MODERN PENTATHLON: Come-from-behind win for Mexico’s Padilla in Sofia World Cup

Sofia World Cup winner Manuel Padilla of Mexico (Photo: UIPM)

Heading into the final event with a lead is no guarantee of success in the UIPM World Cup, as Mexico’s Manuel Padilla showed in Sofia (BUL) with a surprise win.

Padilla had never won a medal in a World Cup and started 24 seconds behind co-leaders Alexander Lifanov (RUS) and Amro Elgeziry (USA). But he was well positioned and shot well and had the third-fastest time in the field to jump from eighth to first. He won by 1,452-1,448 over Britain’s Joseph Choong, while El Geziry fell to 10th and Lifanov to 11th.

The women’s competition was a win not only for France’s Marie Oteiza, but also for runner-up Laura Asadauskaite (LTU).

Oteiza dominated the fencing, was third in swimming and sixth in riding, starting the Laser Run with a 21-second edge on the field. She had no trouble maintaining her lead, even though her time was only 24th-fastest in their field and she won easily.

Asadauskaite, the 2012 Olympic Champion, was equally pleased, after moving from 15th to second on the Laser Run in her first competition in 10 months. “I had an operation but now I’ve come back and I am very happy,” she said afterwards.

Poland’s Marta Kobecka and Jaroslaw Swiderski came into the Laser Run with the lead, but lost it on the first lap to Britain’s Francesca Summers and James Cooke. However, a long shooting effort by Summers allowed Kobecka to hand Swiderski a lead he wouldn’t relinquish to win the Mixed Relay. Summaries:

UIPM World Cup
Sofia (BUL) ~ 10-14 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men: 1. Manuel Padilla (MEX), 1,452; 2. Joseph Choong (GBR), 1,448; 3. Fabian Liebig (GER), 1,446; 4. Christian Zillekens (GER), 1,438; 5. Shuhuan Li (CHN), 1,438. Also in the top 10: Amro ElGeziry (USA), 1,424.

Women: 1. Marie Oteiza (FRA), 1,352; 2. Laura Asadauskaite (LTU), 1,337; 3. Alice Sotero (ITA), 1,332; 4. Francesca Summes (GBR), 1,326; 5. Gulnaz Gubaydullina (RUS), 1,325.

Mixed Relay: 1. Marta Kobecka/Jaroslaw Swiderski (POL), 1,438; 2. Francesca Summers/James Cooke (GBR), 1,429; 3. Rebecca Langrehr/Marvin Dogue (GER), 1,425; 4. Tamara Vega/Manuel Padilla (MEX), 1,422; 5. Yufei Bian/Shuai Luo (CHN), 1,419.