01:02:37 So, I'm sure he won't beat himself up too much.
01:02:40 Let's take a look at those scores then.
01:02:42 Top of the pile is Bence Demeter, four points ahead of Pavel Svekos.
01:02:46 Valentin Pras in third, Shaban Joint, five to six points in fourth place.
01:02:52 Yankov in fifth place on 5-2-1.
01:02:54 Elgendy in sixth on 5-10.
01:02:57 Hamad in seventh place on 5-0-8.
01:02:59 Then it's Giorgio Milan and Michaile Colasar rounding off that top ten.
01:03:05 The top nine, should I say.
01:03:06 In tenth place, we've got Wungtai Jun, who has dropped down the standings after a disappointing ride.
01:03:11 Lea Bory in eleventh place.
01:03:13 Jean-Baptiste Mousser in twelfth.
01:03:15 Shababoum in thirteenth.
01:03:16 Kostas Yak in fourteenth.
01:03:18 And Zhepp in fifteenth.
01:03:20 Those three on the same scores, 4-9-1.
01:03:22 Chang Wangseo in sixteenth place.
01:03:24 Shui Luo in seventeenth.
01:03:26 And Yuri Kovalchuk, eliminated from the ride, is down in eighteenth place.
01:03:31 Everybody now is making their way to the pool.
01:03:33 We'll bring you action of the swimming in a few minutes' time.
01:03:38 Let's just take a look back at the highlights from the fencing.
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01:04:28 Welcome back to Budapest.
01:04:31 We are building up to the start of the swimming.
01:04:34 And one line of information to bring you, Yuri Kovalchuk, we believe, won't be starting or continuing anymore in the competition.
01:04:43 He has withdrawn because of some form of medical reasons.
01:04:47 So we wish Yuri the best of luck if that is the case.
01:04:50 So let's take a look then at how the competition moves now into the swimming pool, where it is a 200-meter freestyle swim.
01:04:59 This is a 25-meter pool.
01:05:02 Quick pool this one, Charlotte, would you say?
01:05:04 Yeah, I have to admit, this is probably my favorite pool in the world.
01:05:08 Wow. That's a statement.
01:05:09 I know, it is a statement and a half, isn't it?
01:05:11 But I absolutely love it.
01:05:13 It's definitely a faster pool, that's for sure.
01:05:15 My PV actually is in this pool itself.
01:05:18 Is it really?
01:05:19 That's good to know. We've seen some quick times actually.
01:05:21 Yeah, it's a good pool.
01:05:22 Previewing the swimming discipline for us is Greek athlete Penelope Nica and we can hear from her now.
01:05:31 So we're joined with Greek athlete Penelope Nica.
01:05:33 Penelope, great to talk to you poolside here in Budapest.
01:05:37 And this is the part of the competition where athletes are quite frantically making their way from the fencing hall to obviously the pool here.
01:05:44 Just talk to us about how crazy it is as an athlete to get yourself ready for the swimming.
01:05:49 Well, it's crazy. We get used to it after competitions, but you need to finish the fencing and then just change your clothes,
01:05:57 come straight to the swimming pool, have some time for some stretching and then jump in, warm up and start the swimming.
01:06:06 It's just a short time.
01:06:07 Yeah, it's tiring, isn't it?
01:06:08 And as an athlete, you're always having part of your mind one step ahead of you so that you can look forward to the competition.
01:06:15 You know what's coming up next, for example, obviously after swimming is the laser run.
01:06:19 As an athlete, do you save a bit of energy for the laser run?
01:06:23 Are you swimming a bit slower than you would have done previously or do you give everything in the pool?
01:06:27 I think most of the athletes don't give everything in the pool because the points that you get in the swimming are usually the same in every competition.
01:06:37 Maybe five more, five less, but the big difference in the ranking happens in fencing and in the laser run.
01:06:46 So I think you save a lot of energy in the pool just to be ready for the laser run.
01:06:52 And if you are maybe a little bit further down the standings, you could perhaps maybe give a little bit more effort because you have to climb up the standings.
01:07:01 Is there sort of tactics in play depending on which position you are in the swimming?
01:07:05 It depends. If you're a good swimmer, yes, you can push it more.
01:07:08 But if you're a better laser runner, I don't think you will waste your energy in the swimming pool.
01:07:14 And obviously once you finish swimming, it's then a quick transition to the laser run, isn't it?
01:07:18 Always as an athlete, you're thinking of your body and thinking about what you have to prepare for next.
01:07:24 Yeah, just a short time. Usually you eat something and you just try to warm up as much as possible.
01:07:30 Because here, for example, in Budapest, the weather is cold, so you need to warm up properly to avoid any injury.
01:07:37 But you just try to be as ready as possible.
01:07:41 Well, that's an interesting question, actually, the nutrition side of things.
01:07:43 You're eating in between disciplines. So when you're coming from fencing to the pool, you're eating in preparation?
01:07:49 Not before the pool, but yeah, before the laser run, yes.
01:07:53 You never eat before you swim, you never run around the pool. Those are the golden rules, right?
01:07:57 Yeah.
01:07:58 All right, well, listen, thank you for joining us and we'll speak to you again soon. Thank you so much.
01:08:02 Thank you very much.
01:08:03 Appreciate it.
01:08:04 Greek athlete Penelope Nica giving us her expert insight poolside there as she previews the swimming,
01:08:11 talks about the different factors. And one interesting point there is nutrition midway through a competition.
01:08:16 As an athlete, are you refueling during the competition quite a bit?
01:08:20 Yeah, I mean, I honestly think that's one of the most important things.
01:08:24 And compared to the old format where it was spread across the day and you had long breaks in between,
01:08:30 it's potentially less important, but in some ways it's even more important because it's kind of making sure you've eaten enough
01:08:36 in the lead up to the start and then also eating enough through the competition that you're fueled and have the energy to compete,
01:08:44 but also not overdoing it and ending up with a stitch or in an uncomfortable position.
01:08:49 So find balance that, isn't it? What do you refuel with? Is it like gels, protein bars, drinks or what kind of you know,
01:08:57 sat down having a full meal?
01:08:59 So during the competition is obviously just easy energy. So energy gels,
01:09:05 lots of different kind of easy carbohydrate snacks, some protein.
01:09:12 But obviously nowadays the competitions are over and done with so fast that protein is perhaps less important.
01:09:19 And obviously as soon as you finish, then it's getting refueled as you can and plenty of protein.
01:09:25 And so it's like the post event refueling is actually as important as massively.
01:09:32 Yeah, as soon as as soon as I'm done, I'll go straight to make sure I get some protein and obviously help help my muscles rebuild and refuel.
01:09:41 When you finish Laser Run, you obviously warm down, don't you?
01:09:44 So you do like a couple of laps of the circuit. Then that's when you're like, right, let's get some food.
01:09:49 Yeah, yeah, exactly. But it doesn't stop, does it?
01:09:52 Once you've once you've finished, you know, once you say you win gold, you do your ceremony and you warm down.
01:09:57 It's like it's a continuous process.
01:09:59 Yeah. And I mean, often you get sent off to do anti-doping as well.
01:10:03 So it's a whole whole series of things.
01:10:06 I mean, often you don't end up going back to the hotel till a good few hours after you finished finish the event.
01:10:12 So effectively, you could end up competing for five days.
01:10:15 Couldn't you? Your qualifications that say on Tuesday fencing rank around on Wednesday, semifinals on Thursday.
01:10:23 Then you get a day off. Yeah. Final on Friday.
01:10:26 Yes, on Saturday. And then maybe even mixed relay on.
01:10:28 Yeah. So it could be five in six days that you're competing and doing a full pentathlon.
01:10:33 That's a lot, isn't it? Yeah, I feel like women are quite lucky in the sense that we do get that day off.
01:10:39 And for men, they kind of just go all the way through.
01:10:42 So you would have the qualifications on the Monday, wouldn't you?
01:10:45 But the men could have qualifications on the Monday.
01:10:48 So we qualify on the Tuesday. Yes.
01:10:52 And then we get Wednesday. Yes. So we get the Friday as a rest day.
01:10:55 Right. So they'd be going Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
01:10:57 And if they did, they did mixed relay for five days.
01:10:59 Which is crazy. We've done it a couple of times.
01:11:03 I think it was in 2022 where we had this the same format that the men have and just go all the way through without a rest day.
01:11:11 And I honestly can't even tell you how much more difficult it was.
01:11:15 When you've I think it depends how hard you've had to go in the semifinal.
01:11:18 If you've had to really push on and then compete in a final the next day, it can be pretty tough.
01:11:24 If you've kind of breezed through the semis, it's easier.
01:11:27 Is it because it's something you're not used to?
01:11:29 I mean, like, do you think this format to continue for the next?
01:11:34 I mean, obviously it's going to change with with obstacles.
01:11:36 So it's difficult to sort of stay at the minute.
01:11:38 But is it something you condition yourself to over the years or is it just because it is, you know, reaching that limit of human beings?
01:11:45 I think so. I mean, I think the standard has improved so much over these last couple of years of doing this new format.
01:11:52 I think especially well, I can remember the first couple of competitions that we did.
01:11:57 People were on their last legs at the end of the competition.
01:12:00 But but nowadays you see athletes sort of manage their energy, I guess, across the week and people get to the final and they're pulling out PBs.
01:12:10 You know, it's it's it is incredible.
01:12:12 But like you said, I guess people have just sort of adapted and, you know, got used to this new format.
01:12:19 Yeah, yeah, it makes sense.
01:12:22 OK, let's take a look at the start list for Swimming Heat 1, which consists of Shababum from Hungary,
01:12:29 Sebastian Stasiak from Poland, Balazs Jepp also from Hungary, Changwang Seo from Korea,
01:12:35 Shuhai Luo from China and Yuri Kovalchuk from the Ukraine.
