Blanka Guzi Wins Bronze at Pentathlon World Cup Final

After the World Cup rounds in Cairo, Budapest, and Pazardzhik, the world’s best pentathletes met in Alexandria, Egypt, for the series final over the weekend. Farida Khalil of Egypt won the women’s pentathlon World Cup final, while Hungary’s Blanka Guzi took home the bronze, and Blanka Bauer finished 15th.

On Sunday, the women’s best 18 final was held first, with both Hungarian competitors confidently advancing from Friday’s semifinals.

Blanka Guzi, Olympic fourth and individual world championship silver medalist, took second place in her group, while Blanka Bauer, last year’s team world champion and fourth place finisher at last week’s junior world championships in Székesfehérvár, Hungary, took third place in her group to qualify for the final.

Olympic champion Michelle Gulyás also qualified for the World Cup final, but was absent from the field due to hand surgery.

In the early morning outdoor fencing competition, none of the Hungarians made it into the top eight, then in the obstacle course (OCR), Guzi played it safe, and although she did not achieve a great time, she completed the course without any mistakes. Bauer, on the other hand, made a mistake on the horizontal ladders and stepped back on the jump. This forced her to restart the course, resulting in a significant time loss. Farida Khalil of Egypt, the 14-year-old world record holder and winner of the event, completed the task in 29.20 seconds, while 26-year-old Guzi finished in 39.90 seconds.

In the outdoor mobile pool, Guzi finished third in the 200-meter swim with an impressive time of 2:15.12, while Bauer’s time of 2:19.01 earned her 11th place. In the final combined event, a 5×600-meter run interrupted by four shooting rounds, Guzi started in sixth place and Bauer in 17th. Guzi made a mistake in the first shooting round but did sensationally well in the second, finding her stride and exiting the shooting range in fourth place for the final 600-meter run.

Guzi won the event with a tremendous run (11:14.69) and took the bronze medal. Bauer also improved her position, eventually finishing in 15th place.

The final event was practically a personal show for Egypt’s Farida Khalil. After her victory at the Junior World Championships in Székesfehérvár last week, she quickly pulled away from the field and won the World Cup final. She has stood on the podium in every competition this season.

Unfortunately, no Hungarians won medals in the men’s field: András Gáll finished sixth and Mihály Koleszár eighth.

Gold and Silver Medals at the Budapest Pentathlon World Cup