- 2 years ago
Women’s Semi-final B
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SportsTranscript
00:00:00 (dramatic music)
00:00:02 - Yes, hello, welcome back to Cairo, Egypt
00:00:06 for the continuation of women's semifinal day.
00:00:10 It's time now for semifinal B,
00:00:13 where we will learn who the final nine athletes are
00:00:17 to qualify for Super Saturday,
00:00:20 which is of course the accumulation of both semifinals
00:00:24 and merged together to make our final 18 athletes.
00:00:28 Conditions very much the same as they were
00:00:30 for this morning's first semifinal.
00:00:32 19 degrees Celsius, local temperature.
00:00:36 A little bit cloudy, a little bit windy,
00:00:37 but that is not a problem at all.
00:00:40 The athletes, of course, will be relishing
00:00:42 the cooler weather and enjoying
00:00:44 the cooler conditions here in Cairo.
00:00:47 Let's take a look then at how the new format has changed
00:00:50 with qualifications starting where the athlete numbers
00:00:52 are reduced from two groups of 18,
00:00:54 semifinal A and B taking place.
00:00:56 After the semifinals, we're left with the 18 best athletes
00:00:58 who contest in the final.
00:01:00 The event takes place over a condensed 90 minute duration,
00:01:03 five disciplines with 18 athletes up against each other
00:01:06 and competing for the medals.
00:01:07 Today is of course semifinals day,
00:01:09 so there will be no riding,
00:01:10 but the riding rules point scoring system
00:01:12 is on your screens now.
00:01:13 We'll go into that in greater detail
00:01:15 later in the competition.
00:01:17 It's then over to the fencing bonus round
00:01:20 for the one-on-one bouts with the conclusion
00:01:23 of the fencing action.
00:01:24 It's then off to the swimming pool
00:01:27 for the heats of the 200 metre freestyle.
00:01:30 Here in Cairo, it's a 50 metre pool,
00:01:33 so expect some good times from the athletes.
00:01:35 We conclude with the ever dramatic laser run.
00:01:39 Five laps of the 600 metre circuit
00:01:41 with four laser shooting rounds
00:01:43 where the athletes have to shoot the five targets.
00:01:45 The first over the finish line, as always,
00:01:48 will be crowned the winner.
00:01:50 It's semifinal, so it's all about getting in that top nine.
00:01:53 This is the new format.
00:01:55 It's fast, it's frantic,
00:01:57 and it's a new challenge for the athletes to overcome.
00:01:59 It's also the Olympic year, everybody,
00:02:01 so strap yourselves in
00:02:03 and welcome to modern pentathlon 2024.
00:02:07 We take a look then at the Olympic rankings
00:02:10 as things stand,
00:02:12 because of course qualification for the Olympics
00:02:14 will be determined by the Olympic rankings.
00:02:18 It's, well, it's an ever-changing beast,
00:02:20 but it's nine of the top nine athletes
00:02:23 that will get themselves qualified for the athletes
00:02:25 if they haven't already qualified.
00:02:26 But you can see there, Savia Hernandez
00:02:28 in 10th place in the Olympic rankings.
00:02:30 She has already taken qualifications
00:02:33 after finishing in a qualification spot
00:02:36 for the Pan American Games.
00:02:38 So this is the live Olympic rankings,
00:02:44 but bear in mind this is, of course,
00:02:45 the first event of the year,
00:02:47 so this will, of course, change as the season goes on.
00:02:52 Right, we will begin our day's action
00:02:55 by taking a quick look back at the fencing ranking round,
00:02:59 which of course happened yesterday.
00:03:01 Michelle Gouhes, you can see on your screens there,
00:03:03 leads the pile, 26 victories,
00:03:06 but it's Maria Teysa,
00:03:08 who is really in good fencing form in semifinal B.
00:03:13 24 victories, as you can see there,
00:03:15 alongside her Korean athlete, Samuel Kim,
00:03:18 Krenza Bryson, and Anna Maliszewska,
00:03:20 with 23 victories alongside them.
00:03:23 Elzbieta Adamatiti, who is doing very well,
00:03:26 leading the way for the Lithuanian contingency,
00:03:29 and actually, I must say,
00:03:30 Adamatiti is looking in fine form
00:03:33 heading forward in this competition.
00:03:36 Elodie Cluvel is inside that top 10,
00:03:38 the Olympic silver medalist.
00:03:40 It's all about getting inside that top nine there
00:03:42 for qualifications.
00:03:43 Zotero, Jouade, Xiong, Green,
00:03:46 Halil, Egloff, Nedchik, Yurt, and Guzi
00:03:51 will of course be trying to get themselves
00:03:54 into that top positions.
00:03:58 But we get ourselves underway
00:04:01 with the fencing bonus round,
00:04:04 our first live coverage here,
00:04:06 and we welcome into the commentary box
00:04:07 Mariam Emer.
00:04:08 Mariam, as always, an absolute pleasure to have you in here.
00:04:10 Egyptian athlete here in Cairo.
00:04:12 What better way to start the day
00:04:13 than with a bit of fencing and magic action?
00:04:15 - Yeah, so we saw some great action in semifinal A,
00:04:19 and we should be seeing the same here in semifinal B.
00:04:22 We have Blanka Guzi of Hungary on the right,
00:04:24 Anna Yurt on the left.
00:04:26 These are two bottom-ranked athletes,
00:04:28 but Anna Yurt does get the first touch on this piece today.
00:04:32 - Yeah, yeah, with one victory,
00:04:36 she picks up those two extra points,
00:04:38 lifts her over the head,
00:04:39 and smoothly slides to the joint bottom,
00:04:42 and then Blanka Guzi.
00:04:44 Blanka Guzi's a good laser runner.
00:04:45 She's got a chance of making up
00:04:49 the required amount of time.
00:04:51 Tonight, the place that she had put a little bit of right now
00:04:53 unfortunately wasn't the case for Blanka Guzi,
00:04:56 who was, of course, a gold medalist
00:04:58 in Budapest last year.
00:04:59 Fantastic event for her in her home event.
00:05:02 She was a laser run world champion as well.
00:05:05 We do say goodbye to her,
00:05:06 and we welcome on Mariam Nechik.
00:05:11 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:05:16 - Nechik with the French grip there,
00:05:24 keeping her arm low, looking for that low line.
00:05:28 Anna Yurt needs to go for that attack.
00:05:31 Looking for a blade and goes for it,
00:05:34 but doesn't get it.
00:05:35 Nechik with the whip.
00:05:36 Two extra points for Nechik,
00:05:39 and stops Anna Yurt at one extra bonus point,
00:05:42 which gives her two points overall.
00:05:45 - So Nechik comes two points closer.
00:05:50 So,
00:05:52 19 minutes into the race.
00:05:56 These points, of course, are converted
00:05:59 into seconds later.
00:06:01 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:06:05 The laser run is decided.
00:06:07 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:06:12 - So here we go, Lia Egloff from Switzerland
00:06:16 up on the piste.
00:06:17 Lia Nechik still going with that low line.
00:06:21 Looking to go below Lia Egloff.
00:06:24 Is,
00:06:26 and she goes for the clutch and gets it.
00:06:33 Nechik with her second whip.
00:06:35 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:06:40 So Nechik again climbing higher.
00:06:43 She is now closing in on the piste.
00:06:46 Just one more point.
00:06:52 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:07:03 (crowd cheering)
00:07:05 - Under 17 world champion.
00:07:11 She's the youngest person here in the competition
00:07:14 and proven to be a force to be reckoned with.
00:07:17 For sure we'll be seeing more of her
00:07:19 in the youth and juniors,
00:07:20 but it's good that she's participating here
00:07:23 and that she made it into the semifinals already, so.
00:07:26 - Remember her from the laser run world championship.
00:07:27 She was a good athlete, a great athlete.
00:07:30 It's good to see her progressing through the sport.
00:07:32 Like all the other athletes out now
00:07:33 in the senior division.
00:07:35 Nechik.
00:07:37 (crowd cheering)
00:07:42 - Side step for Ida Kharine.
00:07:46 The winner was kind of scrappy there,
00:07:48 but a good counter attack from her.
00:07:50 (crowd cheering)
00:07:53 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:07:58 (crowd cheering)
00:08:16 - Not the best defenses for green,
00:08:18 but she'll be looking to get some points
00:08:21 in the bonus piste.
00:08:22 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:08:27 - Ida Khalil, waiting for that counter attack.
00:08:42 Olivia Green looking for that attack
00:08:44 into the low line, doesn't get it.
00:08:45 Ida Khalil is trying to take the blade into a court.
00:08:53 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:08:58 - A flush forward, gets that touch.
00:09:00 Unexpected lead from Olivia Green.
