Pentathlon WC Ankara 2024

UIPM TV

Men's Semi-final A

Transcript

00:00:00 [Music]

00:00:28 Yes, hello and welcome to Ankara, Turkey for men's semi-final day here on the second World Cup

00:00:36 of the 2024 Olympic season. 99 days to go until Paris 2024. Things are getting serious folks

00:00:45 as we continue our build-up to the pinnacle of this sport. Well someone's having a good time,

00:00:51 the magpie eating bugs in the sky. One magpie's gonna be bad luck. Hopefully it will be a symbol

00:00:56 of good luck for these athletes today. 17 degrees, a bit cooler than it was yesterday. The sun peeking

00:01:03 through the clouds. But let's just take a look initially at how the new format begins. With

00:01:08 qualifications where the athlete numbers are reduced to two groups of 18. The semi-final A

00:01:11 and semi-final B taking place after the semi-finals with the 18 best athletes who contest in the final.

00:01:18 The event takes place over a condensed 90-minute duration. Five disciplines with 18 athletes up

00:01:24 against each other and competing for those medals. Today is of course semi-final day so no riding.

00:01:29 The riding rules, points scoring system on your screens now. We'll go into greater detail later on

00:01:34 in the competition. It's then over to the fencing bonus round for the one-on-one bout and the

00:01:41 conclusion of the fencing action. The ranking round of course happening the day before. We then

00:01:46 move over to the pool for heats of 200 meter freestyle. Here in Ankara it's a 25 meter pool

00:01:53 and then we conclude with the ever dramatic later on five laps of the 600 meter circuit

00:01:58 with five laser shooting rounds where the athletes have to shoot the five targets. The first over the

00:02:03 finish line as always is the winner. This is the new format. It's fast, it's frantic and a new

00:02:10 challenge for athletes to overcome. Five sports in 90 minutes. It's Olympic years everybody.

00:02:16 Strap yourselves in and welcome to modern pentathlon 2024. So that there is your Olympic

00:02:25 rankings. The athletes trying to get themselves a hot the Olympic ranking points to secure their

00:02:30 spot at the Olympic Games. Some of those athletes will have already qualified. For example Ahmed

00:02:35 El Gendy has already secured his place away from the Olympic rankings which gives his spot up

00:02:40 to someone a little bit further down. Jean-Baptiste Morser currently top of the pile. These though

00:02:47 will all change as the season goes on. Valentin Bello is 10th place. Chang Wang Seo who's in a

00:02:55 very good position that we'll see in a couple of moments time is pretty high up as well. Let's just

00:03:01 take a look back at the ranking round which happened a little bit earlier on yesterday. In fact

00:03:08 there's some quite exciting news for one of the German athletes who has I think probably made the

00:03:15 best fencing ranking result of his career. Chang Wang Seo who mentioned earlier is great. He's doing very well.

00:03:23 But Patrick Dock 25 victories. That is a phenomenal score just four away from the world record. Chang

00:03:30 Wang Seo 25 victories. He had a big group of athletes on 21. Esteban Buses from 18. Matteo

00:03:37 Ciccinelli on 9th place on 17 victories. It's all about getting inside the top nine for the

00:03:43 semi-final. So you can see it's pretty tight. It's a pretty good gesture which is what we'd like to see

00:03:47 but there are a couple of surprises there. Valentin Prats who won multiple multiple medals in the sport

00:03:55 across a variety of different events. He's down in 17th place and I think will struggle to get through

00:04:01 to Super Saturday's final. So we are now up to date with where the competition is and we can

00:04:09 welcome Marion Mabert into the commentary box. Marion good to have you as always and looking

00:04:13 forward to another day of fantastic pentathlon action. Yeah it's good to be back in the commentary

00:04:19 box. Yesterday we had the women's semi-finals and it's shaping up to be an exciting Super Saturday.

00:04:26 So semi-final A we're starting with today with the men. Valentin Prats and Roberto Michele.

00:04:33 Yeah I saw Valentin a little bit earlier today and safe to say he looked not as happy as he did.

00:04:42 And it's fair enough for me.

00:04:46 Yeah.

00:04:53 So here we go. First bout of the day underway. Valentin Prats versus Roberto Michele.

00:05:06 Yeah Roberto Michele with 10 victories in the ranking round.

00:05:10 A bit of a weird result for him. He pushed his way through to the semi-finals with a good run.

00:05:16 Yeah it's going to be a tough ask for him today to get into those finals but we'll just have to

00:05:21 see in a flash forward by Roberto Michele. Beautiful job. One victory up here on the bonus

00:05:29 round piste. It's just not seeming to be Valentin Prats' day is it? He's only got 190 points from

00:05:36 the fencing ranking round so he's already lost 70 points in comparison to Patrick Dogg who's top

00:05:41 of the pile and loses his fencing bonus round bout as well to Roberto Michele who picks up his

00:05:49 first victory of the day. So Bai Langchen of China. This is his third ever international competition.

