The world’s best pentathletes will renew rivalries this week at the UIPM 2019 Pentathlon World Cup Cairo. The opening World Cup of the season will attract plenty of interest as it also marks the start of the Olympic qualification for Tokyo 2020. Competition in Egypt starts on Wednesday 27 February and continues until Sunday 3 March.
The season-opener in the Egyptian capital promises to be a mouth-watering affair as Anastasiya Prokopenko of Belarus comes up against Annika Schleu of Germany, who she defeated to win gold at the UIPM 2018 Pentathlon World Championships in Mexico City (MEX).In the Men’s Individual, world No.2 and 2018 world silver medallist Valentin Prades of France will be one of the favourites along with Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist Pavlo Tymoshchenko of Ukraine.
Australians will be out in force later in the international season
Australia’s senior stars of the sport, Rio Olympic champion Chloe Esposito and her brother Max, along with national champion Marina Carrier are due to commence their international campaigns later in the year with qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games firmly on their minds.
Road to Tokyo 2020
For the majority of international athletes, the UIPM 2019 Pentathlon World Cup Final in Tokyo (JPN) in June offers the first chance to seal the Olympic dream, and a good performance this week in Cairo will put them in a strong position to qualify for the Final with three more World Cups to come.
Athletes can qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Games in multiple ways. A top 3 finish at the 2019 and 2020 World Championships will secure a spot as will winning a Continental Championship in 2019. For Australians, the Asia/Oceania qualifier will be in Kunming, China on the 11th and 12th of November 2019.
Continued expansion and exposure in Africa
Pentathlon World Cup Cairo will be the eighth global UIPM competition to be held in Africa since 2016. The continent has staged the UIPM Pentathlon World Championships and the UIPM Pentathlon Junior World Championships as well as the Laser Run and Biathle/Triathle World Championships in that time.
In 2019, apart from this week’s gathering of elite athletes in Cairo (EGY), 14 cities across Africa will stage editions of the UIPM Global Laser Run City Tour and another three will play host to the UIPM Biathle/Triathle National Tour.
The benefits of this continuing expansion and increased exposure of UIPM Sports in new countries and communities across Africa are sure to be underlined when the continent hosts its first Olympic Games in three years’ time – the 4th Youth Olympic Games in Dakar (SEN) in 2022.
World Cup Viewing Guide
World Cup I, Cairo, Egypt | GMT+2 | 9 hours behind AEST)
During each finals day you can watch a live stream of the Fencing Bonus Round, Riding, Laser Run and the medal ceremony with no geographical restrictions. The Laser Run and medal ceremony can also be watched live on Facebook.
Timetable
- Wednesday 27 February – Qualification for the Women’s Individual Final
- Thursday 28 February – Qualification for the Men’s Individual Final
- Friday 1 March – Women’s Individual Final
- Saturday 2 March – Men’s Individual Final
- Sunday 3 March – Mixed Relay
Live stream
UIPM on social media, web and app channels
- UIPM Website
- Download UIPM Central App at Apple App Store and Google Play
About UIPM
UIPM (the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne) has governed the core Olympic sport of Modern Pentathlon since its formation in 1948. Today it oversees a range of multi-discipline sports (Tetrathlon, Laser Run, Biathle/Triathle and World Schools Biathlon) which form a development pyramid with Modern Pentathlon at the top.