00:09:02 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:09:08 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:09:13 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:09:18 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:09:23 - As Mary mentioned, the goal now is to get
00:09:35 17 more championships.
00:09:37 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:09:40 - First Korean on the piste here in 17.
00:09:42 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:09:47 (crowd cheering)
00:09:50 - 15 touches in the red line yesterday.
00:09:53 It's her kind of a midfield.
00:09:56 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:10:03 (crowd cheering)
00:10:06 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:10:12 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:10:17 - Sweden, Marlena Jawid.
00:10:37 Marlena Jawid also had 15 victories
00:10:41 and 20 defeats at the Rookies Round yesterday.
00:10:43 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:10:44 She's a pretty good passer,
00:10:45 so I wonder where things went wrong yesterday,
00:10:48 but a couple of points here could go a long way.
00:10:52 Goes for a lunge and doesn't get it.
00:10:56 Seems to be wanting to get that foot touch.
00:10:59 Seung Min Chung is quick on her feet.
00:11:01 And she goes for a flush, doesn't get it,
00:11:06 and it's Marlena Jawid with the touch.
00:11:09 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:11:14 So one win for Marlena Jawid
00:11:16 puts her on top of Seung Min Chung.
00:11:19 Two extra points for her.
00:11:22 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:11:38 - She already qualified today.
00:11:40 I think it's from the Europeans, I believe.
00:11:43 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:11:48 (announcer speaking in foreign language)
00:11:58 (announcers speaking in foreign language)
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00:12:40 (announcers speaking in foreign language)
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00:13:07 (announcers speaking in foreign language)
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00:13:43 (announcers speaking in foreign language)
00:13:58 (announcers speaking in foreign language)
00:14:03 - Okay, I kind of wonder who's gonna make it
00:14:05 into that Olympic qualification for the Lithuanian.
00:14:08 We have four very strong Lithuanian women.
00:14:11 (announcers speaking in foreign language)
00:14:16 (announcers speaking in foreign language)
00:14:24 (announcers speaking in foreign language)
00:14:29 (announcers speaking in foreign language)
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00:14:51 (announcers speaking in foreign language)
00:14:56 (announcers speaking in foreign language)
00:15:06 - So it's happening here to versus Lugas Lavelle,
00:15:12 the Olympic silver medalist from Paris.
00:15:15 Had a difficult year last year,
00:15:16 looking to put that behind her now
00:15:18 and get off to this 2024 season in the right way.
00:15:21 She's always had pretty good success in Cairo.
00:15:25 - Yeah, but-- - Many medals--
00:15:27 - Silver, who we lost to last year.
00:15:29 - Lugas Lavelle gets the victory over Serpniati
00:15:32 and jumps up into that place.
00:15:35 So does Lugas Lavelle get into the final here?
00:15:40 It's all gonna be with her shooting, isn't it?
00:15:43 - Yeah, I think her running's pretty predictable.
00:15:46 She's a strong runner and it all comes down to the--
00:15:48 - Very good swimmer as well.
00:15:49 I think we'll see Lavelle heading into the laser run.
00:15:53 It's about half a minute.
00:15:54 So I guess, as a wild guess, maybe even a bit higher.
00:15:59 I think probably she'll make it to the spot.
00:16:01 It's about sixth place probably.
00:16:03 - Fabiana Anahaka,
00:16:07 Cologne Olympics, bronze in Rio 2016.
00:16:10 We haven't seen her in a while,
00:16:12 but she's been able to make her mark here in Cairo.
00:16:16 So two very experienced athletes up against each other.
00:16:21 Novakha on the right.
00:16:25 And it's Lavelle with that front strip.
00:16:27 She tries to go above and she does it.
00:16:29 A hand touch for Octavia Novakha.
00:16:33 Two extra points for her.
00:16:37 Gets her up in sixth place.
00:16:41 And if you'll see, she's a little bit over her head.
00:16:45 Hard-head, that's Andrea Krupa.
00:16:49 She's a very good swimmer.
00:16:52 - This is where we kind of see a gap in points
00:16:55 between fifth and sixth.
00:16:58 Fifth is currently Elzbieta Dometivy at 240 points
00:17:02 and Octavia Novakha now at 222 points
00:17:06 after that bronze round touch.
00:17:08 - Ready? - Ready.
00:17:10 - So Elzbieta Dometivy in the final four.
00:17:16 That's good.
00:17:20 Need that one victory.
00:17:22 If she gets past Dometivy, which it doesn't look like she has,
00:17:27 she would have had to find a bronze.
00:17:29 But Dometivy is looking in really good form there.
00:17:32 Could she get out to her first World Cup medal?
00:17:37 - She's got to get into the final first.
00:17:40 - Yeah, but she is used to running from behind
00:17:45 and chasing the pack.
00:17:47 And seeing as she's starting in fifth at the moment
00:17:49 instead of swimming to go,
00:17:50 but seeing as where her fencing put her this time,
00:17:53 I think she's in a good position to do that.
00:17:57 - Getting to the business end of fencing bonus round.
00:18:03 - Ready? - Ready.
00:18:06 - Very good.
00:18:07 Malaseska versus Adamantiti.
00:18:10 Interesting bout this one.
00:18:11 Slow start.
00:18:12 Malaseska just reeling Adamantiti in.
00:18:16 Adamantiti not taking the bait quite yet.
00:18:19 Taking her time.
00:18:21 Malaseska knows she's got the priority.
00:18:23 If the clock ticks to zero, she wins.
00:18:24 Adamantiti's going to have to make a move sooner or later.
00:18:27 Malaseska just using that time to her advantage.
00:18:29 Not much action here.
00:18:30 And Malaseska does get the touch.
00:18:33 I think it was on the left wrist of Adamantiti.
00:18:37 Not seeing a replay.
00:18:38 Malaseska moves up to third place with that extra two points.
00:18:42 Interesting to see the replay of that
00:18:43 because that touch came about very quickly, didn't it?
00:18:47 - Yeah, I think it was her hand to the right hand.
00:18:53 It was pretty subtle,
00:18:54 but some experienced work here from Clara Malaseska.
00:19:00 - So, Corinne Bryson up next.
00:19:02 Gold medalist last year for the first time in Sofia.
00:19:06 So a few new medalists crowned in Bulgaria
00:19:10 in the last couple of years has been the case.
00:19:12 Bryson versus Malaseska.
00:19:15 Bryson tries to get down low.
00:19:18 Malaseska doing a good job of reeling in Adamantiti.
00:19:21 Bryson's got a different task ahead of her though
00:19:24 because Malaseska no longer has a priority.
00:19:27 - 10 seconds on the clock.
00:19:29 Anna Malaseska goes for a flush and doesn't get it.
00:19:32 So we convene at 70 seconds.
00:19:35 Priority goes to Bryson.
00:19:38 That's a half wave but doesn't get it.
00:19:43 Anna Malaseska with her second win.
00:19:46 Bryson is checking her...
00:19:50 - Bryson has qualified for the Olympic champion
00:19:54 and has qualified for the Olympic champion.
00:19:57 Alongside Olivia Green,
00:19:59 who got the European Games.
00:20:02 Third highest non-qualified in the world.
00:20:07 - Yeah, a really strong British team as well.
00:20:11 We have Crens upgrades and Olivia Green.
00:20:13 Kate French, Charlie Bollett, yeah.
00:20:16 - Jess Vardy as well.
00:20:18 - Emma Whittaker.
00:20:19 - Emma Whittaker, 6'2".
00:20:21 Honestly could probably win an Olympic medal on that.
00:20:23 - Yeah.
00:20:24 - Some British and British team are blessed.
00:20:29 Sunmoo Kim versus Anna Malaseska.
00:20:33 Malaseska two victories.
00:20:34 Sunmoo Kim is in second place overall in the standings.
00:20:39 - Sunmoo Kim has also qualified for the Asian Games.
00:20:44 A pretty consistent athlete as well.
00:20:48 I think to get a touch here
00:20:50 doesn't get that counter attack.
00:20:53 I haven't seen anyone beyond two wins on the bonus
00:21:01 in the semi-final lead,
00:21:02 but Sunmoo Kim with that flash forward
00:21:05 stops Anna Malaseska at two wins.
00:21:08 So one win for Sunmoo Kim and two extra points
00:21:13 added to her name,
00:21:14 puts her up in first place.
00:21:16 - First place, but...
00:21:20 Maria Oteyza could be number four.
00:21:22 So Maria Oteyza is...
00:21:26 How do they separate this by the way?
00:21:29 Because when they've got the boat,
00:21:30 they've got the same wins.
00:21:31 And how do they decide who goes to?
00:21:33 - So they check who won the bout when...