00:06:04 His first semi-final. It is interesting even in Olympic year still seeing the younger athletes

00:06:09 making their way through to semi-finals and Bai Langchen gets the victory.

00:06:15 And just looking in this semi-final there's a few youngsters dotted up and down the order isn't there?

00:06:25 I think we've got a few of the younger athletes

00:06:33 from the younger age groups in the second semi-final.

00:06:37 The likes of Moultaz Mohamed who comes into this competition on the back of silver. It was an

00:06:43 Egyptian one-two in the men's competition in Cairo. Christopher Patt as well is further down than you'd

00:06:50 expect him to be. Yeah a bit of a disappointing fence from him.

00:06:56 20. 15. 10. Bai Langchen and Christopher Patt in the final few seconds of this bout. It's going to go down to the

00:07:26 end of the day. It does. The priority given to Christopher Patt. Just a reminder that if the clock ticks to zero

00:07:35 then the higher placed athlete automatically wins. It gives an incentive for the lower placed

00:07:40 athlete to attack and does actually change the dynamic of the bout somewhat. The priority rule

00:07:46 meaning that the lower ranked athlete does have to push and does have to

00:07:54 really battle for those victories. Otherwise if the clock ticks down as we saw there Christopher

00:07:59 Patt being the higher ranked athlete wins. Marvin Dogg who's already secured his place at the Olympic Games

00:08:04 is now up against Christopher Patt.

00:08:23 So Christopher Patt gets a second victory.

00:08:26 Yeah so Christopher Patt actually we saw in Cairo earlier this year he was leading the pack in the

00:08:36 finals in first place and disappointing run in the riding arena got him eliminated.

00:08:42 It was pretty dramatic actually. He was top of the pole wasn't he? He got eliminated. It's always a shame for the

00:08:47 lead athlete when that happens. Christopher Patt's always had good fortune in Cairo. He's won two gold medals there before.

00:08:54 So gold medalist from Cairo Ahmed El-Ghandi. Obviously Mariam you know he's your partner.

00:09:08 Let's not jump around here. What happened in the fencing round with Ahmed? I don't know. He was

00:09:14 actually doing very well at the start of the round and at the end sometimes the athletes just kind of

00:09:20 I don't know lose concentration, lose focus. Hopefully he can bring things around here with

00:09:26 the bonus round. He's looking quick on his feet but it is Christopher Patt with his third win.

00:09:32 Patt's on a bit of a roll here actually. This is all useful points for the French athlete. He has to try

00:09:42 and climb to 210 if he is to get himself in the top nine and this is looking

00:09:49 a lot better for Christopher Patt. He's putting together a good run here.

00:09:53 And moves on to 206 points which has put him in 11th place. Up next is Myles Pillage.

00:10:08 Pillage who fenced 205 himself. It was a bit of a weird ranking round yesterday. A lot of the

00:10:16 stronger fencers actually fenced in the bottom half of the competition. The likes of Zhong Weng Tai

00:10:22 only had 12 victories yesterday and we know that the world record for the most points in the ranking

00:10:27 round is in his name. So yeah some surprises there. No touch. Pillage with a reasonable chance

00:10:36 of qualification here. He's in 12th place at the moment but he's a very strong swimmer so he will

00:10:41 potentially take away some time from those athletes further up.

00:10:45 Can he stop Christopher Patt in his tracks or will Christopher Patt continue this run?

00:10:53 Yeah from this stage Christopher Patt is really gaining some significant points and

00:11:01 he's a strong runner so that could be a threat to the rest of the group. Three seconds on the

00:11:06 clock and Pillage with the win. Counter parry into Christopher Patt. Good stuff from the Brit.

00:11:13 So the longest run so far is three wins by Christopher Patt.

00:11:24 We're up into our top 11 athletes. Almost into that top 10.

00:11:33 Lukasz Gutowski of Poland.

00:11:35 So Pillage ends Patt's dominance. Those three victories the best run we've had up until now.

00:11:46 Pillage versus Gutowski. Gutowski always surprises us with that finish at the end there.

00:11:57 Qualifying to the finals by a split second and it looks like he goes for a flush and gets that touch.

00:12:03 This is the second action.

00:12:05 But definitely a threat to this group Lukasz Gutowski. Yep he's in a good position now. He's

00:12:16 moved on to 7.207 which is now just three points behind Matteo Cianelli. Actually there's a big

00:12:23 gap isn't there between ninth and say seventh. I think the most top seven could take some catching.

00:12:30 Got some big names in there. Patrick Dogg on 260 points. Chang-Wen Seo on 250. Xuhan Li on 230.