01:12:42 Should be some pretty quick times in this first Swimming Heat as well with Shababum, Balazs Jepp and Changwang Seo all primed and ready to get themselves,
01:12:54 hopefully, up those standings. There's some quite quick swimmers actually consistently through this final.
01:13:00 Very quick swimmers, actually a lot of qualification times of around two minutes. A quick pull this one, isn't it?
01:13:05 Yeah, as you mentioned, it's your favorite. One of my favorites for sure.
01:13:10 Yeah, I'm not sure exactly what makes it such a fast pull, but it's definitely...
01:13:15 I've asked this question to many different athletes. I'm going to answer that question in the room this time.
01:13:19 I know better than you by the way, but I'll give you what I think and you can tell me if you think it's right.
01:13:23 Changwang Seo coming out now and he's dropped right down the rankings, hasn't he?
01:13:27 Xu Hailo was out before him. Balazs Jepp, actually Yuri Kovalchuk has withdrawn from the competition.
01:13:43 Then it's Sebastian Stasiak and then finally his home favorite, we'll see him in a moment's time, Shababu.
01:13:56 Consisting of two hard gains in this first one.
01:13:59 Yeah, one question that athletes have said is it's a variety of things that makes a quick and slow pull.
01:14:03 One thing is the start blocks, whether or not they're wobbly. Yeah, definitely.
01:14:06 The lanes in the middle sometimes can consist of making a new sense here.
01:14:11 No, no, no, definitely. Weather conditions as well. So if it's outside, temperature of the pool, all those sorts of things.
01:14:17 No, no, for sure. I mean, the blocks obviously make a huge difference because that kind of gives you your head start.
01:14:23 And the lane ropes. I mean, I can't say these are probably the best lane ropes, actually.
01:14:29 But yeah, typically if they're kind of thinner laid ropes and a bit less protective, it creates a little bit of resistance.
01:14:38 Here we go then. Swimming Heat 1 about ready to go.
01:14:42 And we are off. Six athletes in the pool and battling for the quickest time.
01:14:48 Shababu could set the fastest time ahead of his teammate, Balashek, but it's pretty level across the field in that first 25 meters.
01:14:56 It's all about pacing yourself swimming, isn't it? You don't want to go too hard, too quickly.
01:15:00 Yeah, definitely. So obviously it's pacing yourself across the 200 meters.
01:15:05 Typically, you know, not not trying to go out too fast and maybe build into it.
01:15:09 And obviously with such a tight turnaround heading straight out to the laser run, typically athletes nowadays are conserving a bit more energy and not,
01:15:18 you know, maybe not swimming quite as hard as they used to in the old format.
01:15:24 So, yeah, I think it's very individual. Different, different athletes have different approaches to it.
01:15:31 Yeah, the athletes are coming up to the halfway mark now.
01:15:35 100 meters done and dusted. And if you think of it as 15 seconds per 25 meters, if you wanted to get a sub two minute time,
01:15:43 Shababu is currently under that time at the moment.
01:15:47 I think the quickest time we've seen so far at this event was Alexander Dallenbach got a 1.55.
01:15:54 Yeah, which is a very, very good time. I think most of the men in this group would be very happy with that.
01:16:02 I think the world record was a 1.149, 1.148 possibly even by Jamie Cook. Yeah.
01:16:10 Abuziri I think got a quick, quick time as well.
01:16:13 Zhou Qing was always, well I say was always a good swimmer as if he's not a swimmer anymore, but he's slowed right down, tactically I'm sure.
01:16:20 Yeah, it's just the nature of this new format. I mean, it would be silly, I guess, to go all out and build all that lactate up and then have to go straight out and shoot.
01:16:30 But I mean, different people are better at managing it. And for some people, they can push a bit harder and be fine shooting.
01:16:36 So, yes, very individual.
01:16:38 Final few stages then of Swimming Heat 1 and Shababu does just get in there with a sub two minute time of 1.59.61.
01:16:47 It was Balashev who came home in second place. That's quick from Shababu. He's really given it everything there.
01:16:53 Yeah, I mean, 1.59 is a fantastic time, especially in this final. So I'm sure he'll be very happy with that.
01:17:01 Compared to 200 metre freestyle swimmers who are exclusively swimmers, they would do a time of around 1.40. Is that what it says?
01:17:08 Yeah, I'm not sure actually about men, but yeah, I mean, they're probably a significant chunk faster.
01:17:14 But they are just swimming, not riding and fencing and shooting and running.
01:17:18 Exactly. When you put it in context and you remember that, you know, these athletes are also doing four other sports.
01:17:27 Four pretty random other sports.
01:17:29 Well, it is actually a random concoction, isn't it?
01:17:31 It is impressive.
01:17:33 These are the scores then after the first Swimming Heat. Shababu, you can see, is still top of that mini pack of athletes.
01:17:40 He is on 8.02, five points ahead of Balachet, but there wasn't too much in between their times.
01:17:47 But it was five points that Shababu has pulled over his teammate there. Chang Wang Tseo is provisionally in third place.
01:17:54 But I would say it's Chang Wang Tseo's medal prospects dashed.
01:17:57 Second Swimming Heat, Ahmed Hama, Giorgio Milan, Michaili Kolazar, Wong Tai-Jung, Leo Bori and keep your eye on John Baptiste Moussa.
01:18:06 He is creeping up those rankings in 12th place.
01:18:10 And I think, yeah, John Baptiste Moussa, his swimming times were actually that quick.
01:18:15 His best qualification was 2.08. So here he is, John Baptiste Moussa.
01:18:20 Yeah, he's probably not the fastest swimmer out there, but I mean, his laser run is so strong that you really, you definitely can't write him off at this point.
01:18:29 I mean, I think he could be the one that provides some very interesting dynamics.
01:18:36 Could really mix things up, couldn't he?
01:18:39 Up next is Leo Bori, two French athletes on this Swimming Heat.
01:18:44 Here's Wong Tai.
01:18:47 Wong Tai looks focused.
01:18:50 I think Wong Tai will be very keen to try and finish this competition as strongly as possible.
01:18:58 Michaili Kolazar.
01:19:01 He's got the headphones in.
01:19:04 Switching himself off from the crowd watching in the background.
01:19:09 Giorgio Milan's a quick swimmer. Could be the quickest swimmer in this final actually, Giorgio Milan.
01:19:17 Giorgio Milan's quite good at his business in this competition.
01:19:20 Yeah, definitely.
01:19:22 Ahmed Hamed, final swimmer out there potentially. Could be the slowest swimmer in this Swimming Heat.
01:19:29 Yeah, we've got quite a variety in this one. We've got a couple of the maybe slightly slower swimmers of the field and then...
01:19:36 Probably about 15 seconds difference between Giorgio Milan and Ahmed Hamed, which is 30 points. I mean, that's loads.
01:19:43 Yeah, that's beginning to make a big difference to their competition.
01:19:48 Yeah, it is. But there's nothing you can do about it, is there? It's like you know that you're going to lose that time.
01:19:53 So I suppose it should be something you can prepare for, but it's something you at least know is going to change.
01:19:59 Yeah, and I guess it's just sticking to your game plan as well.
01:20:02 And, you know, if you're around the fastest swimmers, not getting tempted to kind of go out too fast and stick with them and just stick to the plan and execute it.
01:20:10 Yeah.
01:20:12 Swimming Heat 2 underway here in Budapest.
01:20:17 And keep your eyes on lane 3, because that is where Giorgio Milan is swimming.
01:20:24 And I'm pretty sure we'll get another sub-two minute swim from Milan.
01:20:28 Although this is a pretty tight swimming between those four middle lanes.
01:20:32 I think lanes 2 and 7 might get left behind.
01:20:36 But this is a nice battle here between those four. Colosso is ahead of Milan in these opening stages by less than a tenth of a second.
01:20:43 Wuntai Jun is in third place and Wuntai Jun has time to try and make up.
01:20:50 It's a good swimming heat this, isn't it? Because with the way Puntaffel is at the moment, you don't get all the fastest swimmers grouped together and all the slowest swimmers grouped together.
01:20:57 It's a mixture.
01:20:58 Yeah, definitely. It does make it quite interesting in a sense that before, obviously, they were ranked and you'd be put in heats with people very similar pace and you'd kind of have people to pace yourself against and get you through.
01:21:11 So, yeah, in this situation, it really is about knowing your strategy.
01:21:16 That's an interesting point. You will obviously practice as a swimmer your pace over and over and over.
01:21:21 But they've got a watch in the pool. There's no muscle memory or memory of your own ability to time it because you don't want to push too hard, do you?
01:21:31 Yeah, I guess a lot of it's just done off the feel.
01:21:34 And when you've done it so many times and you've practiced that sort of 200 meter pace feel, you do get get a good idea of where you're at.
01:21:42 And again, it is it is kind of a feel if you feel that lactate building, perhaps it's time to start, you know, back off a little bit.
01:21:51 Yeah, it's amazing how in tune athletes are with their bodies.
01:21:54 So this is going to be sub two minutes. I'm certain of that.
01:21:57 Georgia Milan now just bringing it home. I don't want to push it too hard because he's going to have a laser run to complete in a few minutes time.
01:22:06 But here we can see the Italian athletes with a time of one fifty eight point seven four.
01:22:12 One time June is just over two minutes and Leo Bori in the end coming home in third place is a good result that from Bori actually.
01:22:21 He's a good laser runner. No doubt see him trying to fight to make through to field.
01:22:29 Once I do say a French team, maybe I'm going to say, yeah, very, very fast time.
01:22:35 Again, I think this just shows the swimming really can make some differences.
01:22:42 If you compare it to the point that some of these athletes would have got from the bonus round, you know, it can make it can make quite a big difference to the overall standings.
01:22:50 Yes. So that is swimming heat to replay.
01:22:56 You're seeing there the moment that's Georgia Milan touched.