00:21:38 So if two people got the same score
00:21:41 like Maria Oteyza and Sunmoo Kim,
00:21:42 they check who wins the bout between the two of them
00:21:45 and then who's higher up in the rankings.
00:21:47 So Maria Oteyza won the bout between her and Sunmoo Kim.
00:21:50 - Here we go, the final battle of women's semi-final B
00:21:53 fencing bonus round.
00:21:55 Kim with one victory to her name.
00:21:57 Oteyza looking to pick up four points
00:21:59 being the highest ranked athlete
00:22:00 from the fencing bonus round.
00:22:03 There's the flash forward by Kim
00:22:05 and it's got the job done.
00:22:07 Here we go, Kim makes it to two.
00:22:10 She is the out and out leader
00:22:12 and is the winner of the fencing bonus round.
00:22:16 249 points.
00:22:19 So, Mika there.
00:22:22 Oteyza.
00:22:26 And that concludes the fencing bonus round.
00:22:35 Let's take a look at the scores then.
00:22:37 After fencing, our first discipline of the day,
00:22:40 Sunmoo Kim top of the pile,
00:22:41 Oteyza in second, Malishevska in third,
00:22:43 Odematite in fourth, Bryson in fifth,
00:22:45 and Voskutin in sixth, Zerukhinev in eighth,
00:22:47 and Sevenkliuvel in eighth.
00:22:49 Zatero in tenth.
00:22:58 They're all trying to battle for that top nine spot.
00:23:01 Zhewayde in 11th place,
00:23:02 Xiang in 12th,
00:23:03 Alil in 13th,
00:23:05 Green in 14th,
00:23:06 Glukhov in 15th,
00:23:08 and Csik in 16th.
00:23:10 Yurtz in 17th place,
00:23:12 and Guzi with work to do,
00:23:14 down in 18th place.
00:23:16 Well, that concludes our fencing bonus round.
00:23:20 I'll be back poolside in a few moments time with some interviews.
00:23:23 We're going to have Mariam in the commentary box.
00:23:25 Let's just take a look back at the highlights of the fencing.
00:23:29 (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
00:23:31 (THEME MUSIC)
00:23:42 (WHOOSH)
00:23:45 (THEME MUSIC)
00:23:47 (THEME MUSIC)
00:23:50 (THEME MUSIC)
00:23:52 (THEME MUSIC)
00:24:16 (THEME MUSIC)
00:24:18 So, welcome back to the European TV.
00:24:27 Those were the replays from the fencing bonus round
00:24:30 of the semifinal B.
00:24:32 I am Mariam Ayemet bringing you live action
00:24:34 from the first World Cup of this 2024 Olympic season.
00:24:38 If you are just joining us now,
00:24:40 welcome to women's semifinal B here in Cairo.
00:24:44 So, this is a quick look of how we transition
00:24:47 from the fencing bonus round to the swimming discipline
00:24:50 when the athletes are going to swim 200 metres.
00:24:54 It's a short one-minute walk
00:24:56 from the bonus round piece to the swimming pool.
00:25:00 And, yeah, we're expecting some quick times
00:25:03 in this 50-metre Olympic pool.
00:25:06 It is Olympic season, so athletes are bringing their A game.
00:25:11 Today, only nine athletes qualify from each semifinal.
00:25:15 This is, of course, semifinal B.
00:25:17 We have... If you missed the broadcast on semifinal A,
00:25:22 watch it back on the European TV tomorrow,
00:25:25 but you can get all the news and all the results from the European app.
00:25:30 So, nine athletes qualify from each semifinal,
00:25:34 bringing us to a total of 18 athletes for Saturday's finals.
00:25:39 So, we are testing out some new features
00:25:41 for this broadcast this season,
00:25:43 and I guarantee you it's going to make this sport so much more interesting.
00:25:48 We're going to bring you live words and comments
00:25:51 from all the athletes and coaches that we can
00:25:54 and bring you closer to that action.
00:25:57 So, there you see the Spanish team
00:26:03 waiting on for the swimming,
00:26:07 but we will throw to James in the field.
00:26:10 Well, we're joined by Kelly Fitzsimmons.
00:26:15 Kelly, it's a joy to have you on European TV.
00:26:18 First time we've actually had a chat with you,
00:26:20 live here, poolside, of course, in Cairo.
00:26:23 What have you made of the competition so far?
00:26:25 Sadly, you didn't make it through to the semifinals,
00:26:28 but have you been able to watch a bit of the competition so far today?
00:26:31 Yes, absolutely. I'm happy to be here,
00:26:34 especially to get out of the snowstorm in Canada.
00:26:36 We've had quite nice weather here. It's a beautiful pool.
00:26:39 And it's really exciting to see so many of the top athletes,
00:26:42 probably mostly all of them, out this early in the season
00:26:45 in top form getting ready for the season towards Paris.
00:26:48 So that's been pretty exciting for us as the athletes
00:26:50 and I'm sure everyone at home as well.
00:26:52 It's been a very competitive field here in Cairo, hasn't it, this competition?
00:26:56 No surprise, really, given that it's Olympic year,
00:26:59 you are expecting all the best athletes,
00:27:01 all the top athletes to travel to as many of the competitions as there are.
00:27:04 It's just so much more of an important year for everyone, isn't it?
00:27:07 Yes, absolutely. And everybody has their own plan.
00:27:10 There is still a lot of competitions coming up,
00:27:12 the full World Cup season, the World Cup final for people who make it,
00:27:15 World Championships in China, and then of course the Paris Olympics.
00:27:19 So within the next couple of months, that's a lot to plan for.
00:27:22 So it will be interesting to see who will be at each competition,
00:27:25 what the storylines will be between athletes,
00:27:27 who's going to do well and who to watch going towards Paris.
00:27:30 So I'm excited to see.
00:27:32 Now listen, we obviously stood poolside here.
00:27:35 You've obviously competed in Pétanque for many years now.
00:27:39 You'll know what it's like getting from the fencing bonus round to the pool.
00:27:44 It's a quick transition, isn't it?
00:27:46 Yes, absolutely, especially with the new format, I think,
00:27:49 over the past year or so as we've come into the 90-minute format.
00:27:53 All the athletes are experimenting with, you know,
00:27:56 and probably I know by now the system that really works for them.
00:27:59 Our transitions are quicker.
00:28:01 We have less time to prepare between each event.
00:28:03 So it's good for people to know at home too that are getting ready for this format
00:28:07 that, you know, you're trying to figure out what works best for you.
00:28:10 You know, some people have different warm-ups in the hour before the event starts.
00:28:14 They're getting ready in different ways.
00:28:16 The swimming part, of course, for women, the suit takes a long time to put on.
00:28:20 So there's many athletes here that are actually putting the suit on
00:28:24 even before the fencing round because we often joke
00:28:27 that that's actually an event in itself is just getting the swimming suit on.
00:28:31 It's kind of its own discipline, isn't it,
00:28:33 just sort of transitioning between the two areas.
00:28:35 Finally, Kelly, obviously, you know, competitions didn't go exactly your way.
00:28:40 You obviously make a food semi-final.
00:28:42 What did you learn?
00:28:43 What sort of have you taken from this event yourself
00:28:45 that you can take forward to future competitions this year?
00:28:47 Yeah, absolutely.
00:28:48 It's been a really exciting and interesting winter for me too
00:28:52 because I actually just finished my master's degree last week.
00:28:56 And it was early for me to come out, but I wanted to be here.
00:29:00 So I'm looking forward to going back and focusing on my training,
00:29:06 healing a little bit of a calf injury that I had a couple of weeks ago,
00:29:10 and just pushing everything towards having a really great season
00:29:14 and enjoying the events.
00:29:15 I think we all love the community here internationally,
00:29:19 and it's so nice to be amongst everyone.
00:29:22 Thank you very much for your time.
00:29:23 Best of luck for the rest of the season.
00:29:25 Same to you, and we'll see you again soon.
00:29:26 Thank you so much.
00:29:28 Back to you, Mariam.
00:29:29 So that was James with the Canadian athlete.
00:29:45 But now it's all eyes on the pool for the swimming heats of the semi-final.
00:29:50 We have three heats, of course,
00:29:52 and the athletes are ordered by ranking from the fencing bonus round.
00:29:57 There in your shot there, you can see Farida Khalil,
00:30:00 the under-17 world champion, a youngster making her way into the senior scene.
00:30:07 It's still a long way for her to go,
00:30:09 but any practice and experience she can gain now is definitely a positive.
00:30:15 We have some more athletes in the back of your shot there.
00:30:18 Can't really make out who that is.
00:30:22 I think that is Guzzi Blanca in your shot.