00:12:38 Taisho Sato on 230. Taisho Sato has looked in good form this competition. Yang Kuf as well

00:12:43 has looked in good form. He's on 230 as has Olympic silver medalist Pavel Timoshenko. More

00:12:48 and more of them to come. Yuri Kovalshuk versus Gutowski. Gutowski with one victory. Make that two.

00:12:58 So four points now for Gutowski. He moves on to 209.

00:13:03 A couple of wins makes a difference here doesn't it? It makes you especially at this congested

00:13:13 side of the pack. Yeah definitely any points you can get is definitely a plus. You can miss out on

00:13:21 the final just because a few seconds. So these athletes really have to give it their all.

00:13:28 And Matteo Cianelli, the Italian, had a fair

00:13:41 fence yesterday and grabs a touch here on the bonus round piece. Stopping Gutowski at two wins.

00:13:47 Cianelli currently in ninth place and that has moved him clear now of chasing pack. Yeah he hasn't

00:13:56 been the most consistent athlete. He had some issues with the shooting as well but it's worth

00:14:01 mentioning he came in eighth at the work-off final here last year and third at the junior

00:14:06 European champs in 2019. Into the top eight athletes of the semi-final, Esteban Bustos, Chilean.

00:14:20 Scoring a 2.15 yesterday in the ranking round. So pretty decent fence by him. He's a very quick

00:14:34 athlete. Quick on his feet in the fencing and quick on the laser run arena. 20 seconds on the

00:14:41 clock. Time priority goes to Bustos. Cianelli needs to go for that attack. He goes for a parry.

00:14:47 Not sure if that's a point and it is. So a second win for Matteo Cianelli. Yeah these again useful

00:14:54 points for Cianelli now. Adding four to his tally and closing in on Esteban Bustos. And then there

00:15:01 is that big gap of 15 points between Bustos and Esteban. Esteban is one of five athletes who've got

00:15:13 21 victories. 26 victories for Seo. Sorry 25 for Seo, 27 for Dog.

00:15:21 Esteban has been one of the most consistent athletes over the past 12 months. He picked

00:15:28 up medals in every event last year except for Cairo. And missed out on Cairo this year.

00:15:34 For some reason Mohamed Chabane, the Egyptian, doesn't perform well in Cairo.

00:15:39 Matteo Cianelli trying to take that parry but Mohamed Chabane.

00:15:45 Beautifully done by him. He's a very skilled fencer. Usually wins the national

00:15:56 championship for fencing. So he's definitely one of the skilled ones here out on the modern

00:16:03 pentathlon scene. That victory moves him up from seventh to third. A position he'll have to defend

00:16:08 now because if any of the athletes above him beat him now they'll go level on points. Unless of course

00:16:14 he can get another victory now against Pavlo Timoshenko. Pavlo Timoshenko always seems to

00:16:20 get at least one victory in fencing bonus rounds. He's an incredibly experienced athlete and a

00:16:27 veteran of the sport. Right-handed pistol grip and there you go. His traditional minimum of one

00:16:32 victory continues. He's very chill about it as well. Very relaxed and that moves him up to third

00:16:37 place now. Joint on points with Chabane. So the battle for third continues in this group of

00:16:42 athletes who got 29 victories in the fencing ranking round. A cluster of athletes all on the

00:16:46 same points.

00:16:53 Yankov up next on the fencing bonus round stage. Yankov finishing 16th in Ankara last year.

00:17:06 2016 European champion. He's picked up a silver medal in Cairo in 2019. Yankov's looking good here.

00:17:15 In this battle for third now with Timoshenko on one victory. He's moved up level on points

00:17:21 with Mahana Chabane. Can Yankov do the same? Timoshenko goes for that lunge. Doesn't get it. I

00:17:27 think he's going to go for a fifth touch. We'll just have to wait and see. Yankov is waiting for

00:17:32 his attack but Pavlo Timoshenko is in with that touch. Second one on bonus round piste.

00:17:38 I think that's going to move him up to clear of Mahana Chabane.

00:17:46 So we're into the top four. Taisho Sato.

00:18:03 The ultimate gentleman Taisho Sato. So polite, so sweet and a very good athlete. He's in fourth place.

00:18:10 21 victories in ranking round. Timoshenko on a bit of a roll here. Two victories so far

00:18:18 for the Ukrainian champion.

00:18:22 Yeah he's one of the athletes that does like to get a parry before he goes in for the touch and that's what he just did there. Six into an eight.

00:18:32 Three victories now for Timoshenko. Yeah this is getting dangerous for the rest of the group.

00:18:38 Timoshenko's on a roll here. How far can he go? Up next is Xu Huan Li.

00:19:01 Third at the Asian Games last year. Got a bronze in the Tokyo 2019 World Cup final.

00:19:10 Xu Huan Li with the French group on the right. Can he stop the run of Pavlo Timoshenko? Three wins so far for him.