01:23:04 Let's take a look at those scores.
01:23:08 In first place provisionally, eight points ahead of home, Tajian.
01:23:12 And you can see the points difference to Milan and June is just four points.
01:23:17 Colossal in third, Bumin fourth, Hamad in fifth, Bori in sixth, Jep in seventh, Seyo in eighth and Sebastian Stasiak in ninth place.
01:23:29 You'll see six athletes with next next their name because they are the athletes or be competing in swimming heat three.
01:23:37 So we've yet to take their scores to ready schools from ranking round bonus round riding.
01:23:47 These are your six athletes for swimming heat three. Demeter, Svekovs, Pradze, Shaban, Kuf and El Gendy competing in this final swimming heat.
01:23:58 And it's the mad dash. I mean, that must be chaos in the changing rooms.
01:24:02 Everyone's just trying to get the laser as quickly as they can. Obviously, it's spread out to three heats, but it must be madness.
01:24:08 The second you get out of the pool, you're effectively running to the arena.
01:24:10 Yeah, especially when you are in this last heat. It really doesn't give very much time at all to get back down here.
01:24:16 It's easier when the pool is on, you know, right on site and in the kind of pentathlon arena.
01:24:21 But when it's a little bit of a walk like it is here. Yeah.
01:24:25 As a as a whole, as I mentioned, you can see we've seen the athletes earlier today just running straight from the pool to here.
01:24:32 And I mean, it's the only way you can do it, really.
01:24:35 Mahanad Shaban is next out.
01:24:40 Yankov and Mohammed El Gendy were out.
01:24:44 Two Egyptians inside that top six.
01:24:48 Anton Kras in third place overall.
01:24:54 Kras has, I think, improved his swimming time over the years.
01:24:57 Pérez Fecos, I think, will go into Laser Run actually in first place.
01:25:02 Because he is a good five to seven seconds faster than Benz Demeter in the pool.
01:25:09 Here he is, the man currently top of the pile in front of his home crowd.
01:25:17 And Demeter acknowledges the audience who have come out to watch him.
01:25:23 We are building up to the conclusion, the exciting conclusion of Super Saturday here in Budapest.
01:25:30 Women's final done and dusted.
01:25:32 Maria Nedchik, gold medalist.
01:25:37 It's now time for showing Heat 3.
01:25:44 It will be interesting to see whether Fecos can make up that extra time and get into the lead here.
01:25:52 There could potentially be some changes.
01:25:56 Yes, and starting Laser Run in first place is always a good place to be, isn't it?
01:26:01 Athletes in the pool, Swimming Heat 3 underway.
01:26:06 A strong start for these athletes.
01:26:08 Quite even at the moment, but obviously in the first leg, it's always difficult to tell how it's going to go.
01:26:15 You get an idea of just how little those margins are.
01:26:19 But over the course of 200 meters, they creep ahead, don't they?
01:26:22 It's small, but suddenly you can start to see a bit of a gap emerging after that first 50 meters.
01:26:29 Mahala Shaban is really pumped and giving it everything here.
01:26:32 In fact, Mahala Shaban on paper shouldn't be the fastest swimmer in this heat.
01:26:36 So it's interesting to see pushing it quite hard in this opening 50 meters.
01:26:42 Yeah, definitely. I mean, it's always difficult to tell.
01:26:45 We're comparing the qualification time to what they'll do in a final, because sometimes if athletes have been in a good position with the fencing,
01:26:52 maybe they haven't had to push the swim quite as hard and then maybe give it a little bit more in the final.
01:26:56 But yeah, he seems to be putting in a good shift here.
01:27:01 So Svekhov now moves up into first place. Shaban drops down to second place.
01:27:08 You can see Svekhov pulling ahead quite some distance now as he approaches the 150 meter mark
01:27:19 and then look to bring it home in the quickest time possible.
01:27:24 I have to say Shaban has a very nice, relaxed looking stroke.
01:27:29 He manages to make it look like he's really not putting that much effort at all, which I'm sure isn't the case.
01:27:34 But yeah, he's making it look a lot easier than, well, at least I would.
01:27:39 Well, pentathlon, I feel is when it looks effortless is usually when the athletes are their strongest.
01:27:44 They make something difficult look very smooth and easy.
01:27:48 One swim I love to watch actually is Myles Pillage who hides through the pool with huge strokes.
01:27:53 Final stages then of Swimming Heat 3 and Mahana Shaban is swimming brilliantly here.
01:27:59 Pavel Svekhov takes the win. Shaban with his fastest time of this competition so far.
01:28:05 Demeter coming home in third place. Shaban making a real impact swim there.
01:28:09 His qualification time was 2.05. That swim was 2.02.
01:28:14 And that is a very good score for Shaban.
01:28:19 And that will be reflected in the standings in a few minutes time.
01:28:24 Yeah, you can see the athletes trying to quickly leave the pool as fast as they can to get over for the laser run to start.
01:28:31 Yes, that mad dash ahead of the start of the race.
01:28:36 And then we'll bring you live coverage of the laser run here from Budapest.
01:28:41 The exciting conclusion of modern pentathlon. We'll see the scores in a minute's time as well.
01:28:48 Just seeing the moment there when Svekhov and Shaban got themselves to the end of the race.
01:28:55 Let's see the standings. Svekhov is top of the pile as we predicted.
01:29:02 Five points ahead of Demeter. Shaban's move up to third place.
01:29:07 Shaban takes a medal from there in my opinion.
01:29:09 And you can see a bit of a gap now between those top athletes and those further down.
01:29:13 Praz is not too far off the medal positions. Kufs not too far off either.
01:29:18 Milan having a strong competition. Wung Tai Jung's recovered a little bit.
01:29:21 And El Gendi is level on points now with Wung Tai.
01:29:24 Kolasar three points further adrift.
01:29:27 And then looking a little bit further down.
01:29:30 Shababum is in tenth place. Hamad is in eleventh.
01:29:32 Bori in twelfth. Jep in thirteenth. Seyo in fourteenth.
01:29:36 Stasiak in fifteenth. Morsier, well he's got work to do.
01:29:40 He's in sixteenth place. Lo in seventeenth place.
01:29:44 And Kovalchuk has withdrawn from the competition down in eighteenth place.
01:29:50 Those are how things stand after swimming.
01:29:52 We'll be back to start the build up to Laser Run in a few minutes time.
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01:30:41 Welcome back to Budapest for the conclusion of Super Saturday.
01:30:49 As we transfer from the pool to the start of the Laser Run.
01:30:56 It is a mad dash this.
01:30:58 Strap yourselves in everybody to the exciting conclusion of modern pentathlon.
01:31:02 The first lap is pretty much a formation lap.
01:31:04 The athletes run around the course before then arriving at the laser shooting range
01:31:08 for four series of the shooting routine.
01:31:11 Ten meters distance.
01:31:12 You've got to hit the five targets before you can progress.
01:31:14 A time of ten seconds is roughly what they'll all be aiming for.
01:31:18 Quicker than that is a very good time.
01:31:19 Slower than that and you start to be punished.
01:31:22 And it's back round again.
01:31:23 First over the finish line after five laps of this course is the winner.
01:31:28 Beautiful evening here isn't it Charlie in Budapest and great conditions for a Laser Run.
01:31:32 Yes, absolutely stunning evening.
01:31:34 Honestly I can't believe it just looking out and seeing the blue skies.
01:31:38 It's just so nice especially compared to the weather back home.
01:31:42 So yeah, we need to embrace this.
01:31:44 But yeah, no perfect conditions for a Laser Run.
01:31:47 Tiny bit of wind in the air but really not enough I think to affect the shooting.
01:31:52 Probably actually quite nice for the athletes just having a little bit cooler.
01:31:56 If it's really strong wind does that affect the athletes?
01:31:59 Yeah, definitely.
01:32:00 I mean strong wind is probably the worst conditions you could have for shooting.
01:32:04 It just adds a whole other dimension to it.
01:32:06 Worse than rain.
01:32:07 Yeah, I'd say so.
01:32:08 Glaring sun probably as well.
01:32:10 Yeah, perhaps but honestly wind.
01:32:12 Strong wind just wobbles your hands.
01:32:14 Yeah, especially when it comes in gusts.
01:32:16 It's just not ideal.
01:32:18 But no, there's none of that here today I think.
01:32:20 Yeah, if I were competing right now I'd say this is pretty ideal conditions really.
01:32:25 Good time for you in the shooting range would be about 10 seconds would you say?
01:32:28 Yeah, 10 seconds is like kind of what you're aiming for.
01:32:33 Anything less than that is fantastic really.
01:32:37 So we're going to build up to the start of the Laser Run
01:32:40 and we're going to check in with one of the athletes
01:32:43 who is competing in this final and is a medal prospect.
01:32:45 Let's hear from Mohamed Shaban.
01:32:47 Hi Mohamed Shaban, Egyptian athlete.
01:32:49 Here we are in front of the Laser Shooting Range.
01:32:52 As an athlete, obviously building up to Laser Run is a tricky part of the competition isn't it?
01:32:56 You've just come from the pool.
01:32:58 Now you're here practising shooting, practising your running.
01:33:01 How tricky is it to transition from swimming to Laser Run?
01:33:04 I think the trick in the Pudavest is the weather.
01:33:07 So my day today is very good.
01:33:09 I've had sun since the morning so I go to the swimming now.
01:33:13 I swim not in my record so it will be easy for today because I've fenced too well.
01:33:19 So we now have the Laser Run shooting.
01:33:22 So I think it will be a relaxed team in the Laser Run.
01:33:27 We will see.
01:33:28 And just talk to us about how difficult it is.
01:33:31 Obviously swimming and running and shooting are such different sports.
01:33:34 Physically you have to adapt to what's coming up next.
01:33:38 How difficult is it in your mind to go from swimming to Laser Run?