00:30:26 Guzzi Blanca, a very accomplished athlete, a strong laser runner,
00:30:30 and a medalist in the World Cup in Budapest last year.
00:30:35 And the strong Lithuanian team was just up on your screen there.
00:30:41 But it's now on to Olivia Green,
00:30:43 who's already secured her Olympic qualification, by the way.
00:30:47 She qualified for the European Games.
00:30:49 She came home in bronze.
00:30:51 So already starting the season on a high, Olivia Green.
00:30:55 Corenza Bryson, the second of the two British athletes in the semi-final.
00:31:00 She also had a fantastic year last year.
00:31:03 She got gold at the World Cup in Sofia
00:31:06 and already secured her Olympic qualification as well.
00:31:11 So two spots for Great Britain are already secured for those Olympic Games.
00:31:20 But it's all up to the British team to make an internal decision
00:31:25 on who will be going to those Olympic Games.
00:31:29 But yeah, a really strong team indeed.
00:31:32 Corenza Bryson, Kate French, Olivia Green, Charlie Follett, and Jess Farley.
00:31:38 So there's really no way of knowing who are the two athletes
00:31:42 that will make it into that Olympic qualification spot.
00:31:47 But any one of them has a chance definitely of standing up on that Olympic podium.
00:31:53 We are just about ready to start the first swimming heat of three.
00:31:58 In lane number two, we have Farida Khalil.
00:32:00 In lane number three, Olivia Green.
00:32:02 Four, Maria Eglov.
00:32:04 Five, Maria Netcik.
00:32:06 Six, Anna Yud.
00:32:08 And topping that off is going to be Blanka Guzi in lane number seven from Hungary.
00:32:12 So these are the athletes at the bottom of the pile as they stand currently.
00:32:20 So lane number two, we have Farida Khalil of Egypt.
00:32:25 Again, the under-17 world champion.
00:32:29 Really, really accomplished athletes for her age.
00:32:35 And welcome Olivia Green in lane number three.
00:32:41 Again, she has qualified her -- she has secured her qualification already
00:32:46 from the European Games in the bronze.
00:32:51 Leah Eglov swimming in lane number four from Switzerland.
00:32:58 In lane number five, individual swimming athlete, Maria Netcik.
00:33:05 Individual neutral athlete out on the field.
00:33:13 Lane number six from Switzerland, Anna Yud.
00:33:19 Anna Yud from Switzerland in lane number six.
00:33:25 She came in fifth in the 2021 Hungary 24 European Championships.
00:33:32 And our final athlete out on the pool is going to be Blanka Guzi in lane number seven.
00:33:39 Blanka Guzi secured her first World Cup medal last year in Budapest.
00:33:44 It's going to be hard to come back from that fence, but she's a strong laser runner
00:33:48 and we've seen her do this before, so all comes down to the swim.
00:33:54 Yeah, and just to sort of add to that regarding Blanka Guzi, she's not the strongest of swimmers.
00:33:59 So, whereas some athletes would look at the pool like the likes of Eliezer Kubel
00:34:04 or Novice, or Pignate, obviously the stronger swimmers, if they were in that position further down,
00:34:10 you could say, well, maybe we'll have to make it up on the pool.
00:34:12 But I think from this position, it's typical for Blanka Guzi.
00:34:15 But, you know, she will be remaining optimistic, remaining positive.
00:34:19 She's got an amazing laser run and she just needs to try and get a quicker time.
00:34:22 She kind of needs to give it everything.
00:34:24 She does. Yeah, I mean, there's no going back from this.
00:34:28 She does have to give it everything in the laser run as well.
00:34:30 But securing some points here in the pool is essential for her if she wants to make it into that final.
00:34:36 So I've got that in charge of her.
00:34:38 You can see Farida Khalil on the bottom left corner, who's in the lead.
00:34:45 Olivia Green, a great person as well, trying to close that gap on the top line.
00:34:50 She has already secured a qualification spot at the Olympic Games.
00:34:55 So there will be two British athletes at the Olympics.
00:34:58 You'll hear us say this all season. We just don't know exactly which two it is.
00:35:01 It is currently going to be Olivia Green and Clares Iveson, if that's the two which team she is.
00:35:08 It has happened historically in the past where athletes who qualified those spots have not ended up going.
00:35:14 Samantha Murray was one of those athletes who did end up going, although it wasn't her that qualified the spot.
00:35:21 So, you know, form can play a factor in these decisions within the internal selections with the teams.
00:35:27 But anyway, we focus our attention on the last one, which is in the latter stages.
00:35:32 And Khalil and Green are in a pretty good battle here.
00:35:35 Khalil has the advantage at the moment, a few strokes ahead heading into that final turn.
00:35:41 This is a 100 metre pool.
00:35:44 This is a quick heat in the sand actually.
00:35:47 What quick in my mind is that? I think somewhere around the 216 is what we are looking for.
00:35:53 It's the time around 217.
00:35:56 Go through there a little bit. She is absolutely flying out there.
00:35:59 She is desperate to try and get in to her first World Cup final.
00:36:05 By final I mean the final of the World Cup, not the World Cup final.
00:36:08 This is a quick swim from Farida Alil of Egypt.
00:36:12 Will she go under 215? It would be our first sub 215 time of the day.
00:36:16 It's going to be just over. It's going to be around the predicted 217.
00:36:20 There it is, 217.94 by Alil.
00:36:22 And Olivia Green went faster, actually a lot faster than we expected.
00:36:25 Blanca Guzzi has pulled that out as well.
00:36:28 So good swims from all three of those athletes who are looking to crash the top nine party
00:36:35 as they look to try and qualify for the final of this first World Cup of the season here in current Egypt.
00:36:42 Alil with the fastest time, Green second, Guzzi third.
00:36:45 Farida Khalil, actually a very accomplished swimmer for her age.
00:36:53 She competes in the national swimming championships and she manages to get on the podium every single time.
00:36:58 So I don't know how she does it, but she is definitely one to look out for.
00:37:03 She's still a youngster, maybe not this year, but maybe in the books for LA 2028.
00:37:10 She's also a strong and fast obstacle course athlete.
00:37:16 So with the changes in the coming seasons, maybe we'll find her up on that podium eventually.
00:37:23 Nice summary of that there, Marion.
00:37:26 Marion Mamer, Egyptian athletes, talking to us throughout the course of this season.
00:37:31 You'll be with us for most of the events this season, so great to have you back in the commentary box, Marion,
00:37:35 giving us your expert insights.
00:37:37 Those are the results then, updated after the first Swimming Heat.
00:37:42 You can see Farida Khalil has moved seven points clear of Olivia Green.
00:37:47 Now Olivia Green has a 17-point gap over those further down.
00:37:50 I feel it's just going to be too much for Blanket Beauty now, don't you?
00:37:53 Yeah, I think some miracle has to happen in order for that to work.
00:37:58 But we focus our attention on Swimming Heat number two.
00:38:02 Yevis Repiniati, Elodie Cluvel, Anastasia Pokopenko, Elise Sotero, Marlena Gioade and Xiong Meng Xiong.
00:38:09 Elodie Cluvel, I just saw poolside when I was working back on the interview with Kelly Fitzsimons.
00:38:14 She is looking focused. Headset was on, swimming cap was on.
00:38:19 She's locked in. She knows she's got a little bit of work to do here.
00:38:23 She's currently in, I think she's in ninth spot. No, she's outside.
00:38:28 No, she is inside that top nine, forgive me.
00:38:30 But yeah, she has work to do.
00:38:32 Yevis Repiniati is coming out there. There in, Elodie Cluvel.
00:38:35 And a heart and a kiss to the camera.
00:38:39 Elodie Cluvel is probably going to set the quickest time out of swimming so far today.
00:38:44 She knows that she will make up some time.
00:38:47 Listen, we don't want to go on about it too much.
00:38:50 She finished the shooting last year. I understand it's something she's worked on and feels that she's got her head around now.
00:38:55 So we'll see. Let's hope. Yeah.
00:38:57 Yeah, we're going to get a good example of that today.
00:39:01 I'm sure when we see the laser run.
00:39:04 Anastasia Pokopenko coming out and behind her is Elise Sotero.
00:39:10 Sotero who secured her spots through qualification in the European Games.
00:39:19 Marlene Sjoerd yet to secure her spot, but she's having a good competition here.
00:39:24 Sjoerd.
00:39:26 Marlene Sjoerd who followed the race last year and sustained a bit of a head injury.
00:39:31 She seemed to have a bottle. Yeah, she had a concussion.
00:39:34 Yeah.
00:39:35 But I think she's hopefully recovered from that now and is in a good place.
00:39:38 I'm sure when we find that we dance to repeat the line up then for our next swimming heat.