00:19:28 You have to feel for him. I mean and there we go with another parry.

00:19:34 This is his fourth win now. Eight more seconds. He gets the game heading into that laser run.

00:19:45 This is some valuable points here picked up by Timoshenko.

00:19:50 It's all about extending your lead at this point. Obviously there are no medals won or lost today.

00:19:57 It's all about getting into those top nine.

00:19:58 Xiangguang Seou ranked second in the fencing ranking round. He picked up 25 victories yesterday.

00:20:11 That's a pretty solid fence from him. I'm looking to end the run of Timoshenko. Here we go.

00:20:21 Timoshenko taking the lower line. Xiangguang Seou is waiting for that attack from Timoshenko so he can counter.

00:20:30 It's getting nervy but Xiangguang Seou with the touch

00:20:37 stops Timoshenko at four wins. Extends his lead.

00:20:41 Xiangguang Seou is looking in very good form here in Ankara. A competition he's fared well at in the past.

00:20:48 Yeah, he was the fifth here at the World Cup final last year.

00:20:58 He picked up a silver medal in the World Cup here last year. Memory serves correct.

00:21:08 But Patrick Dog having a very good competition and this would be worth four extra points

00:21:17 for Patrick Dog. Could see a good battle between these two over the course of this competition.

00:21:21 That goes down for a touch. Doesn't get it. Xiangguang Seou is looking for that eight.

00:21:26 Patrick Dog, an incredibly tall guy, needs to make sure he gets that parry and he goes for a flush.

00:21:32 Unexpected from Xiangguang Seou but gets the job done and wins the bonus round for semi-final eight.

00:21:39 Yeah, Xiangguang Seou is looking in very good form. Was attacking Patrick Dog there.

00:21:45 So that concludes the fencing bonus round.

00:21:49 And we now continue our build up to swimming. Just watching the replay there of...

00:21:59 You can see how fast is the reaction time. Yeah, Korean team is incredibly strong when it

00:22:08 comes to fencing and overall you can see his coach there cheering him on. Yeah, he's very aggressive

00:22:13 from Seou, wasn't it? Yeah. So let's take a look then at the standings after we've concluded

00:22:20 the fencing discipline with the fencing bonus round. Patrick Dog's lead has been cut down by four points.

00:22:26 Xiangguang Seou's edge a little bit closer but I think Dog will be just focused on getting through to the final.

00:22:32 And he's got a solid lead over Cisnelli in ninth place but it's actually 10th place that's

00:22:37 more relevant. So Cisnelli on 2.14. How much of a gap does he have? I think he's opened up at least

00:22:44 a couple more points over the chasing back. 2.14 for Cisnelli and it's Yuri Kovalchuk on 2.10.

00:22:51 And it's all pretty clustered around there still. So that concludes the fencing bonus round. We'll

00:22:56 be back in a few moments time with our build up to the swimming. Let's just take a look back

00:23:01 at the highlights from the fencing bonus round.

00:23:04 [Music]

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00:23:08 [Music]

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00:23:12 [Music]

00:23:14 (upbeat electronic music)

00:23:17 (upbeat electronic music)

00:23:21 (upbeat electronic music)

00:23:50 - So, welcome back to the UIPM TV.

00:23:52 That concludes the fencing bonus round discipline

00:23:55 of the semi-final.

00:23:56 Let's just take a look at how things move

00:23:59 from the fencing bonus round piece to the swimming pool.

00:24:02 Again, this is a one stadium show here in Ankara,

00:24:05 so it's a quick, short walk here.

00:24:08 And of course, the athletes will be swimming 200 meters

00:24:12 and a time of two minutes 30 gets you 250 points,

00:24:16 but obviously the athletes are much quicker than that.

00:24:19 It is a 25 meter pool here in Ankara.

00:24:21 We've been getting some athletes saying

00:24:26 that it is a bit of a slower pool

00:24:28 since it's just a temporary pool.

00:24:31 But yeah, here you go.

00:24:34 We are just under 10 minutes away from the swimming

00:24:37 discipline as the athletes make their way

00:24:39 from the bonus round.

00:24:40 Change really quickly during this transition time

00:24:44 ahead of the swimming.

00:24:45 Of course, we have three heats of the semi-final A,

00:24:49 and the athletes will be ordered in accordance

00:24:54 with their fencing results.

00:24:56 So I just got confirmation of the three heats.

00:25:01 Our bottom six athletes starting in heat number one

00:25:03 are gonna be Christopher Patt, Ahmed Elginzi,

00:25:05 Marvin Dogg, Bai Lang Shen,

00:25:08 Valentine Proud, Roberto McKelley in the first heat.

00:25:15 And just take a look at how things are gonna change

00:25:19 after the swimming.

00:25:20 I mean, we have some quick swimmers

00:25:21 and some slower swimmers.