01:33:42 I think the modern pentathlon, each sport is like another one.
01:33:47 So in the training we adapt in every training.
01:33:51 So we come to the competition we do like the training.
01:33:54 Everyone talks about lactic acid as being an issue going from the swimming to the running.
01:33:59 Is this an issue for you or do you manage this?
01:34:01 Yeah, but if we have like 2.0 in the swimming,
01:34:06 so we swim like 2.2, 2.3 to not have the lactic acid in our arms.
01:34:12 So it will be like semi-lactic.
01:34:15 And obviously Laser Run is such an important part of the competition.
01:34:20 This is something that is a big focal point for athletes isn't it?
01:34:23 Is getting themselves to be running fast because everyone's running so quickly this year aren't they?
01:34:27 Yeah, I think this year all the athletes focusing on the Laser Run.
01:34:34 I hope to do my best. I think if I do my best I will be not far away from them.
01:34:39 We will see the competition.
01:34:41 Thanks for your time my friend. Appreciate it. Cheers.
01:34:43 Mahana Shaban giving us his thoughts then.
01:34:46 Interview recorded the other day after the semi-finals.
01:34:50 Giorgio Milano just preparing himself at the shooting range.
01:34:55 We are 10 minutes away from the start of this dramatic Laser Run.
01:34:59 We have just been handed the official timings here, Charlie.
01:35:04 There is a mixture of times. Actually the top ten said about 53 seconds.
01:35:10 I would say Pavel Svekos with a 16 second head start has had a phenomenal competition.
01:35:16 Yeah, I mean it is amazing.
01:35:18 I mean that swim, a 1.58 swim has really helped him out here.
01:35:24 So he has put himself in a great position.
01:35:28 Wuntai Juen has dropped down to 7th place, 45 seconds off the lead.
01:35:33 Still in a good position and still not a bad shout for a medal position.
01:35:38 Let's take a look at some of Wuntai's statistics in terms of how he has performed in his career as a pentathlete.
01:35:48 So he has a senior world ranking of 4th and Olympic ranking of 10th.
01:35:52 He has won 6 world championship medals at youth and senior level.
01:35:57 He has won Olympic youth bronze medal and he has won a whole host of World Cup and World Cup final medals.
01:36:04 Wuntai Juen is one of the stars of this sport in terms of how he compares with the others.
01:36:10 Laser Run, he is bang average.
01:36:13 I say bang average, that was almost a little bit casual, wasn't it?
01:36:16 He is not above or below the regular standard, let's put it that way.
01:36:20 3% above average in swimming and 7% above average in fencing.
01:36:26 I think I have done Wuntai a bit of a disservice there because memory serves correct.
01:36:30 He is a good laser runner and we might see him moving up some positions in this race.
01:36:35 Let's see how he does compete in the laser run in terms of where he starts and where he finishes.
01:36:41 Usually he is starting roughly where, finishing roughly where he started.
01:36:46 But that is often due to the fact that he is starting so high up.
01:36:49 In Ankara he started in 2nd, finished in 2nd.
01:36:51 In Budapest this time last year, of course, the reigning gold medalist, he started in 1st, finished in 1st.
01:36:56 Then in Ankara he had a handkerchief on, first place.
01:36:58 Jesse had a problem with the riding, if memory serves correct.
01:37:00 I think he went from 1st down the pile as well.
01:37:04 Wuntai Juen, one of the athletes to watch, the Olympic bronze medalist.
01:37:10 I said it was Youth Olympic bronze medalist, but of course that came from Tokyo 2021.
01:37:18 Behind Ahmed, Algendi, Silva and Zhou Cheng in gold.
01:37:21 Zhou Cheng has not been competing so much this year.
01:37:23 We would like to see him in Saphir.
01:37:25 Can you even mention that?
01:37:27 I am not sure exactly what his plans are, but he will be back for the Olympic season and ready to hit the ground running in Paris.
01:37:35 Defending Olympic champion, isn't he?
01:37:37 So he is going to be with a point to prove in Paris.
01:37:40 Yes, for sure.
01:37:42 I am sure he is looking forward to getting back out there.
01:37:45 Ben Stemmeter is in second place.
01:37:49 Ben Stemmeter is a very experienced athlete and the crowd are really starting to gear themselves up for this.
01:37:56 Let's have a look at Ben Stemmeter's record.
01:37:59 He has a senior world ranking of 42nd and an Olympic ranking of 107th.
01:38:06 World championship medals, two of them.
01:38:08 He has never won an Olympic medal.
01:38:10 He will be hoping to qualify and see if he can add that to his pile.
01:38:14 He is 34 years of age, if memory serves correctly.
01:38:19 In terms of his comparisons with other athletes, 13% above average in terms of fencing, 3% above average in terms of swimming, 3% above average in laser run.
01:38:33 Let's have a look at his handicap analysis.
01:38:37 His current competition, he has a 2.99 in riding, a 2.46 in fencing and a 2.93 in swimming.
01:38:43 Ben Stemmeter is not making too much movement, but that bodes well.
01:38:48 I think a medal potentially on the guard for Ben Stemmeter.
01:38:51 Do you think he is going to take the battle to Pavel Svekov's or is it too tough to tell at this point?
01:38:56 There is still so much that can change in the laser run.
01:38:59 One slightly not so great shoot can change everything for everybody.
01:39:07 It is so difficult to tell at this point.
01:39:10 He is in a really solid position.
01:39:14 Just looking at the crowd that is already starting to get pretty hyped and ready for the start,
01:39:19 I think he is going to have a good crowd behind him and a lot of support.
01:39:24 I would say he is in a very solid position.
01:39:27 16 seconds off Svetlkov.
01:39:31 He has done himself well up until this point.
01:39:37 I feel like he has got a point to prove now, so I am sure he will give it his all.
01:39:42 Agreed. I think you are right in saying he has that point to prove.
01:39:48 We build up to the start of the laser run.
01:39:52 Svekov is the man to beat. He will be starting in first place.
01:39:58 We understand that the scores we have read out are potentially a little bit different,
01:40:05 so we might have to update you on them as we continue our build up to the start of the laser run.
01:40:11 Yankov has issued instructions.
01:40:16 Five minutes to the start of the race.
01:40:20 What is going on there? Is that some sort of breathing exercise?
01:40:25 Yes, it looks like it. I assume that is the video that is helping him there.
01:40:33 Nothing I have seen before, but I guess everyone is different, aren't they?
01:40:39 Yankov is getting himself in a meditative state.
01:40:44 Five minutes away from the start of the laser run.
01:40:48 Yankov is relaxing himself.
01:40:50 You go from swimming to laser run.
01:40:53 You do have to focus yourself on the next part of the competition.
01:41:00 That can be easier said than done.
01:41:03 Demetan must be feeling nervous right now.
01:41:06 You can see him jogging past the crowd.
01:41:09 A huge amount of support for him, which is great to see.
01:41:12 What I would say is that a loud crowd like that is probably brilliant when you are running,
01:41:17 but when you are at the shooting range and you know everyone is watching your every move,
01:41:21 it must be quite stressful.
01:41:23 Yes. All athletes are different, aren't they?
01:41:26 I find sometimes having that around you almost encourages you to focus even more on the shooting target
01:41:32 and really channel that focus.
01:41:35 Hopefully that will be the case for him today.
01:41:38 Hopefully they can offer him that support when he is running around the 600m track.
01:41:45 Yes, that is the case.
01:41:47 The athletes are now building up to the start of the laser run with four minutes to go
01:41:52 until we get underway with the action.
01:41:55 Just checking their timings, just checking where they are going to be starting,
01:42:00 who potentially they could be catching around them.
01:42:03 You can see sheets being passed around.
01:42:08 At this point, the warm-up is getting in its closing stages.
01:42:14 They probably just want to get started now, don't they?
01:42:16 Or would you rather have that extra time to warm up?
01:42:19 I guess it depends which heat you are in.
01:42:21 If you are in one of the first heats, you have had a little bit longer to get your mind in gear for laser run
01:42:26 and get your body warmed up.
01:42:28 But if you are in one of the last heats, particularly the third heat,
01:42:32 and you have only just got down here, I guess every second counts really.
01:42:37 You are trying to use that to get yourself ready to get on the start line.
01:42:42 The crowd are building the tension beautifully.
01:42:48 They have been given, I don't know what those things are called,
01:42:51 but you can hear them in the background, those inflatable things that you hit together that make noise.
01:42:57 That adds to the atmosphere, adds to the tension, adds to the noise.
01:43:02 We are going to be handed the new timing sheets in a moment's time.
01:43:05 So we will be able to give you the official timings.
01:43:07 By the way, this is way closer than we were hyping it up to be.
01:43:12 My goodness me. Let's just go through this again.
01:43:14 We will get the official timings on your screen in a minute's time.
01:43:17 The difference between Sekov and Demeter is not what we thought it was.
01:43:20 It is not 16 seconds. We were wrong. It is 5 seconds.
01:43:23 Yes, which is super, super exciting.
01:43:26 I mean for us watching it makes it much more unpredictable.
01:43:32 I mean I couldn't tell you what is going to happen here.
01:43:36 It is going to be a very exciting race, that is for sure.
01:43:38 Yes, so the top three separated by 18 seconds.
01:43:41 The top ten separated by 50.
01:43:44 I am still keeping half an eye on John Baptiste Moussier.
01:43:47 He has a minute and nine seconds to make up.
01:43:49 I think that could be a tough ask.
01:43:51 He could still be in a top four, top five position.
01:43:54 He is fifth in Cairo.
01:43:56 So still plenty of opportunity to move up those rankings.
01:44:02 It would normally be 18 athletes, but Yuri Kovalchuk has withdrawn.
01:44:06 So 17 athletes all vying for those medal positions.
01:44:11 And the athletes just going through their final preparations,
01:44:16 their final warm-up, their final mental exercises.