00:39:48 Swimming heat two of three. They go by quickly, swimming heat, to be fair, don't they?
00:39:53 I was talking off air earlier about the temperature of the pool, the speed of the pool.
00:39:58 And we understand this is a quite quick pool here in Cairo, albeit a 50 metre pool, which makes the times a little bit slower.
00:40:05 They have had some varying temperatures in pool.
00:40:09 But I think they can understand this is a warm pool. The Pan American Games in Santiago Chile have had temperatures of 18 degrees.
00:40:17 And that's a pretty warm spot, so of course that makes a difference.
00:40:21 And you're used to warm water here as well, aren't you?
00:40:24 Yeah, I mean the sun brings up the temperature of the water, which can, it really does help your muscles be in good form
00:40:31 and be in that temperature that you need them to be to perform at their best.
00:40:36 I'm sure there are athletes that prefer swimming in the pool, the temperatures, but generally speaking, you'd rather perform in them, wouldn't you?
00:40:41 Yeah.
00:40:42 Apparently we're going quite slow, and we are approaching the halfway stage of the swimming pool, the length of this 50 metre pool here,
00:40:49 because El Piniete, who we know is a good swimmer, is going toe-to-toe with Nildi Kuvel.
00:40:56 Nildi Kuvel is a super-fast swimmer, so it's a pretty nice battle, isn't it, between Kuvel, Ser Piniete and Sotero.
00:41:07 Sotero, who I think we should mention, beats Ser Piniete, leads slightly more smallest of the pack.
00:41:16 Here are our three others, Ser Piniete, Kuvel, Sotero, and it's Sotero, Alicis Sotero, starting to go forward.
00:41:30 Alicis Sotero, the number five, starting to go forward, and the last 50 metres.
00:41:40 And it's Sotero, Alicis Sotero, followed by Kuvel, 50 metres, and it's Sotero, Alicis Kuvel,
00:41:56 and it's Sotero, Alicis Sotero, lead number five, followed by Kuvel, 50 metres, repeat.
00:42:12 And followed by Kuvel, and Alicis Sotero, followed by Kuvel, and lead number two, Kuvel, the optimised drop of the programme, well done, Alicis.
00:42:30 Apologies for the loss in commentary there, but we have considerable issues to update you that Sotero has finished in first place,
00:42:42 Kuvel in second, Ser Piniete in the end dropping down into third place.
00:42:47 That felt like quite a significant swimming heat, that one there, Mariam, and we saw some pretty quick times.
00:42:55 Unfortunately we weren't able to describe the action to you, but we can confirm that it was Sotero that was fastest in the end.
00:43:03 Yeah, good time of 2.13 in the pool, puts her at first place overall for swimming, not too far behind was Alicis Kuvel and Igeda Serpineite.
00:43:16 It seemed like they weren't neck and neck until that final 25 metres, but again, good swim times for them.
00:43:24 They are in the middle pack of this semi-final B, so...
00:43:33 Let's take a look at Alicis' scores, and you can see Kuvel and Serpineite are pretty locked on score there,
00:43:40 499 and 498, Sotero has brought herself back into things there, and again, looking further down,
00:43:47 who has a chance of squeezing inside that top position?
00:43:51 Olivia Green's helped her chances there, and you feel it's probably definitely going to be too much of an ask for Anna Jurc, Blanket, Guzi, never say never.
00:44:05 So, final swimming heat, Sunwoo Kim, Maria Uteza, Anna Malaszewska, Elzbieta Adamatity, Kerenza Bryson and Oktawia Nowacka of Poland
00:44:16 are the final six athletes taking part in this swimming heat.
00:44:23 First up, it's Sunwoo Kim of Korea, who is positioned highest of all athletes competing in this semi-final.
00:44:34 She's in first place, she's won the European Chasing Gold Medalist in Marble Throne Mixed Relay last year in Ankara, Turkey.
00:44:42 Maria Uteza, who is a very good athlete, and is really in good form at this event.
00:44:52 She secured her spot at the Olympics after taking qualification at the European Games.
00:45:00 That's probably one of the best chances a lot of athletes will have for qualifying at the European Games.
00:45:06 She was sixth in Sofia last year, Maria Uteza, seventh in Ankara, eighth in Cairo.
00:45:11 She was a gold medalist in Sofia in 2021, a gold medalist in Sofia in 2019, and the bronze medalist in 2018 World Championships.
00:45:20 After her, it was Anna Malaszewska, Fieta Adamantiti.
00:45:31 Next up, Kerenza Bryson, and finally competing in the line-up for Heat 3 is Oktawia Nowacka of Poland.
00:45:42 There you have it, your six athletes in this final swimming heat, and already the athletes from Heats 1 and 2 have started to make their way out to the Laser Run warm-up area.
00:45:54 We'll have all your build-up to Laser Run in a few minutes' time, but firstly, let's conclude things in the pool with swimming heat number three.
00:46:09 Off we go then, and final swimming heat is underway.
00:46:14 Tobias Green is somewhere near the finish line in first place, but his swimmer in the pool at the moment, Maria Uteza, in lane two.
00:46:21 Anna Malaszewska in lane three, Fieta Adamantiti next to her, Kerenza Bryson, and finally Nowacka of Poland, who's in lane seven.
00:46:34 She's starting in lane two, and a bronze medalist in the brigade, in the 2016 Olympic Games.
00:46:41 Klobius Pusika taking gold there, Elodie Klikow taking silver, and Maksim Klikow taking bronze.
00:46:48 Approaching the 75m mark, and swimming fairly even, Stevens.
00:46:57 The swimmer coming up behind is Maria Uteza, who has a double, which has already secured double spots.
00:47:07 So, Kim Frenny, Maria Uteza, and the Peace Games.
00:47:13 They're going to halfway stage, Uteza leads, Kim second, Maksim third.
00:47:23 Very difficult to see, and it's Uteza, Maria Uteza, Maria Uteza, Kim, Nowacka, Maria Uteza, Kim, and Maksim.
00:47:36 The final turn, and it's Uteza, who's taking the place, Don Quijote, third.
00:47:49 Uteza is now taking the lead at this race.
00:47:54 Suddenly, Kim Uteza is behind her, and Uteza is set to have the fastest swimming time at this heat.
00:48:05 She's coming in second place, and a really good swim here would put her on top of Kim Sogul and Kristis.
00:48:16 It looks like Maria Uteza is going to be the win for this race, and it's going to be a quick time as well.
00:48:24 Not quite under the 2.16, and it's a 2.19 from Maria Uteza.
00:48:31 Uteza brings it home then, Kim in second place, Nowacka in third.
00:48:36 Gap of 2.61 then between Kim and Uteza, Nowacka 4.16, third and back.
00:48:42 Uteza will move into the lead overall, but we can't emphasize enough the importance of this part of the competition is not winning the semifinal.
00:48:55 There's no importance on the final, it's all about getting into the final.
00:49:02 These athletes now get themselves out of the pool, take their swimming hats off, and quickly go and get themselves into their Laser Run uniforms, because it is time to conclude the semifinal.
00:49:13 Maria Uteza looking in a very good position though, she herself had issues with her shooting.
00:49:18 It was a strange consistency within the French team, wasn't it, Maria, and they seemed to struggle with their shooting as we watched the replays of that start to that swimming heat.
00:49:27 But yeah, there was issues across the field, wasn't there?
00:49:29 Yeah, not the type of consistency you would want within the team, but unfortunately that was the case last year.
00:49:37 And hopefully they've figured out what was going wrong and fixed that coming into this Olympic year.
00:49:43 I mean, there's no room for error. It is the elite of the elite who are going to be performing this year.
00:49:50 And so every detail does count.
00:49:56 So the athletes are making their way from the pool to the Laser Run arena as we speak.
00:50:05 But before we do that transition, we'll take a look at the scores.
00:50:08 Uteza and Kim separated by just a single point.
00:50:11 Maliszewska in third, Cluvel is up to fourth place.
00:50:15 I guessed fifth or sixth earlier.
00:50:17 I mean, it wasn't too far off, was it?
00:50:19 498 for Serapignieta and Bryson puts them not too far off the lead.
00:50:25 And Matitya in seventh place.
00:50:26 Otero in eighth place.
00:50:27 Now, this is the score you need to keep in mind.
00:50:30 Nowocka with 485.
00:50:33 And there you can see a bit of a gap between Nowocka and Xiang.
00:50:37 It is a nine point gap.
00:50:40 So that means there'll be nine seconds between ninth and tenth.
00:50:44 And looking further down, and you pick out there potentially Pokopenko.
00:50:48 Olivia Green.
00:50:49 Olivia Green could have a good Laser Run and make her way back to the field.