00:25:24 So some people will be dropping down.

00:25:26 Some people will be making up some points here in the swim.

00:25:30 We have the likes of Ahmed Elginzi

00:25:35 and Roberto McKelley in heat number one

00:25:38 will be definitely making up some points in the pool.

00:25:41 But again, it's all about making it into the top nine today.

00:25:46 No medals won or lost.

00:25:48 You'd expect the athletes to not push as hard

00:25:50 so they can save their energy for the laser run, of course,

00:25:54 as we wait for the start of the laser run.

00:25:58 So athletes and coaches, grab the bleachers,

00:26:01 getting themselves prepped and ready,

00:26:05 focusing on the next discipline at hand

00:26:10 as we wait for James to find an interview track side

00:26:15 or should I say pool side to bring you guys live action

00:26:22 from Ankara here in World Cup number two.

00:26:26 Again, this is the first of two semifinals

00:26:33 which will be held today.

00:26:34 But we will jump to James on the sideline with an interview.

00:26:40 - We're joined with Anna Jerts.

00:26:42 Anna, we are building up to the swimming here

00:26:45 in, of course, men's semifinal A.

00:26:48 Firstly, just talk to us a little bit

00:26:50 about what it's like going from fencing to swimming

00:26:52 because it's quite quick, it's quite frantic.

00:26:55 As an athlete, this is quite a tricky part

00:26:57 of the competition, isn't it?

00:26:58 - Yeah, I really think it's important to know how you feel

00:27:01 and to know what you need.

00:27:04 You have athletes who do a lot of things

00:27:06 and for example, yesterday I felt like,

00:27:09 oh, I'm already a little bit tired so I was chilling

00:27:12 and then just before the start,

00:27:13 I was trying to get myself ready.

00:27:15 So I think it's really about balance and feeling your body.

00:27:18 - It's an interesting point of the competition.

00:27:20 So obviously things have changed

00:27:21 over the past couple of years with these transitions.

00:27:24 Everything moves quite quickly

00:27:25 and you have to adapt into the situation

00:27:27 as an athlete, don't you?

00:27:28 - Yes, exactly.

00:27:29 I think that's the most important thing

00:27:31 that you adapt very quickly and that you feel your body

00:27:34 and then change your plan and be spontaneous

00:27:39 and know what you can do and then there are different

00:27:41 options and then choose and then stay with your plan

00:27:44 and stick to it.

00:27:45 - Is there any advantage to being in, say for example,

00:27:48 heat one 'cause you get the swim done

00:27:50 and then you've got more time to warm up for laser run?

00:27:53 - Well, I think you can argue for it

00:27:56 but I think there is also a disadvantage maybe

00:28:00 because you have more time afterwards

00:28:04 and less time in between fencing and swimming

00:28:06 so there are pros and cons.

00:28:08 But as I said before, I think it's really important

00:28:11 that if you have like, okay, now is your start

00:28:14 and then you choose what you do and then you stick to it.

00:28:16 So it's really about stick to your plan

00:28:19 and look what you're working with and then, yeah.

00:28:23 - Your team mate, Alexander Dallenbach,

00:28:24 okay, he's not in this semi-final, he's in semi-final B

00:28:26 but he's through to semi-final.

00:28:28 He's doing very well this year, isn't he?

00:28:30 - Yes, he is.

00:28:31 I'm very glad for him and I hope he is doing amazing

00:28:33 and he will qualify for the final.

00:28:35 It will be amazing for him.

00:28:36 I will be cheering this afternoon for him.

00:28:39 So yeah, keep our fingers crossed for him.

00:28:41 - Just a quick word finally on Patrick Dogg.

00:28:43 He's having a fantastic competition.

00:28:45 You've got 27 victories in the ranking round.

00:28:47 I mean, athletes this year

00:28:48 are having to bring their A game, aren't they?

00:28:50 It's Olympic year, a very important year

00:28:52 and we're seeing athletes sometimes

00:28:53 get the best out of their competition.

00:28:55 - Yeah, I hope, like I wish him the best

00:28:58 and I hope he's doing fine and yeah,

00:29:01 I will be cheering for him as well.

00:29:03 - All right, listen, great talking to you.

00:29:04 Thank you for your time.

00:29:05 - Thank you for you, thank you, bye.

00:29:07 - Back to you, Mariam.

00:29:08 - So great insight we got from the athlete Anna Jurt,

00:29:12 the Swiss athlete.

00:29:13 She was competing herself here in Ankara

00:29:16 but unfortunately didn't make it to the final

00:29:18 as things are with modern pentathlon.

00:29:22 But a good point she said is that pentathlon

00:29:25 is extremely dynamic.

00:29:27 You have to strategize and change your plan

00:29:29 across the course of the competition

00:29:31 and it varies from competition to competition.