01:44:19 Yankov, we saw, was going through a breathing exercise.
01:44:23 And that is the position we are at as we start now to go towards the start line.
01:44:36 Wong Tai-Jung sprinting, just trying to get himself warmed up.
01:44:39 Wong Tai-Jung is difficult to read, isn't he?
01:44:41 I can't tell if he is disappointed, despondent or focused.
01:44:45 I am sure there is a whole mix of emotions going through him at the moment.
01:44:49 He is in seventh place and 43 seconds off the lead,
01:44:53 which I think is not a disaster.
01:44:57 This is the thing for Wong Tai-Jung.
01:44:59 If he hadn't have lost those 50 points, he would have been seven points ahead in first place.
01:45:02 That is what makes it so difficult.
01:45:05 Trying to manage those emotions through the competition is so important.
01:45:08 Obviously, after the ride, I am sure he was feeling huge levels of disappointment.
01:45:13 It is just so important not to get too bogged down in those emotions
01:45:17 and really just try and keep fighting.
01:45:20 He is in seventh place and he is currently 43 seconds off the leader.
01:45:26 But he is still in with a shout.
01:45:29 Would you rather chase or be chased?
01:45:32 I would rather be chased.
01:45:36 I have done my best performances definitely when I have been in that position.
01:45:41 Let's just quickly look at these timings.
01:45:45 Pavel Tsekov is just five seconds ahead of Ben Stamato.
01:45:48 Mohamed Chaban, 18 seconds off the lead.
01:45:50 We know how good Mohamed Chaban is.
01:45:52 He has himself got an 11-second lead over Valentin Pradze.
01:45:57 Kuf has a four-second lead over, sorry, he is four seconds behind Pradze.
01:46:02 Then Milan is a third or three.
01:46:04 It is all very congested around there.
01:46:06 I think the battle for third could be quite interesting,
01:46:08 especially if there is someone who comes unstuck in the shooting range.
01:46:11 You would rather be chased then, would you?
01:46:13 Yes, definitely.
01:46:15 That is just personal preference.
01:46:17 But as an athlete, you have to be able to do both.
01:46:19 A lot of the time you are the chaser.
01:46:22 You have got to be able to do it all, don't you?
01:46:29 Yes, you certainly do. You have to be able to compete in that way.
01:46:45 Two minutes away from the start of the conclusion of Super Saturday.
01:46:51 Live here in Budapest, in the heart of the capital of Hungary.
01:46:58 We are about two, maybe two and a half kilometres away from the river Danube,
01:47:04 which meanders through the centre of Budapest, slowly and steadily.
01:47:10 But there will be nothing slow and steady about the start of this Laser Run.
01:47:13 I can tell you that for nothing.
01:47:15 Pavel Svekos leads us away.
01:47:17 There are all these little floaty bits in the air.
01:47:19 It is a lovely evening here.
01:47:20 Very spring-like feelings in the air and a big intake of breath.
01:47:25 Pavel Svekos looks nervous. I don't blame him.
01:47:28 Maybe he is just trying to calm his nerves and find that relaxed headspace
01:47:34 ready to go and set out on this race.
01:47:36 He has got a bit of pressure on his shoulders.
01:47:40 He has only got a five-second lead and that can change.
01:47:43 Without meaning to be dismissive, five seconds is nothing.
01:47:45 No, that could all change.
01:47:49 It is kind of an unknown Pavel Svekos as well.
01:47:51 Since his gold medal in 2021, with all due respect,
01:47:55 he has not done too much of note in the sport.
01:47:58 It seems to be that Pavel Svekos turns up and wins a gold or not.
01:48:02 That seems to be his two options.
01:48:04 I am not saying he is going to win a gold now, but he is in the position to do so.
01:48:07 It is kind of a little bit unknown as to what he will do at this point.
01:48:10 What I will say, when he won that gold, which coincidentally came in this exact same place in Budapest in 2021,
01:48:16 when he won that gold, he did tyre towards the end of the race.
01:48:20 We will see.
01:48:22 It is obviously a few years on from that.
01:48:25 Hopefully he has got it in him today and he can repeat that same performance.
01:48:30 Modern Pentathlon 2024 is all about the build-up to the Paris Olympic Games.
01:48:36 Modern Pentathlon is five disciplines, five different sports in the space of 90 minutes.
01:48:44 These athletes have been working hard throughout the day to get themselves in this position.
01:48:48 It is all about the medals here in Budapest.
01:48:52 Pavel Svekos leads away with a five-second head start ahead of Ben Stemmeter,
01:48:58 local hero in front of his home crowd.
01:49:01 Hear that roar as he makes his way down the start/finish straight and towards that crowd.
01:49:07 I think, Charlie, we are going to get another example of that roar as he makes his way past.
01:49:10 I think so. They are looking very, very excited.
01:49:14 They know this could be a very exciting race, I think.
01:49:16 That has given me goose bumps, actually, just to hear that roar.
01:49:19 It is amazing to see.
01:49:21 Mohamed Chabane, Valentin Pras, that is a big gap between Chabane and Pras.
01:49:26 Yes. I think this next little pack can come out quite quickly.
01:49:30 It is going to be a tight one.
01:49:32 Yes, you have got Cush, you have got Milan, you have got Wung-Tai Jun as well.
01:49:36 As he makes his way back into things.
01:49:38 Wung-Tai Jun just has to put that right at the back of his mind now, doesn't he?
01:49:40 Look at that.
01:49:42 Mohamed El-Ghendi has flown out the blocks.
01:49:45 He is going to be a bit of a challenge for the next couple of
01:49:48 minutes.
01:49:50 We have got Chababum getting a big cheer.
01:49:52 Ahmed, Bori, Balashjiep as well.
01:49:56 Chang-Wen Tse was desperate to get under way.
01:49:58 There goes Chang-Wen.
01:50:00 The crowd are loving this.
01:50:04 And away goes Sebastian Stasiak.
01:50:09 That is our battle for fourth, fifth and sixth.
01:50:12 It will be interesting to see whether they can come through.
01:50:16 Particularly Jean-Baptiste.
01:50:18 I think he could be a...
01:50:20 What is interesting here is Ben Stemmer keeps glancing down at his watch.
01:50:23 He will have got a real buzz from going past that crowd.
01:50:26 He has got to be careful not to push himself too hard from this opening lap.
01:50:29 He doesn't want to exhaust himself too early on, does he?
01:50:32 I guess just looking at his watch, pacing himself, he is intelligent.
01:50:35 And that is showing in his performance.
01:50:37 Yes, definitely.
01:50:39 He is all about relaxing into the run.
01:50:42 Not burning up too much energy.
01:50:44 For me personally, it is just focusing on that first shoot.
01:50:48 He has already dug out more than a second.
01:50:50 In fact, he is right on the back of Pavel Svekov in this battle at the front of the field.
01:50:55 We are about to enter the shooting range.
01:50:57 Things are going to get interesting here in the shooting range.
01:51:01 Mahana Chababum, the experienced Mahana Chababum is closing in on these two.
01:51:06 And here we go. It is shooting time here in men's individual final.
01:51:11 Svekov versus Demeter.
01:51:13 In a minute's time, you will see the times of the shooting.
01:51:21 Unfortunately, we cannot actually bring you that.
01:51:23 So, there we go.
01:51:24 Pavel Svekov is away.
01:51:25 Ben Stemmer is away.
01:51:26 Good shooting from both of them.
01:51:28 And Chaban is away as well.
01:51:31 Yes, great shooting from all three of those athletes there.
01:51:35 So, Ben Stemmer is now past Svekov and I think just into the race lead.
01:51:44 So, it seems like we did not get the time.
01:51:46 It looks pretty close around maybe 12 seconds or so if we were to guess.
01:51:49 Yes, I mean, yes, it looked like they all had pretty solid shoots.
01:51:54 Yes, these three athletes are pretty bunched up now actually.
01:51:57 It has definitely got a lot closer than it was when they first set off.
01:52:01 So, it could set out for a very exciting finish for this.
01:52:05 Just five seconds between the top three.
01:52:08 And then there is a whole group of athletes further back.
01:52:11 Another glance at the watch there from Ben Stemmer.
01:52:13 So, he is not checking the time.
01:52:15 He is checking his pace, isn't he?
01:52:16 I think so, definitely.
01:52:17 Do you measure each, as I say, 200 meters or so?
01:52:20 You just check your time to see your pace?
01:52:22 Is that what you are saying?
01:52:23 I personally do not, but I guess, yes, I am an athlete.
01:52:26 It will help just to keep a bit of an eye on the time.
01:52:29 Yes, it has opened up a bit of a lead over Svekovs here.
01:52:32 But Mahana Shaban, who is such a solid athlete, knows now.
01:52:36 He is in the position he wants to be.
01:52:38 He had a disappointment in Cairo and indeed in Ankara.
01:52:44 But he is back with a vengeance.
01:52:46 And Mahana Shaban looking to secure a spot at the Olympic Games.
01:52:49 He has already qualified a spot for his country.
01:52:51 In fact, he is about to overtake Pavel Svekovs.
01:52:53 It is all over the back of the Latvian now.
01:52:57 And Mahana Shaban storms into second place.
01:53:00 It was an 18-second deficit behind Svekovs now.
01:53:03 And I think Mahana Shaban is favourite for gold at this point.
01:53:06 Yes, I mean, he is looking very, very strong.
01:53:09 But it really will all just come down to the shooting now.
01:53:12 All three of these athletes still need to put in a good shoot here.
01:53:17 I mean, it is pentathlon.
01:53:18 It can all change so quickly.
01:53:20 Let us see if we get that angle down the shooting range,
01:53:22 if we cannot see the timings.
01:53:26 There we go.
01:53:27 We have got them back.
01:53:28 So Demeter with one out of the five.