00:50:52 Olivia Green has got a really good Laser Run in her locker, hasn't she?
00:50:55 So she'll be looking to try and get herself into the final.
00:50:58 She's moved herself up from 14th to 12th place.
00:51:00 She'll have to do it all over again tomorrow if she was to make it through to the final.
00:51:04 Blanka Guzic, I mean, she's looking at about 35 seconds off.
00:51:10 Do you know what? It's not impossible.
00:51:12 I say don't rule out Blanka Guzic at this point.
00:51:15 I think she could make the comeback here.
00:51:18 30 to 35 seconds for Blanka Guzic is manageable.
00:51:22 No, it's not.
00:51:24 We've seen her win gold before.
00:51:25 She's come from further back to qualify.
00:51:27 I'm going to make a bold statement.
00:51:29 I think Blanka Guzic makes the final.
00:51:31 This bold statement and many more to come.
00:51:34 We're going to take a look at the swimming highlights.
00:51:37 And after that, we will build up to the Laser Run live here from Cairo.
00:51:42 [Music]
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00:52:35 So there we go.
00:52:44 That was your swimming highlights.
00:52:46 Time now to build up to the start of the Laser Run.
00:52:51 We say goodbye to the pool and we move briefly,
00:52:55 a one-minute walk to the start of the Laser Run.
00:52:57 5,600-meter laps.
00:52:58 The first lap is the formation lap handicap start.
00:53:02 So the athletes' scores are transferred into time.
00:53:05 The higher-ranked athletes will have more of an advantage.
00:53:07 We'll come back to that in a moment's time.
00:53:09 Four shooting series after the first lap is completed.
00:53:11 You enter into the shooting range.
00:53:13 Ten meters distance.
00:53:14 You've got to hit the five targets in order to get past the shooting range.
00:53:18 The quicker you shoot, the more time you save.
00:53:20 You then complete the rest of the course, come back round,
00:53:23 head to the finish line, and hopefully collect your ticket to the final.
00:53:30 If you're inside that top nine, then that will be the case.
00:53:35 We were talking about--before the montage,
00:53:37 we were talking about Blanket Guzi a little bit.
00:53:40 She has 35 seconds to make up for getting into that top nine position,
00:53:46 but my eyes are really on the French women.
00:53:50 We have Elodie Clouvel and Marie-Ottaise,
00:53:52 who've had some issues with the shooting, as we've said earlier.
00:53:57 And, yeah, I think now's the time to see if they fixed whatever was going on.
00:54:06 So the athletes--mostly all of the athletes are now out on the Laser Run Arena,
00:54:13 warming up, final shooting prep as well,
00:54:16 before the final event of this semifinal B,
00:54:20 where nine athletes will qualify to Saturday's final.
00:54:29 So the athletes just going through their motions,
00:54:31 as they always do at this point, in order to get themselves prepared.
00:54:35 As Kelly alluded to, it's almost like the unspoken sixth discipline, isn't it,
00:54:41 these transitions, getting yourself--getting the kit on,
00:54:44 getting your guns warmed up.
00:54:48 Your guns warmed up.
00:54:50 You physically warm up on the guns.
00:54:53 Yeah, it's all part of the show, isn't it?
00:54:56 Yeah, I mean, as you said, the sixth discipline, indeed.
00:55:00 I mean, they have essentially ten minutes between each discipline
00:55:04 to warm up and change.
00:55:06 So it's proven to be a challenge.
00:55:10 [MUSIC]
00:55:23 The sun is setting here in Cairo.
00:55:27 Perfect weather again for this Laser Run.
00:55:32 You can see a beautiful shot there of the athletes in the shooting range.
00:55:36 I believe on your screen is Nia Metcik,
00:55:40 at the individual neutral athletes, and Elodie Kruvel.
00:55:47 She is the Rio Silver Medalist again.
00:55:50 We have our eyes on her coming into this Laser Run
00:55:54 and just watching to see how the shooting goes for her today.
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00:56:13 So just some final prep, as we said.
00:56:18 Nine athletes will be making it to Saturday's final from the semifinal.
00:56:23 Nine athletes have already qualified this morning.
00:56:27 And I can tell you who these names are.
00:56:32 Michelle Kouyash, Eunju Kim, and Kate French,
00:56:38 Okaz Iksos, Salma Abdel Moussoud, Alessandra Frezza,
00:56:45 Laura Acidas-Kaiti, Gintara Venkaus-Kaiti.
00:56:50 We have Alice Satero up on your screen.
00:56:53 She has already qualified for the Tokyo --
00:56:57 sorry, for the Paris 2024 Olympics, for the European Games.
00:57:02 She came home in gold.
00:57:04 And we saw Alice Satero last year, and she just came back from having a baby.
00:57:10 And so she's a new mother and a very accomplished athlete, as most of you know.
00:57:16 So coming back from that isn't that easy, but she makes it look easy.
00:57:22 So that is Marlena Jowit up on your screen at the moment.
00:57:27 She didn't have the best defenses,
00:57:30 so she'll be looking to make up some time in the laser run.
00:57:33 She is currently starting all the way down in 13th with a 49-second gap to first place.
00:57:43 And not too far off ninth place.
00:57:46 She's 18 seconds behind.
00:57:49 So definitely needs to dig deep and just manage her shooting well
00:57:55 in order to make it to that Saturday final.
00:58:00 Again, many athletes here with a shot of making it into that final.
00:58:04 The first competition of the season grants you points in the Olympic qualification ranking.
00:58:11 So any points you do get here are going to be essential for that ranking.
00:58:16 But we throw to James with another interview.
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01:00:51 Yes, you're probably going to back Elodie and Marie-Ortiz to qualify for the final.
01:00:57 We were looking at Blanca Guzzi, who's a little bit further down.
01:01:00 She's a good runner.
01:01:01 Do you think maybe she could break into the top nine and qualify for the final?
01:01:04 Is it possible, do you think?
01:01:05 Yes, it's important to take it step by step.
01:01:09 And today is the ninth place qualifier.
01:01:12 And for me, it's important in good shooting and running,
01:01:15 just strategic on the course but not so fast.
01:01:22 But concentrate with shooting for preparation tomorrow.
01:01:26 Thank you very much for joining us live on UIPM TV
01:01:29 and for broadcasts across the world.
01:01:31 And good luck for the rest of the competition.
01:01:32 Thank you, Val.
01:01:33 Thank you, everyone.
01:01:34 Thank you. Bye.
01:01:35 Back to you, Marie-Ortiz.
01:01:36 So those were the words from Valentin Belot, who is the partner of Elodie Chilvell.
01:01:42 And that's an interesting insight on how things changed from last season to this season.
01:01:46 Elodie Chilvell had a change of coaches,
01:01:49 which her new coach is apparently Valentin Belot.
01:01:53 And he is still competing himself as an athlete.
01:01:55 So that's pretty interesting to kind of see and see how that plays out for him as well.
01:02:01 I mean, it must be a challenge for him.
01:02:04 But yeah, and he kind of reflected back on how important the Paris 2024 Olympics are
01:02:11 for the French athletes.
01:02:13 A home Olympics, that's something that doesn't happen.
01:02:17 So we wish them the best of luck and yeah, a fantastic season.
01:02:23 I mean, they're all pretty strong athletes.
01:02:25 And they've shown us time and time again that they are on that podium, ready to fight.
01:02:31 And as of now, we have Marie-Ortiz,
01:02:34 who has already secured her Olympic qualifications from the European Games.
01:02:40 So we'll see how things pan out for them this season.
01:02:47 OK, some interesting stuff track side with the athletes.
01:02:50 We're going to focus a little bit now on some of the athletes individually,
01:02:55 notably there, Sunwoo Kim, who has a senior world ranking of 23rd in the world,
01:03:02 an Olympic ranking of 36th, 30 World Cup starts,
01:03:08 two World Championship gold medals,
01:03:10 obviously no Olympic medal to her name yet, a World Cup final bronze medal.
01:03:15 So, of course, Sunwoo Kim, who is a successful Korean athlete
01:03:21 who has qualified for the Olympic Games as well.
01:03:26 Finishing in the medal positions in the Asian Games,
01:03:32 overall performance so far compared to others,
01:03:34 she's 10% above average in fencing, she's above average in swimming
01:03:39 and above average in laser run as well.
01:03:41 So it'll be interesting to see how she concludes this particular part of the competition.
01:03:48 Let's take a look at a handicap analysis then in terms of where she started and where she's finished.
01:03:52 In the World Championships in Bath, she started in 12th, finished in 12th.
01:03:56 It's a pretty similar story as in fact throughout the other competitions.
01:03:59 But here we are in Korea, she starts in second place.