00:29:33 It depends on where your position is

00:29:35 and what you have to do to get the job done.

00:29:38 So obviously today, as we said, it's not about winning.

00:29:41 It's not about medals at all.

00:29:43 It's all about conserving your energy as much as you can,

00:29:46 getting into the top nine as comfortably as possible

00:29:50 and yeah, giving it to your all on Saturday.

00:29:53 So we are just about ready to start.

00:29:57 Almost four minutes away.

00:29:59 You up on your screen there is Mahana Chaben,

00:30:02 pretty consistent athlete from the Egyptian team.

00:30:05 Almost won every medal there is to win last year

00:30:10 at every competition except for the one in Cairo.

00:30:14 So we are looking out for him

00:30:18 and he is of course the World Cup final winner as well.

00:30:21 So already booked his spot to the Olympics

00:30:24 as we welcome James back into the commentary box.

00:30:26 Hello James.

00:30:27 - It seems unusual to see Ahmed El Ghandi

00:30:29 in swimming heat one because, you know,

00:30:32 we usually see him in swimming heat three

00:30:34 because he's usually higher up the ranking.

00:30:36 So it'll be interesting to see how he manages this.

00:30:39 I mean, it's number one task for Ahmed,

00:30:43 the Olympic silver medalist from Tokyo,

00:30:46 is of course to get into the final today, isn't it?

00:30:48 Worry about things from there onwards.

00:30:50 - Yeah, I think the goal for him right now

00:30:52 is just to get into that final

00:30:54 with as little effort as possible.

00:30:56 But here we have it.

00:30:57 Swimming heat number one, Christopher Pett

00:30:59 will be swimming lane number one.

00:31:00 Ahmed El Ghandi in lane number two.

00:31:02 Marvin Dog in lane number three.

00:31:04 Bai Lang Chen in lane number four.

00:31:06 Valentine Pratt in five.

00:31:08 And Roberto Michele in six.

00:31:10 As we welcome the judges and officials out to the pool.

00:31:15 Nerves are building as we build up to the swim here.

00:31:23 The final stop as an athlete that you have

00:31:26 to gain some points before going into that laser run.

00:31:30 Sun's starting to peek out of the clouds.

00:31:33 Do you know what?

00:31:36 This first swimming heat has actually really good upbeats.

00:31:41 - Yeah, it's got some really strong swimmers, hasn't it?

00:31:44 - I mean, Christopher Pett, Ahmed El Ghandi,

00:31:46 Roberto Michele, Valentine Pratt as well.

00:31:50 So it's gonna be a fast heat, I assume.

00:31:52 - Bai Lang Chen's a quick swimmer.

00:31:53 In fact, this is basically six quick swimmers, isn't it?

00:31:58 I mean, it'll be interesting to see the times, actually.

00:32:02 - So introducing the athletes of the first heat.

00:32:12 Christopher Pett is out first.

00:32:14 Swimming in lane number one for France.

00:32:18 And swimming in lane number two is gonna be

00:32:23 Ahmed El Ghandi of Egypt, the Olympic silver medalist.

00:32:27 Gold medalist in Cairo in the first World Cup of the season.

00:32:30 He comes into this competition in good form.

00:32:34 Marvin Dogg, who in 2019 had the season of his life

00:32:37 winning a silver medal at World Cup final,

00:32:41 just missing out on Olympic qualification there.

00:32:43 El Yolion in his pentathlon senior appearances

00:32:54 from China, Bai Lang Chen.

00:32:56 - Valentine Pratt, who is a multiple pentathlon medalist,

00:33:01 a man super experienced, is currently in 17th place.

00:33:08 But if anyone can turn around, he can.

00:33:10 And Roberto Michele, who is probably going to challenge

00:33:14 Ahmed El Ghandi for the win in this swimming heat.

00:33:19 So those are your six athletes

00:33:21 as they make their way out poolside.

00:33:24 - Do you think we'll see a sub two minute swim in this pool?

00:33:27 I mean, the athletes have complained

00:33:29 that it is a bit slower than normal pools.

00:33:31 - I'm not even sure if it's even a complaint,

00:33:33 it's more just an observation, isn't it?

00:33:34 Like, you know, to use a comparison of Formula One,

00:33:37 for example, you get some fast tracks, some slow tracks.

00:33:40 It's the same sort of thing with this pool, isn't it?

00:33:43 It's a slower pool than, say for example,

00:33:45 the pool in, I don't know, in Budapest,

00:33:49 let's just, for argument's sake.

00:33:50 So the question you asked was,

00:33:53 do we think we'll see some sub two minute swims?

00:33:55 For me, no, because I think they're not going to be

00:33:57 pushing too hard heading to the laser run.

00:34:00 They're going to be saving energy.