01:53:30 Shaban with one out of the five.
01:53:32 Bence Demeter shooting very well here.
01:53:35 You can see his accuracy in the top left-hand corner of your screens as well.
01:53:39 How many makes and how many misses.
01:53:40 And Bence Demeter is away at 11.63.
01:53:43 Shaban is away.
01:53:44 It is a battle between Demeter and Shaban.
01:53:47 Great battle this, by the way.
01:53:48 Amazing battle.
01:53:49 Yes, not quite as good a shoot there from Svekovs.
01:53:51 I think he will probably be a bit disappointed with that.
01:53:53 He could get pulled into a little battle of his own here.
01:53:55 El Gendy with a sub ten-second shoot.
01:53:58 Zheb Hamid.
01:53:59 Oh, my goodness.
01:54:00 Some really speedy shoots coming out here.
01:54:03 The crowd are cheering on in the background as well.
01:54:06 Bence Demeter has Mohamed Shaban all over the back of him.
01:54:11 But look behind.
01:54:12 Favreau Svekovs is being reeled in by those chasing back.
01:54:17 And this is a really interesting battle now between Mohamed Shaban and Bence Demeter.
01:54:24 Mohamed El Gendy just 17 seconds off the lead, by the way.
01:54:27 I know.
01:54:28 The gaps are really closing.
01:54:29 I mean, it's closing a lot quicker than perhaps I would have expected.
01:54:33 I think, yeah, just looking down the field, there's a whole pack of athletes really powering on.
01:54:39 And they look like they're not even far off that third place at the moment.
01:54:44 Sometimes a race has a special feel about it where you feel this one could be one to remember for some time.
01:54:50 And this one has that feel about it.
01:54:53 Demeter and Shaban separated by less than two seconds.
01:54:57 Svekovs is 10 seconds further back than everyone chasing.
01:55:01 El Gendy, Jeppe, Hamid and Milan are going to be nipping at the tail of anyone that makes a mistake further back.
01:55:08 This is a great race.
01:55:09 Strike yourselves in, folks.
01:55:11 We still have two shooting routines to go.
01:55:14 Can Demeter keep Mohamed Shaban behind him?
01:55:17 That's, I think, the question at this point of the race.
01:55:20 Yeah, I think for Demeter, it's just going to be trying to keep that composure, you know,
01:55:25 accepting that maybe he might miss one or a couple and just try not to dwell on that too much.
01:55:30 And yeah, just look at that chasing.
01:55:33 Wow. You would not want to get sucked into that, would you?
01:55:36 Right back at the shooting range are our lead to Demeter and Shaban.
01:55:41 Demeter and Shaban going shot for shot here.
01:55:43 This is great shooting from Demeter, by the way.
01:55:46 Benz Demeter with three out of five, four out of five for Demeter.
01:55:50 Wow, amazing.
01:55:51 8.9 for Benz Demeter in front of his home crowds.
01:55:54 Shaban's going slow here.
01:55:56 Will it give the chance for others to catch up?
01:55:58 I think we're going to see if you ask when Hamid is away.
01:56:01 Oh, my goodness.
01:56:02 There's too many athletes to reel them all off.
01:56:04 Jeppe, Hamid, El Gendy, could we see a Hungarian one, too?
01:56:08 Wow. And look at these three Egyptians.
01:56:10 They are absolutely on fire.
01:56:12 Well, they all know that they're in their own internal battle.
01:56:15 Hamid El Gendy is storming around the outside from eighth place up to second.
01:56:20 Could this be Hamid El Gendy's event?
01:56:23 He's closing in now on Benz Demeter.
01:56:25 He's come from nowhere.
01:56:27 Oh, my gosh. Honestly, this is just incredible.
01:56:31 What an amazing race to watch.
01:56:33 A wild race unfolding in front of your very eyes here, folks.
01:56:37 Strap yourselves in because we still have one more shooting routine to go.
01:56:42 And things have been absolutely blown apart.
01:56:47 I mean, there are three Egyptians all with a chance of qualifying for the Olympics.
01:56:51 They're all going to be nervous now as well, because there's an internal battle going on between those Egyptians.
01:56:55 It's who goes and Mahana Shaban goes, no, second place is mine and takes it back.
01:57:01 They're all pacing themselves here.
01:57:02 Don't rule out Balazs Jeppe, by the way, as well, who's in that pack.
01:57:05 Benz Demeter in first place.
01:57:08 Yeah, to me, Jeppe just looks like he's happy to kind of sit on the back of that group.
01:57:12 Yeah, perhaps just relax a little bit and have faith in that in that final shoot and his his last lap.
01:57:18 But wow, look at that.
01:57:20 I can't wait for this final shoot, by the way.
01:57:22 This is going to absolutely just be brilliant.
01:57:24 The gap between first and that chasing pack is just eight seconds.
01:57:31 So Benz is going to feel the pressure here when he comes into the shooting range.
01:57:36 He's famous for that big sprint finish either, by the way.
01:57:39 So it could be that we see a real battle for gold here, maybe one of the most famous battles in recent times.
01:57:46 Here we go, then the final shooting routine.
01:57:49 Benz Demeter arrives at the range.
01:57:51 He's shot so well so far, but this is where the pressure will start to sink in.
01:57:55 He's missed his first two.
01:57:57 Who is going to emerge here as the athlete to watch?
01:58:00 Balazs Jeppe is the one so far as is Mohamed El Gendy.
01:58:03 Jeppe with a six second shoot, El Gendy with a seven second shoot.
01:58:07 Benz Demeter is struggling.
01:58:09 His chance of gold is slipping away and it now becomes a battle between El Gendy and between Jeppe.
01:58:15 What about the other chasing pack?
01:58:17 Mahan Eshaban is not too far behind, but you feel like this is going to be a sprint finish between El Gendy and between Jeppe.
01:58:22 What brilliant shooting by those two.
01:58:24 Wow, this is something else.
01:58:26 There has been some amazing shooting when the pressure is on like that.
01:58:29 And there's a huge group of you in the shooting range to shoot that well is just something else.
01:58:35 Yeah, huge respect for these for these athletes.
01:58:38 We're in the final few stages then of the World Cup here in Budapest.
01:58:43 The individual final.
01:58:45 It is a flat out battle between Mohamed El Gendy and Balazs Jeppe.
01:58:49 Shooting is done.
01:58:50 It's all about the running.
01:58:52 And these two are quick runners.
01:58:54 The crowd are going absolutely mad.
01:58:56 They want Balazs Jeppe to take the gold.
01:58:58 Mohamed El Gendy wants this his first World Cup gold medal, potentially on the cards.
01:59:04 He won World Championship silver.
01:59:06 And look at this grimace on his face.
01:59:08 This is absolutely wild.
01:59:10 They are flying.
01:59:11 Absolutely flying.
01:59:12 Now you think maybe perhaps Mahan Eshaban is out of the runnings here.
01:59:16 But we're coming through the last few stages.
01:59:18 Olympic qualification could well be decided by one of these positions, by the way.
01:59:22 It's going to go right down to the line.
01:59:24 Mahan El Gendy is digging deep.
01:59:26 Balazs Jeppe is all over the back of him.
01:59:28 Mohamed El Gendy applies the acceleration and he screams in delight.
01:59:33 It is gold for Mohamed El Gendy.
01:59:36 Silver for Balazs Jeppe.
01:59:38 And bronze for Mahan Eshaban in one of the most famous pentathlon finals of recent times.
01:59:45 My goodness me, what a performance that was from Mohamed El Gendy.
01:59:50 Charlie, what do you make of that?
01:59:52 We need to take a breather.
01:59:53 That was absolutely incredible.
01:59:56 Absolutely amazing.
01:59:57 What a race.
01:59:58 I mean, some of those shooting performances, to hold it together with all of that pressure around them was truly amazing.
02:00:07 Yeah, a huge respect to these athletes.
02:00:10 That was incredible to watch.
02:00:12 Absolutely mind-blowing final.
02:00:14 Mahan El Gendy, who started 43 seconds behind the winners,
02:00:20 is now running towards, I think, his brother, who is watching on the Olympic silver medalist.
02:00:27 As snow hits his coaches.
02:00:31 And Mohamed El Gendy is absolutely loving every second of this.
02:00:37 Ben's demeter in the end just went out of steam at the last minute, didn't it?
02:00:41 Yeah, I think it was that final shoot.
02:00:43 And as I'd kind of predicted, you know, when that huge group's coming in and you're on the range,
02:00:48 it's so difficult to keep that focus and, you know, pull out a good shoot.
02:00:53 So I think he'll be pretty gutted.
02:00:56 Balazs Cep, by the way, came from 13th place to finish in second place.
02:01:02 That's unbelievable.
02:01:03 I mean, super strong running.
02:01:04 And also, I mean, his shooting was amazing.
02:01:06 That final shoot to be sub 10 seconds.
02:01:10 It's fab.
02:01:11 So, yeah, amazing performance from him.
02:01:14 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
02:01:41 - Right, folks, we're going to try and go and get yourselves some interviews.
02:01:45 Charlie's going to remain in the commentary box, and we will endeavor to bring you some interviews.
02:01:53 [END PLAYBACK]
02:02:11 So James is heading out to try and find some people to do some interviews with.
02:02:15 I think he's going to go for the top three athletes and try and hear from them and hear directly kind of how they felt their performances went through the day.
02:02:24 But we're just taking a look back now at that dramatic laser run that just provided all the thrills and entertainment.
02:02:33 I truly can't believe how spectacular that was.
02:02:37 It's something else, I think, watching it from the sidelines and seeing it on a screen.
02:02:42 And, yeah, you really get a sense of those emotions and how much these athletes are putting into it.
02:02:49 And this was the fight towards the beginning of the race with these four athletes, the three Egyptians and the Hungarian.
02:02:58 Some great shooting, actually, across the board, really, here.
