UIPM 2025 Pentathlon Relay World Championships: Junior joy for Egypt and Neutral Athletes

· More glory for host nation as Egypt (Attia & Amer) take Women’s gold

· Men’s competition is another nail-biter as AIN (Bobrov & Kirill) cling on

· Medals for Mexico and France on second day in Alexandria (EGY)

Day two of the landmark UIPM 2025 Pentathlon Relay World Championships saw the Juniors follow the Seniors’ opening-day lead with the crowning of a dominant women’s duo followed by a dramatic conclusion to the men’s competition.

Host nation Egypt were again atop the podium in Alexandria when Jana Attia and Zeina Amer underlined their potent partnership with an empathic Women’s Relay gold medal.

Their runaway victory was in stark contrast to the triumph of Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) Andrey Bobrov and Kirill Karachin, who held on in a tight and tense Men’s Relay which went all the way to the final stages of the Laser Run before the medals were decided.

Junior Women’s Relay

In keeping with a dominant two weeks for Egyptian women athletes particularly, Amer and Attia (EGY) picked up the baton from Senior trailblazer Farida Khalil and surged to another podium-topping result.

For a brief time, however, gold looked in jeopardy. In the Obstacle discipline, where the African nation has proven particularly adept, Egypt (Amer/Attia) almost came to peril with elimination a concern before they steadied and came out on top.

To their creditm Viktoriia Sazonova and Polina Zubareva (AIN) kept in the contest with a strong swim to go with a maximum Fencing score. However Egypt (Amer/Attia) never faltered again with a composed Laser Run to ensure gold with Sazonova & Zubareva (AIN) taking silver and bronze going to Mexico (Daira Tavira & Tautest Lopez).

Gold medalist Amer (EGY) said: “We’re happy to get a medal on our home ground in front of our home crowd. I’m proud to get this medal with Jana. It was a very nice competition.”

Teammate Attia (EGY) added: “We are good friends so I am very happy to win with Zeina. We were thinking that we were going to get eliminated in the Obstacle so I’m very happy we got through that.”

Junior Men’s Relay

Bobrov & Karachin (AIN) started as they intended to go on as they took maximum points on the piste with Poland (Igor Radomyski & Adam Machaj) not far behind. The competition quite literally swung during the Obstacle discipline as hosts Egypt (Moustafa Abouamer & Mazen Shaban), Bobrov & Karachin (AIN) and France (Karl Furderer & Diego Lavillat) separated themselves from their rivals as the only nations to go under the 1min mark.

France were fastest in the pool but the Laser Run began on a knife edge and stayed neck and neck through a pulsating combined competition. Bobrov & Karachin (AIN) found the energy to kick for home after some impressive shooting, finishing five seconds clear of Egypt (Abouamer/Shaban) with France (Furderer/Lavillat) just three seconds behind in bronze despite a dramatic push for silver on the line.

Gold medallist Bobrov (AIN) said: “It’s been a very good day for us. Our Fencing was very good. Obstacle was not bad but we both think it could be better. In Laser Run, Kirill was running so fast. But his shooting sometimes was bad, sometimes was good!

“Afterwards I was shooting well and I had a 50-metre lead after the first shoot. I thought that was a very good distance. At the last shooting I did good and then knew that we were winning. We are very happy!

Watch and follow

The UIPM 2025 Pentathlon Relay World Championships continues tomorrow (July 10) with the Senior and Junior Mixed Relay events. All competition results are available at the UIPM website.