00:34:02 But you never know, Ahmed El Ghandi struggles

00:34:04 to hold back, doesn't he?

00:34:05 So I think he's going to give it his all

00:34:07 and he's got to try and make up some positions, hasn't he?

00:34:11 So he is on paper the fastest swimmer in this heat.

00:34:16 He's capable of doing a sub two minute.

00:34:22 Let's see what happens.

00:34:23 The athletes lining up on the side of the pool

00:34:28 and splash in we go.

00:34:31 - Yeah, look at that water just flashing on that camera.

00:34:33 Beautiful shot there.

00:34:35 That first 25 meters flies by.

00:34:38 At the first turn, it seems pretty much neck and neck

00:34:47 with all the athletes at the moment.

00:34:48 Ahmed El Ghandi is pulling out a slight lead

00:34:52 and we'll see the split times on your screen right now.

00:34:55 28 seconds for him.

00:34:59 Bailang Chen is just under a second behind

00:35:01 and Valentin Prad is in third.

00:35:03 That looks to be a quick swim for Ahmed El Ghandi so far.

00:35:08 - So, approaching the halfway stage

00:35:16 and El Ghandi as anticipated is leading this race.

00:35:21 How close to the one minute mark

00:35:24 will he be at the halfway stage?

00:35:26 He's under the one minute mark,

00:35:27 so you never know, the sub two minute's still on.

00:35:30 - Yeah, Bailang Chen.

00:35:31 - Second place, Roberto Michele.

00:35:33 I feel there's more time to come from Michele.

00:35:35 He could do a strong second half of this race.

00:35:38 This is quick swimming from Ahmed El Ghandi.

00:35:40 - I think just judging on the position he's in now,

00:35:44 he's currently in 13th place,

00:35:45 so he really-- - He wants as much time

00:35:47 as he can get, doesn't he?

00:35:49 - And he is in heat number one,

00:35:50 so he has a little bit more time to rest

00:35:52 than the other athletes around,

00:35:54 which is unknown territory for him.

00:35:57 But here we go, the last 50 meters of this race.

00:36:00 - So, I think it's gonna be just over two minutes

00:36:04 judging by the split times.

00:36:06 It's probably around, at this stage of the race,

00:36:09 I'd say at least 15 seconds per 25 meters.

00:36:13 - It'd be just over, my guess is 2.02, what about you?

00:36:16 - Yeah, I think a 2.01, maybe.

00:36:20 We'll see. - I'd say 2.02.61.

00:36:24 (laughing)

00:36:25 - That's what the .6 is, by the way.

00:36:26 - Final few stages of this first swimming heat.

00:36:28 There we go, it's a 2.01.19.

00:36:32 Ahmed El Ghandi wins Roberto Michele in second place.

00:36:37 He did have a strong second part of that race

00:36:40 as we anticipated.

00:36:41 Bailing Chen coming home in third place.

00:36:46 Beast on the swimming hat and beast mode activated.

00:36:51 Ahmed El Ghandi is in good form.

00:36:53 So, just checking back some of the replays here.

00:37:03 - Yeah, so this is, of course, the first heat again

00:37:07 of this semifinal eight, just the replays

00:37:10 up on your screen there.

00:37:12 Ahmed El Ghandi was taking the early lead of this race

00:37:15 and finished in first.

00:37:17 Roberto Michele came at the end there

00:37:19 and really pushed hard to come in second.

00:37:22 And Bailing Chen coming home in third in 2.05.

00:37:26 So, the swim time to beat by Ahmed El Ghandi

00:37:29 is a time of 2.01, and we have two more heats to go.

00:37:33 So we'll see where that takes us,

00:37:36 but let's just take a look at the provisional results

00:37:39 after the first heat.

00:37:42 Ahmed El Ghandi currently leading way.

00:37:43 Christopher Pratt, Bailing Chen,

00:37:45 Marvin Dogg, Valentin Pratt, and Roberto Michele.

00:37:48 But this is, of course, just the first heat.

00:37:51 We have two more to go, so a lot can change.

00:37:54 As we say goodbye to the first heat,

00:38:03 leaving the pool currently.

00:38:06 And we see the athletes of heat number two

00:38:09 lining up, getting ready.

00:38:11 Jan Koeff up on your screen from the Czech Republic.

00:38:18 He's going to be swimming in lane number one

00:38:19 of this heat number two.

00:38:21 He had a pretty decent fence,

00:38:24 so he's one of the midfield athletes at the moment,

00:38:27 and with a good chance of making it to the final.

00:38:30 Jan Koeff.

00:38:32 (crowd chattering)

00:38:35 Swimming in lane number two is going to be Esteban Bustos,

00:38:43 representing Chile.

00:38:44 He does have a bit of a slower swim,

00:38:48 so he'll try to push harder in the pool.