01:04:01 Let's see how she gets on heading into the final.
01:04:04 There she is, Sunwoo Kim.
01:04:06 Some interesting analysis and some interesting points I know you picked up on there, Mariam.
01:04:10 I'm specifically hearing from Valentin Beleau, LAD Clube L's partner in crime in many different ways.
01:04:16 They've been helping out with her.
01:04:18 But it's all about the laser run now.
01:04:20 We are underway and Maria Oteyza and Sunwoo Kim separated by just a second.
01:04:26 Get us underway in what's been a frantic build-up to the start of the laser run.
01:04:30 So, focusing then on the lead athletes.
01:04:35 It's all about getting inside that top nine though.
01:04:38 Adana Malaszewska, LAD Clube L, Yeva Serapinate, Corenza Bryson, Elvieta Adamatiti and Elite Satero shoot off into the distance.
01:04:49 There's not a lot separating these athletes.
01:04:51 It could be really interesting this race, couldn't it, Mariam?
01:04:53 Yeah, I mean the top two athletes are pretty much guaranteed.
01:04:56 We have Kim Sunwoo and Maria Oteyza but further down, no guarantees indeed.
01:05:02 I mean, you can see some people move up.
01:05:05 We have our eyes on Prokopenko, Guzi Blanka, Olivia Kirin who's starting in 12th place.
01:05:12 She's out of the start/finish line as we speak along with Marlena Joubi.
01:05:22 So, we don't want to put pressure on them but they're not listening to us so it's not going to make a difference for them.
01:05:33 I'm very fascinated to see how Oteyza and Clube L shoot.
01:05:39 Clube L is currently in a battle for third place.
01:05:43 It's all as you were pretty much in terms of how everybody started.
01:05:50 It's the formation lap so it's just about getting around without using too much energy.
01:05:55 And there you can see 2016 bronze medalist Noacka has actually just dropped out of the top ten.
01:06:10 So, Sung Mincheong has moved up already.
01:06:13 She started nine seconds behind Noacka and has already moved up into the qualification positions.
01:06:18 Noacka is dropping. That's a good start from Sung Mincheong.
01:06:23 And has moved up into those top nine positions.
01:06:28 That's great running and look, Anil as well is making his way through the field.
01:06:31 This could be a little bit more interesting than we even envisaged.
01:06:35 Okay, arriving at the shooting range. It is Marie Oteyza.
01:06:41 Alongside her is Sunwoo Kim.
01:06:48 So let's have a look and see how these athletes are shooting.
01:06:53 There we go, they are up. It's a good shoot from Marie Oteyza, solid enough.
01:07:00 Sunwoo Kim with a good shoot as well.
01:07:02 Cloubel at the range makes her first, makes her second, misses her third.
01:07:06 It's three out of the five for Cloubel.
01:07:09 Four out of the five for Cloubel.
01:07:10 Sierra Pinares away with a really good shoot by the way.
01:07:13 And Cloubel, 12 seconds. That is the Elodie Cloubel that we know and love.
01:07:17 And that is good to see her shooting back to its best.
01:07:20 Yeah, definitely a good omen for her starting off this season with a good shoot.
01:07:24 12 seconds is pretty average, pretty good.
01:07:27 There would have been increased pressure on her.
01:07:28 She knows that people have been talking about her shooting.
01:07:30 She knows it wasn't up to her standards last year.
01:07:33 So I'm sure she's going to be really close there.
01:07:35 Manizhevska enters the 2-2 into ninth place.
01:07:37 Let's see how Olivia Green gets on.
01:07:39 She was one of the athletes we had attempting to get on to a decent, good shoot.
01:07:43 Four out of the five.
01:07:45 16 seconds is not enough. She needs more. She needs faster than that.
01:07:48 We needed to see a seven or eight second shoot from Green there, didn't we?
01:07:52 I mean, not to put the pressure on her, but she's obviously got time to make.
01:07:55 She's down in 12th place.
01:07:57 Shiong Shuing who needs to be in ninth place at the moment.
01:08:06 Al Manizhevska is chasing her down.
01:08:08 She's in 10th.
01:08:10 A bit of confirmation as they cross the chip line.
01:08:15 Julia Green, an athlete in fifth and sixth place.
01:08:17 Sotero in seventh place.
01:08:19 Shiong is in eighth place.
01:08:21 Manizhevska is in ninth place.
01:08:23 3.59 is the time between ninth and let's see where the tennis has been coming from.
01:08:31 So Manizhevska is in ninth.
01:08:33 There's Lille. She's 11 seconds off.
01:08:35 Now Hotska has dropped down to 11th place.
01:08:39 She is now 13 seconds off of ninth place.
01:08:43 Olivia Green has it all to do.
01:08:47 She is 22 seconds behind those qualification spots.
01:08:54 So it's not looking like Olivia Green has done it yet, but there's still a long way to go.
01:09:00 There's Karenza Bryson.
01:09:01 She's sticking behind Kim Bell.
01:09:04 Oteyza in second.
01:09:06 Sunwoo Kim is in first.
01:09:10 Oteyza at the range, as is Sunwoo Kim.
01:09:15 Oteyza shooting well.
01:09:17 It's going to be a seven-second shoot for Oteyza.
01:09:20 This is a first.
01:09:21 Yeah, Oteyza is flying.
01:09:22 You can really notice an improvement in her shooting.
01:09:25 Kluvel's made her first, makes her second.
01:09:27 This looks so much more confident.
01:09:29 Three out of five for Kluvel.
01:09:31 Missed the fourth, but she's last.
01:09:32 I'm interested now.
01:09:33 Don't want to draw too many parallels.
01:09:35 Kluvel looking to make a five.
01:09:37 There's another sub-12-second shoot for Kluvel.
01:09:40 And Kluvel is flying.
01:09:42 Sara Pignetti with a 12-second is always good in the range.
01:09:45 Sara Pignetti is one of the most consistent shooters out there.
01:09:48 Let's look at this battle for seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth.
01:09:52 And the athletes vying for those top nine positions.
01:09:57 So it looks like Anna Malachewska is now in ninth and tenth
01:10:01 is a big drop-off down to Pritikin-Sedil.
01:10:03 Ten seconds, that gap.
01:10:05 So ten seconds separates ninth and tenth.
01:10:08 So top nine, not much between them at the moment.
01:10:13 And there are the leaders, Maria Tejda and Sandra Kim.
01:10:18 They look in good form.
01:10:21 Should be cruising past that finish line to make it to this Saturday's final.
01:10:25 But it's all eyes on ninth place.
01:10:28 Anna Malachewska making moves as we speak.
01:10:32 She knows her class.
01:10:34 And she does well.
01:10:37 Two Swiss athletes at the range at the moment.
01:10:41 Aglof and Yurts.
01:10:43 Yurts with a 15-second shoot.
01:10:47 So Sara Pignetti has dropped down to ninth place.
01:10:55 So Sara Pignetti is now the one that's 14 seconds.
01:11:00 I mean, you know better than I do, a little quick runner.
01:11:04 I mean, she's a quick runner, but Sara Pignetti has been working all season,
01:11:08 all past season and this season, I'm guessing.
01:11:11 She was at the Triathlon Championships in Bali.
01:11:14 Very difficult conditions, super hot, running on sand.
01:11:17 So she's been working and running.
01:11:19 Do you think she's got what it takes to stay ahead?
01:11:22 I mean, it's a big drop-off.
01:11:23 Something has to go wrong in the shooting for her to slip up.
01:11:27 But the top nine are looking pretty solid.
01:11:34 They are indeed.
01:11:35 Bryson putting pressure on Pluvelle.
01:11:36 She has been all race.
01:11:39 Let's see what happens at the range again.
01:11:41 Orteza is in shooting form.
01:11:45 Makes it 10 seconds.
01:11:46 Kim as well, 10 seconds.
01:11:49 What about Pluvelle and Bryson?
01:11:55 So Bryson is having a really good shoot here.
01:11:59 Pluvelle has found her rhythm.
01:12:03 I'll tell you what, this is a brilliant shooting from Pluvelle.
01:12:05 She missed her first four shots, I think, and then still made it a 10-second shoot.
01:12:08 Pretty much got five and a bounce from that.
01:12:10 Pluvelle has fixed it, hasn't she?
01:12:12 Yes, that's the Pluvelle we all know.
01:12:14 And that's the Pluvelle that got silver at Rio.
01:12:18 What's going on with Sara Pignetti?
01:12:21 Malaseska is in eighth place.
01:12:23 Sara Pignetti is in ninth place.
01:12:26 What about Alil?
01:12:28 Alil is coming from behind, as is Nedchik.
01:12:33 This is interesting.
