A Lithuanian and a Russian won the men's and women's finals of the modern pentathlon World Cup Two held in Cairo, reports Ghada Abdel-Kader Lithuanian champion Edvinas Krungolcas captured the gold medal in the modern pentathlon World Cup Two for men hosted by Egypt. In the women's final, Russian Evdokia Gretchichnikova took first. Egypt hosted the championship at International Cairo Stadium from 18-21 March. The entries were Egypt, Russia, Lithuania, Poland, Greece, Austria, Finland, Kyrgyzstan, Holland, Belarus, France, Hungary, South Korea, Brazil, Germany, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Italy, the US, Canada, Georgia, Japan and Latvia. Krungolcas compiled an overall score of 5,588 points, 832 in fencing, 1,216 in swimming, 1,200 in combined riding and 2,340 in shooting and running. Krungolcas had won bronze and silver medals in the championship before but this was his first gold. Egyptians Amr and Omar El-Gezeiri did well in swimming, fencing and riding but faltered in the running and shooting. "May be it was bad luck," said Krungolcas. Also from Lithuania Justinas Kinderis won second place with 5,588 points. Kinderis garnered 880 points in fencing, 1,224 in swimming, 1,160 in riding and 2,324 in running and shooting. "I'm very happy. It's the fifth time I participate in this championship but my first time on the podium. I like Egypt very much. Every time I come here I like it more and more. The organisation was really good and the athletes and the judges were very friendly," Kinderis told Al-Ahram Weekly. Maxim Kuznetsov won third place with 5,564 points. The Russian tallied 760 in fencing, 1,232 in swimming, 1,200 in riding and 2,372 in running and shooting. "It is a very tough championship but I liked it very much. It's my first time to win a medal. Third place is a big victory," Kuznetsov said. Poland Remigiusz Golis won fourth place with 5,548 points and Hungarian Robert Kasza took fifth with 5,536. In the women's final, Russian Gretchichnikova took first with 5,204 points: 1,024 in fencing, 1,068 in swimming, 1,120 in riding and 1,992 in running and shooting. Lithuania Donata Rimsaite finished second with a total 5,188 points -- 1,024 in fencing, 1,028 in swimming, 1,160 in riding and 1,976 in running and shooting. Egypt's star female Aya Medani came third with 5,172 points. Her scores read 1,000 in fencing, 1,152 in swimming, 1,104 in riding and 1,916 in running and shooting. "The equestrian was more difficult than last year," Medani told the Weekly. "My horse was very difficult to control. The competition this year between athletes from Lithuania, Russia and Hungary was furious," Medani added. Hungarian Leila Gyenesei claimed fourth with 5,132 points. In fifth place British Freyia Prentice collected 5,072. Another Briton, Katy Burke, won sixth place with 5,028 points. "The championship was very tough this year," President of the Egyptian Modern Pentathlon Federation (EMPF) Mohamed Touni said. "The competing athletes were world champions. We had 76 men and 59 women athletes. The men were divided into two groups and the women into three. The best 36 athletes from around the world played in the final. Out of them, four were Egyptian women and seven were our men. It was a great achievement and I'm totally satisfied with the results." "Medani's third place was a great result for Egypt. Amr El-Gezeiri reached the final but he was unlucky in the combined event," added Touni. The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) organises five world cups. UIPM chose the best results of the three championships for each athlete. The best 36 athletes from across the world will play in the final World Cup 2010 in Moscow. "I hope three or four of our athletes will qualify for the final," Touni said. Meantime, Egyptians Jihan El-Midani and Islam Hamed qualified for the Youth Singapore Olympic Games in August 2010. "We are preparing our athletes to win medals in the championship," added Touni. On another note, according to the 2008 UIPM congress in Guatemala, the combined event became the new competition format for the modern pentathlon starting from 1 January 2009. The combined event refers to the shooting and running disciplines which will be competed for consecutively following the fencing, swimming and riding events. The consecutive combination of the shoot/run does not mean that the modern pentathlon is reduced to four disciplines. All five disciplines are still equally represented and competed in, however, within four events. The biggest advantage of the combination is the reduced competition time for both athletes and spectators. "The championship this year is based on the new combined event format," UIPM President Klaus Schormann said. "It is very exciting and the athletes like it." "I was very happy to see the men's and women's finals," added Schormann, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee-Commission for Culture and Olympic Education. "The organising committee of the EMPF is working perfectly. The athletes are satisfied and the horses delivered by the army have been high level. Every horse was fine. "I hope next year, when Egypt hosts the 2011 World Championship, and based on this experience that EFMP now has, it will take a big step." All the focus, though, will now shift to World Cup #3 in Medway, Great Britain to be held from 8-11 April.