02:03:01 I know a few athletes had some struggles, but you can see that just how much a good shoot really is a make or break of a competition.
02:03:09 You know, for Zep to get out of the range like that so fast.
02:03:13 And, yeah, he put himself in a great position.
02:03:18 What a great shot there.
02:03:20 Mohamed El-Ghendi, amazing, amazing performance from him.
02:03:28 Yeah, you can see him running over to his coach and you just really feel these athletes' emotions.
02:03:33 And you can see the other side of it here, how when it doesn't go to plan, how gutting and devastating that can be.
02:03:41 But, yeah, for the Egyptian team, it was amazing for those three athletes to come up like that from the positions they were.
02:03:52 So here are our overall results then.
02:03:55 Mohamed El-Ghendi taking the lead with that dramatic finish, an amazing sprint finish from him to finish in first place.
02:04:03 Zep coming home in second place and Chabane in third.
02:04:07 So those are our top three.
02:04:09 Gosh, you just couldn't have predicted these results.
02:04:13 It was absolutely spectacular.
02:04:16 And a bit further down, Jean-Baptiste made up a few positions there, which was not a surprise, really.
02:04:22 We thought he might do that.
02:04:24 Colizard, Chassio, Prad, Sveskos, unfortunately for Sveskos dropping down to 14th there,
02:04:32 which probably wouldn't have been the most happy about, but still a good performance.
02:04:37 Bori, Lou and yeah.
02:04:41 So we're actually going to head over to James now to get an interview with Chabane.
02:04:52 Mohamed El-Ghendi, Egyptian athlete, congratulations on the bronze medal.
02:04:55 You're back on the podium. Talk to us about the race from your point of view.
02:04:59 It's a hard race today.
02:05:01 We all together, the Egyptian team, the competition inside each other and the Hungarian men, they are so strong.
02:05:11 It's a hard race today in the Leather Run.
02:05:14 Till last year, we don't know who will win this competition.
02:05:18 It's a very hard race.
02:05:20 I mean, just to be honest with you, you seem disappointed at the moment.
02:05:23 I think the standard you've set yourself is so high.
02:05:26 You are back on the podium. But is there an element of disappointment for you today?
02:05:29 Yeah, back to the podium.
02:05:31 But I didn't happy. I don't happy because I have a good performance like more than this race.
02:05:40 Maybe the shooting I shoot too bad today.
02:05:43 Maybe next competition will be better.
02:05:46 You obviously have friends and family watching back home.
02:05:49 Just a message to them in Arabic and to talk about your thoughts to them.
02:05:53 Thank God we are back on the podium.
02:05:57 Hopefully the next competition will be better and we will win the medal in the Leather Run.
02:05:59 Thank you very much for your time.
02:06:01 What are you going to tell me about the race?
02:06:03 That was great to hear from Shaban there.
02:06:08 Lovely to hear what it means to him and also hear the other side of it.
02:06:15 He looked a little bit disappointed but I mean, still a spectacular performance from him.
02:06:21 And great to hear some words from him to his home supporters and home crowd too.
02:06:27 So we are back to James to hear from Balashek.
02:06:32 Balashek, wow, it's great to see you back on the podium my friend.
02:06:37 Starting in 13th place, finishing in second.
02:06:40 Explain the race from your point of view.
02:06:42 Thank you. My shooting was perfect.
02:06:45 I think I have three mistakes so it was very good for me.
02:06:49 The running was very hard so I'm very happy.
02:06:52 Talk to us about the crowd because I think they helped push you on.
02:06:55 Very loud support from those watching.
02:06:58 What was it like performing here in Budapest for you?
02:07:00 It was very good. It's my third time for me competing here in Hungary.
02:07:04 The first two were very bad and I was hopeful that the third will be good and it was the best.
02:07:10 And just a word for your friends and family watching in Hungarian.
02:07:14 Thank you for the support. I love you. Go Budapest, go Hungarians!
02:07:18 Good to see Balas, you've been great. Well done my friend.
02:07:20 Thank you. Thank you so much.
02:07:22 Again, great to hear from him. You can just see the joy in his face.
02:07:28 You know, competing in front of a home crowd and doing a performance like that to come through in second place.
02:07:32 It's fantastic and you can really see the excitement that he's expressing there.
02:07:38 So great, great performance from him. I'm sure he'll be very, very happy with that.
02:07:43 And interesting to hear as well that he's kind of progressed his performances through
02:07:47 and this was, you know, the best one for him this season.
02:07:50 What a place to do it.
02:07:53 So we're back to hear from Mohamed, the winner, and hear a few words from him.
02:07:58 Mohamed, we have just witnessed one of the most incredible pentathlon races of modern history.
02:08:05 You started in eighth place. You've just taken gold.
02:08:08 Let it sink in, my friend. Just talk to us about how you're feeling.
02:08:11 I'm so happy for this. I was training for such moment.
02:08:16 The last two workouts I am not able to get a podium due to the riding, mistaking the shooting.
02:08:25 But I'm so happy for this medal.
02:08:29 At the beginning of the race, I didn't consider that I could get a gold or even a medal.
02:08:36 It was so hard. But during the race, I see I'm getting closer and closer.
02:08:42 So I'm so happy that I did it. And the last 600 was so hard for me, but I did it to the final.
02:08:48 Your brother, Ahmed, watching on very proudly. I know how hard you've had to work this year.
02:08:53 Obviously, you had problems in Cairo, you had problems in Ankara.
02:08:57 And this is the life of a pentathlete.
02:08:59 But you've given yourself now a real chance for qualification of Paris.
02:09:02 You've got your first pentathlon World Cup gold medal. Just how good does all this feel?
02:09:06 I'm so happy to be just like Ahmed. He's always my role model.
02:09:13 I'm so happy to get a medal. It's not my only first medal in World Cup.
02:09:19 I didn't get a first gold medal, but the first medal ever in World Cup.
02:09:23 So I was just waiting for this moment for two years, but finally I got it.
02:09:28 I know you've got a lot of friends and family watching back home in Egypt.
02:09:31 Just a message to them in Arabic.
02:09:34 I'm happy for my friends who have come.
02:09:38 They came from Egypt, not just from here.
02:09:41 I'm happy for everyone around me. They encourage me to win and to get this medal.
02:09:47 I'm happy for all my friends. And for Ahmed, he's the most important person in my life.
02:09:53 I want to get this medal for him.
02:09:55 Ahmed, well done. Enjoy the moment, my friend.
02:09:57 Thank you.
02:10:00 Great to hear from Mohammed Shaban there.
02:10:04 Mohammed Al-Ghendi, amazing. Amazing, generally from him. Absolutely fantastic.
02:10:11 So again, just looking through the results there, we've got Mohammed Al-Ghendi in first,
02:10:16 Balazs Shep in second, Mohammed Shaban in third.
02:10:21 The Egyptians here have just done such a fab job, James.
02:10:23 Haven't they just? You've got three Egyptians in the top four.
02:10:27 I mean, that is just an absolutely amazing day for this Egyptian team.
02:10:35 We're going to take a look back at the road to the top and how these athletes have got themselves in these positions.
02:10:42 What an incredible competition we've had there. What an incredible men's final.
02:10:46 A great race to commentate on, by the way, Shardifi.
02:10:48 Very, very exciting one. Yeah, for sure.
02:10:51 Yeah, modern pentathlon often is so exciting in laser.
02:10:53 And we've had a couple of really good finals. Let's take a look back at the road to the top.
02:10:57 Hello.
02:10:59 That is it.
02:11:01 That is it.
02:11:02 That is it.
02:11:04 That is it.
02:11:06 That is it.
02:11:07 (upbeat music)
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02:12:07 (upbeat music)
02:12:16 (upbeat music)
02:12:19 - Road to the top and it is of course,
02:12:32 Mohamed El Gendy who wins an amazing final
02:12:37 here in Budapest.
02:12:40 And yeah, it was good to hear from him
02:12:44 and good to see the emotions on his face
02:12:47 with his brother watching on proudly in the background.
02:12:49 Egypt with three of the top four.
02:12:52 Unbelievable. - Absolutely fantastic.
02:12:55 I mean, when they all came out of the range together,
02:12:56 I was thinking this is gonna be a very, very exciting race
02:13:00 and that it definitely was.
02:13:02 - Had the feeling of a classic, didn't it?
02:13:03 - Definitely.
02:13:04 - Yeah, that was, we kind of felt like halfway
02:13:06 through the race.
02:13:07 This one, I mean, for a bit,
02:13:08 it looked like it was Benz Demeter and Pavel Svekl.
02:13:10 I didn't even see where Demeter finished in the end,
02:13:12 by the way.
02:13:12 - Yeah, I think he was a little bit further back, but.
02:13:15 - That final shoot, it was, it's that pressure, isn't it?
02:13:19 It's that pressure where it really,
02:13:21 when you've got all eyes on you and you know,
02:13:24 that's where, you know, medals are won and lost regularly.
02:13:27 That final shoot can always be quite difficult.
02:13:29 - Yeah, the final shoot definitely is
02:13:31 the make or break of it, for sure.
02:13:33 - Did Shadboom end up on the extended podium
02:13:35 as well, by the way?
02:13:36 This has been an amazing laser run.
02:13:37 Shadboom started in 10th place.
02:13:39 I was so drawn in by that battle for first
02:13:42 that you just like lose track of the rest of the race.
02:13:43 - Yeah, definitely.
02:13:45 Yeah, the Hungarians and the Egyptians
02:13:47 have had a sellout here, haven't they?
02:13:49 - Yeah, they have.
02:13:50 They've put on a show, that's for sure.
02:13:52 - Yeah, fantastic.
02:13:55 But again, two nations that, you know,
02:13:57 there's only two Olympic sports
02:13:59 and the athletes are going up against each other
02:14:01 to try and get those spaces.