01:12:34 Sara Pignetti is tiring here.
01:12:37 Sara Pignetti is in a bit of trouble here.
01:12:39 She's being caught by Maria Nedchik from the individual neutral athletes.
01:12:51 Look at that.
01:12:54 Maria Nedchik is about to make some moves here on Yeva Sara Pignetti.
01:12:58 Can she get into those top nine positions?
01:13:01 And she does it.
01:13:02 Currently holding the ninth position is Maria Nedchik from the individual neutral athletes.
01:13:08 Nedchik has done it.
01:13:10 She's communicating with her coach.
01:13:12 She started in 15th place.
01:13:14 She has made up not far off 50 seconds to get ahead of Sara Pignetti.
01:13:22 And she now has Ahmetiti next up.
01:13:25 But it's not relevant.
01:13:26 She just had to get inside that top nine.
01:13:29 And Sara Pignetti has dropped down the pack.
01:13:33 And I think it's going to take something special for Nedchik there to be caught.
01:13:39 So brilliant running that there from the athlete.
01:13:42 That's the individual neutral athletes.
01:13:46 Yeah, we've been looking to see that to come from behind.
01:13:48 We were expecting someone like Uzi Blanka, Olivia Green, who haven't made it into the top nine yet.
01:13:53 But brilliant work from Maria Nedchik.
01:13:56 I made a bold statement that I thought Blanka Uzi would qualify.
01:13:59 And that is not looking likely as things stand.
01:14:02 Let's not rule out anything, though.
01:14:04 We're heading into our final shoot.
01:14:06 At the range is Muriel Tazer.
01:14:09 She has been shooting very, very consistently.
01:14:12 Somebody, Kim, has been shooting well as well.
01:14:14 Tazer is struggling a little bit here in this final shooting routine.
01:14:19 This is really where it all comes down to, isn't it?
01:14:22 So Kim is out.
01:14:24 This is a slow shoot from Tazer.
01:14:26 Bryson with a six-second shoot.
01:14:28 That's phenomenal.
01:14:30 Tetero, Maliszewska, Cluvel looking to get things wrapped up here, which she does.
01:14:35 14 seconds, that'll do. Nedchik with an 8.15.
01:14:39 There is Adamatiti.
01:14:42 And I don't think that Sara Pignate is going to make this back.
01:14:46 Adamatiti in ninth place.
01:14:48 Alil is at the range as well, as is Green.
01:14:51 But the top nine have broken away, and those will be your finalists, Maria.
01:14:55 Yeah, so no battle for ninth this time around.
01:14:58 But Nedchik coming from 15th all the way to eighth place at the moment.
01:15:02 So brilliant running from her.
01:15:07 So, yeah, Nedchik's now just quickly looked over to see Adamatiti.
01:15:13 She's done a really good job of getting herself up through the rankings.
01:15:20 Maria Nedchik is flying.
01:15:24 And she's proving herself to be the one to keep an eye on.
01:15:29 She's 17th in the Hungarian Endurance Championships.
01:15:32 This is her first year on the senior circuit,
01:15:34 so we're potentially seeing a future star of the sport in front of our very eyes here.
01:15:40 Yeah, I mean, she does have to start the finals with an 8.
01:15:45 Well, she's got to do it all over again in the final, hasn't she?
01:15:47 But if she can get herself inside that top eight,
01:15:50 and with that, she's done a good job in the semifinal.
01:15:54 Who knows, maybe she could do it again in the final.
01:15:56 She's actually going to finish in the ranks, that top pack,
01:15:59 and then push me as hard as they can.
01:16:00 Now, they all know now in that top nine,
01:16:03 they'll be informed by their coaches that they're safe.
01:16:05 They'll be like, cruising, that's definitely safe.
01:16:08 Calm yourselves down, just get home.
01:16:10 And usually we'd be getting really excited at this point.
01:16:13 Well, we're not excited, but nothing's going to change at this point,
01:16:16 no darling, in top nine,
01:16:18 unless there's no real permutations here that could change,
01:16:22 and Serapiente is still in tenth place.
01:16:25 It's frustrating for Serapiente,
01:16:27 who started this race running fifth place,
01:16:30 but won't be finishing inside the top ten,
01:16:32 because those are your top nine athletes.
01:16:34 Coasting over the line, special mention has to go to Maria Nedchik
01:16:41 from the individual neutral athletes.
01:16:45 Serapiente misses out.
01:16:47 Strong finish from Olivia Green,
01:16:49 who started in twelfth and will bring it home in eleventh place,
01:16:52 but it wasn't enough to move her into the qualification spots.
01:16:58 Sklubel safely through,
01:17:01 as was Olteza, Kim, Sean, Patero,
01:17:05 as we've mentioned, Nedchik.
01:17:08 Adam Atiti makes it through to the final.
01:17:11 I think that's Adam Atiti's first run.
01:17:13 We'll find out ahead of tomorrow.
01:17:18 Adam Atiti was a bronze medalist in relay in the Youth World Championships in Lithuania.
01:17:26 So no individual medals yet for her in the senior circuit?
01:17:31 I'm not going to disassert her.
01:17:33 We'll have to check.
01:17:34 I don't want to do a disservice and say it's not...
01:17:38 Anyway, she's had a great event.
01:17:39 She's finished ahead of her teammate as well,
01:17:41 and that is a very competitive Lithuanian team, as we've mentioned.
01:17:47 Nadiya Green didn't quite make it through.
01:17:50 You can see her on the screen.
01:17:51 Karenza Bryson shot phenomenally.
01:17:54 She did a six-second shoot.
01:17:56 I mean, it's unbelievable, isn't it?
01:17:58 Yeah, she's proven to be a force to be reckoned with.
01:18:02 She's done so well last year and looks to be in good form this year as well.
01:18:06 She's taken some time off from being a doctor to fully focus on pentathlon,
01:18:12 and it shows.
01:18:13 And that's a flex, isn't it?
01:18:14 Takes some time off from being a doctor.
01:18:17 Doctor's just my casual hobby.
01:18:20 Pentathlon's the day job.
01:18:23 So tears there from Kim Sun Moo.
01:18:26 I'm not sure why she made it to the finals, but maybe there's something deeper.
01:18:30 Maybe.
01:18:31 Happy to get to the final, but could be something else going on.
01:18:34 Could be nursing an injury.
01:18:35 We just don't know.
01:18:42 Take a look back at the replays there of Norio Teise and Sun Moo Kim starting things off.
01:18:49 And what's getting past on the track there?
01:18:53 Yeah, she didn't make it into the top nine, which is unfortunate.
01:18:56 She's an Olympic bronze medalist.
01:19:00 So it's unfortunate, but yeah, that's pentathlon.
01:19:06 Busy track here.
01:19:08 Yeah, laser on.
01:19:09 She's sitting there, certainly, shooting.
01:19:11 At that point, wasn't a good position.
01:19:14 She just seems tired, doesn't she?
01:19:18 Yeah, I mean, it's a rough day.
01:19:20 They've had a rough couple of days.
01:19:22 They've done the qualifications.
01:19:23 They've done the fencing ranking round yesterday and today with the semifinals.
01:19:28 But it is only 18 athletes who are going to make it to the finals,
01:19:33 and we have all 18 names rounded up ready for Saturday's finals.
01:19:39 We do again, of course, tomorrow with the boys.
01:19:41 It's the men's semifinal A, men's semifinal B tomorrow.
01:19:48 On your screen now is the star of the show there, Maria Medchik.
01:19:54 One to watch for the future, I feel.
01:19:56 Yeah, it's always.
01:19:57 One to watch for the present, I feel.
01:19:59 She's a quick runner, isn't she?
01:20:00 Yeah, we're going to have to wait for those results to see how fast she actually ran.
01:20:04 But it does seem like it was quite a quick run.
01:20:13 Big things up from Nazbieta Adematiti.
01:20:20 And there you can see in the back of your shot there, the cluster of athletes
01:20:25 all just coming down after what was an exciting later run.
01:20:39 Just a moment of reflection for Leir Aglof, who was unable to qualify for the first final of the year.
01:20:47 When you put so much work into pentathlon, sometimes it can hit you all at once, can't it?
01:20:56 And that's what's going through her mind.
01:21:00 Blanca Guzzi, unable to pull off a miracle.
01:21:03 We've seen her pull off miracles before, wasn't to be for her today.
01:21:11 So that concludes women's semifinal day here in Cairo.
01:21:15 If you want to check out the results, head over to the UIPM website or check out the UIPM.
01:21:22 That's it from us here in Cairo. We'll be back tomorrow with men's semifinals.
01:21:27 And we will leave you with our images of the day.
01:21:30 See you tomorrow, folks. Bye for now.
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