02:14:04 So I think that's probably where.
02:14:05 - That's why Mahan Esheban was disappointed as well, isn't it?
02:14:07 - Yeah, yeah.
02:14:08 I mean, any other time you'd happily take third, I think.
02:14:10 - Always, yeah.
02:14:12 - He knows the competition.
02:14:13 - Agreed.
02:14:14 And he did have a slow final shoot as well.
02:14:17 Otherwise we could have had a three-way battle for gold.
02:14:19 - Yeah, yeah.
02:14:19 - That's still one of the most exciting.
02:14:21 It was actually last year when we had,
02:14:24 we had Michel Goullache and Blanka Guzzi
02:14:27 with a similar battle.
02:14:28 - Yeah, yeah.
02:14:29 - Were you here in Budapest last year?
02:14:30 - Yeah, yeah.
02:14:32 - So you remember being a part of that race,
02:14:34 wasn't it?
02:14:35 It was a crazy rally.
02:14:35 - Yeah, no, that was crazy.
02:14:37 I mean, obviously when you're racing in it,
02:14:39 you don't notice it as much.
02:14:41 But when I watched it back, I thought, wow.
02:14:43 - Do you watch back races as athletes?
02:14:45 - Yeah, sometimes.
02:14:46 Especially if they were kind of standout ones
02:14:49 for you as athletes, I think it's quite nice sometimes
02:14:51 to watch it back and relive that a bit.
02:14:53 - Yeah.
02:14:54 And you do relive it, don't you?
02:14:55 It's like, sometimes if I go watch a sporting event,
02:14:57 I'll go watch the highlights afterwards, you know,
02:14:59 'cause it's just like reliving those moments.
02:15:01 - Yeah, definitely.
02:15:01 This was actually my first competition
02:15:03 back from injury last year.
02:15:05 So it was, yeah, it was nice.
02:15:08 It was fun to see and one that I quite,
02:15:12 I do quite like to look back on.
02:15:13 - Yeah.
02:15:14 Yeah, and this is, I mean, look at that.
02:15:20 It's all Hungarians and Egyptians on the podium, isn't it?
02:15:23 - Incredible.
02:15:24 - It is incredible, that.
02:15:26 Ben Stameter then did come home in fifth place in the end.
02:15:32 So it's an extended podium for Ben Stameter.
02:15:35 - Yeah, just probably not quite what he was hoping for
02:15:38 when he started that race,
02:15:39 or even when he was going into that final shoot.
02:15:41 I think he-
02:15:42 - No, he would have wanted a medal, wouldn't he?
02:15:44 - Definitely.
02:15:44 - At the very least, would have wanted a goal at that point
02:15:46 with the crowd screaming on in the background.
02:15:48 I am quite looking forward to watching that race back again,
02:15:51 actually, a couple of times,
02:15:52 because it'd be interesting to see those different battles.
02:15:56 - Definitely.
02:15:57 - Because it was so much going on in those front three,
02:15:59 but there's so many battles going on.
02:16:01 Positions would have switched and changed
02:16:03 the whole way through that final lap.
02:16:04 - Yeah, for sure.
02:16:06 - Very, very good event this for Hungary and for Egypt.
02:16:11 Shababum in the extended podium.
02:16:17 Ben Stameter.
02:16:21 Ahmed, with a solid fourth place.
02:16:31 You can see what the crowd make of that.
02:16:34 - I think there's going to be a huge roar
02:16:36 for Mohamed El Gendy, I think.
02:16:38 - It's just, it's fascinating to see
02:16:53 just Hungarians and Egyptians on the podium.
02:16:56 - It is.
02:16:57 - You really just, you don't often see that, do you?
02:16:59 - No, I am quite, it is intriguing, isn't it?
02:17:01 - Yeah.
02:17:02 - To see two nations split amongst six positions,
02:17:05 it's incredible.
02:17:06 I think that's the first time I've ever noticed.
02:17:08 - Yeah, I've definitely not seen anything like this before.
02:17:11 - No, it's quite bizarre, that, isn't it?
02:17:13 - But yeah, two very strong pentathlon teams, for sure.
02:17:19 - Just worth reflecting on some of those laser runs,
02:17:22 by the way.
02:17:23 Malashev was 55 seconds behind.
02:17:25 We'll come back to that in a second.
02:17:26 Let's just give Mohamed Shababum the credit he deserves.
02:17:30 (crowd cheering)
02:17:33 Shabam's gonna go and you get stronger from this point,
02:17:35 by the way.
02:17:36 And to be disappointed with third
02:17:39 says a lot about your character, doesn't it?
02:17:41 - Yeah, for sure.
02:17:43 Yeah, I'm sure upon reflection,
02:17:44 I'm sure he'll feel happy for that performance.
02:17:47 But yeah, when you are competing against your teammates
02:17:50 for places, not only is it an awful position to be in,
02:17:54 but it does maybe take away from some of that, you know,
02:17:59 joy that you feel with these sorts of performances.
02:18:01 But yeah, I mean, third place is still remarkable, so.
02:18:05 - It's what I like about those post-race interviews,
02:18:07 is the rawness of the interview.
02:18:09 He's not really had a time to think about it.
02:18:11 He's just gone, "I'm disappointed because of my last shoot."
02:18:13 That's all he's thinking about.
02:18:15 He took a bronze medal,
02:18:16 yet he's still analytical and disappointed in the end.
02:18:19 It's just, it's interesting, the rawness, isn't it?
02:18:21 Mohamed Shabam with bronze back on the podium.
02:18:23 Balazs Zhek takes silver.
02:18:27 An incredible performance from Zhek,
02:18:29 who started 55 seconds off the lead.
02:18:32 Actually, probably had a better laser run in the end
02:18:37 than Mohamed El-Gendi.
02:18:39 He was 12 seconds behind El-Gendi and caught him up.
02:18:42 So, really, really good last shooting from El-Gendi.
02:18:47 Mohamed El-Gendi's shooting was unbelievable.
02:18:51 - Wasn't it just amazing?
02:18:52 - Six, seven second shoots, consistent.
02:18:54 - Yeah, absolutely incredible.
02:18:56 I think that was an incredible race.
02:18:59 And, Balazs Zhek.
02:19:01 Still taking a moment to enjoy himself there.
02:19:08 Just take it all in.
02:19:10 Cheeky grin on the face of Mohamed El-Gendi.
02:19:16 - The winner of the gold medal
02:19:18 and title World Cup champion,
02:19:20 representative of the United Arab Emirates.
02:19:21 - This is gonna be a moment that this young man remembers
02:19:24 for the rest of his life.
02:19:25 He's on the top of the podium.
02:19:27 Mohamed El-Gendi is the World Cup champion.
02:19:32 I feel emotional just watching it, don't you?
02:19:35 - I know, he's got such a nice smiley face as well.
02:19:40 You just feel, you do feel the joy for him, don't you?
02:19:42 - You just feel happy for him, don't you?
02:19:43 He just makes you feel happy.
02:19:44 - Definitely.
02:19:45 - I'm happy for all these athletes
02:19:47 'cause they put together such a good performance today.
02:19:50 - Yeah, I mean, this guy, honestly, his shooting,
02:19:54 and then to hold on to the run and keep that first place,
02:19:57 it's amazing, amazing what he's done today.
02:20:00 - Ahmed El-Gendi, his brother's Olympic silver medalist,
02:20:02 always said his dream was for him and his brother
02:20:05 to be on the podium at the Olympics.
02:20:07 - Yeah, I mean, it could definitely happen.
02:20:10 He's put himself in a very good position here.
02:20:12 - Needed to perform well here in Budapest.
02:20:14 This is a lot of pressure on Mohamed El-Gendi's shoulders,
02:20:16 and he's delivered at a time when pressure is...
02:20:21 As you know, wouldn't it be great to see him
02:20:24 and his brother competing?
02:20:26 This is the thing, they're so close.
02:20:28 They always want the best for each other,
02:20:29 but it would be great to see those two competing
02:20:32 side by side at the Olympic Games.
02:20:33 But also, Mohamed Shaban as well, it'd be good to see.
02:20:35 It's just a shame we can't have everyone at the Olympics.
02:20:37 - I know, I know, that's why it's so difficult.
02:20:39 - Yeah, let's pause for the Egyptian national anthem.
02:20:41 (triumphant music)
02:20:46 (triumphant music)
02:20:49 (triumphant music)
02:20:52 (triumphant music)
02:20:55 (triumphant music)
02:20:58 (triumphant music)
02:21:01 (triumphant music)
02:21:04 (triumphant music)
02:21:07 (triumphant music)
02:21:10 (triumphant music)
02:21:38 (crowd cheering)
02:21:41 - Huge round of applause for Mohamed El-Bendi
02:21:47 and for Egypt.
02:21:49 Balashek taking the silver,
02:21:52 Mohamed Shaban taking the bronze.
02:21:56 Fourth place to Mohamed,
02:21:59 fifth goes to Ben Stameter,
02:22:02 and sixth place to Shaban.
02:22:03 It's been a good day in the office for Egypt and for Hungary.
02:22:07 - Amazing, absolutely amazing.
02:22:10 Yeah, and for these Hungarian fans as well
02:22:12 to see three of their athletes on that extended podium,
02:22:15 it would have been great to watch
02:22:17 and great performances all round.
02:22:21 - Great performances all round, indeed.
02:22:22 What a final that was.
02:22:24 We still have one more event to bring you.
02:22:25 It is, of course, the Mixed Relay.
02:22:26 We'll be bringing you coverage of tomorrow.
02:22:28 That's it though for Super Saturday.
02:22:30 Hopefully you've enjoyed yourselves.
02:22:32 Make sure you tune back in for Mixed Relay again tomorrow.
02:22:34 Thanks for your time.
02:22:35 We'll see you again soon.
02:22:36 Bye for now.
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