00:38:53 Matteo Cinelli swimming in lane number three,

00:38:57 eight at World Cup final last year

00:38:59 and third at the Junior Europeans in 2019.

00:39:03 Yuri Kovalchuk swimming in lane number four.

00:39:06 And these are the athletes putting pressure

00:39:12 on that top pack for the top nine positions.

00:39:16 Lukas Kutovsky swimming in lane number five,

00:39:18 and you can hear his teammates cheering on for him.

00:39:21 Fast runner Lukas Kutovsky definitely a threat

00:39:25 to those behind him.

00:39:27 - Yeah, I'd say keep a keen eye on Miles Pillage's time here.

00:39:30 His best time over the past 12 months is 1.53.

00:39:35 - Yeah, strong swimmer.

00:39:36 - I would back him to do a sub two minute swim here.

00:39:40 I think this is our best chance

00:39:42 of a sub two minute swim here,

00:39:43 so yeah, it'd be good to watch,

00:39:45 to see how Miles performs here.

00:39:48 He's currently in 10th place, I think I'm right in saying.

00:39:52 - I think he's in 12th place.

00:39:56 (crowd chattering)

00:39:59 Yeah, sorry, my math just let me down there.

00:40:03 He's in 12th place.

00:40:04 So there we go, Miles Pillage.

00:40:06 - Yeah, could be pushing into those top nine

00:40:10 after the swim, we'll see,

00:40:12 as we get ready to start the second heat of three

00:40:15 of the semi-final day.

00:40:17 Beautiful shot of the pool here.

00:40:20 Nice and sunny here in Ankara.

00:40:25 Here we go, the athletes are on the box and ready to go.

00:40:28 - So off we go, swimming heat two,

00:40:33 underway two of the three heats.

00:40:36 And there you can see Matteo Cicinelli,

00:40:40 who's a quick swimmer as well.

00:40:42 Off to a fast start.

00:40:45 Miles Pillage at the front of your shot there

00:40:48 on the left-hand side of the screen

00:40:50 is the athlete to keep an eye on here.

00:40:52 He will look to swim a time of two minutes.

00:40:57 - Miles Pillage turning at 27 seconds.

00:41:04 This is a quick first 50 meters from him.

00:41:06 And he looks so calm and collected while he's swimming

00:41:10 as well, and that just differentiates

00:41:13 between an inherently good swimmer and talented swimmer

00:41:17 and an average one.

00:41:21 - Good form and style here by Miles Pillage

00:41:24 as we near the halfway mark.

00:41:26 It's gonna be just under one minute,

00:41:30 time of 58 seconds for the first 100 meters.

00:41:32 Yuri Kovalchuk one second behind him,

00:41:34 Matteo Cicinelli one second as well.

00:41:37 - So unless we see a strong second 100 meters from Pillage,

00:41:41 I'm not sure it will be a sub two minutes,

00:41:44 but he is a very naturally athletic swimmer

00:41:48 and he's flying through the pool here.

00:41:52 - One 20 on the clock so far as we approach the final 50

00:41:56 meters of this second swimming heat.

00:41:59 Pillage with the turn.

00:42:02 It's a one 29.

00:42:03 - I think it's gonna be a two minute flat.

00:42:06 - About the same as Ahmed El-Ghandi,

00:42:07 I think it'd be about two oh one.

00:42:09 We'll see though, still 50 meters to go.

00:42:12 Pillage doesn't seem like he's giving it

00:42:13 absolutely everything he's got here.

00:42:15 Cicinelli's not a million miles away.

00:42:17 Yeah, there we go.

00:42:17 It's about, I think about two oh one.

00:42:19 - I think a two zero zero.

00:42:21 I'll go for a two zero zero, let's go.

00:42:23 - Final two meters.

00:42:24 Cicinelli's by the way putting more pressure on

00:42:27 in the final stage of this race.

00:42:29 Pillage, final few lengths and it's a two zero zero

00:42:34 point eight seven quickest time of the day so far.

00:42:40 Cicinelli 1.69 further back and Kovalchuk 3.83 further back.

00:42:47 So it's a two meter swim for Miles Pillage.

00:42:49 That I think will potentially put him inside

00:42:53 or at least close to the top nine.

00:42:57 For comparison, Timoshenko probably is gonna swim a two 10.

00:43:08 Yeah, about a two 10 I would guess,

00:43:11 which is gonna give Pillage a 20 point advantage

00:43:14 over Timoshenko.

00:43:17 - Yeah, we still have the Chinese athlete as well,

00:43:22 Shuhan Li who will be swimming in heat number three.

00:43:28 He has a time of, seed time of two oh seven so.

00:43:31 - Yeah, I think.

00:43:32 - Probably a two 10 will be scored here.

00:43:33 - The likes of Pillage and Cicinelli will potentially

00:43:35 move up into those top 10 positions.

00:43:37 So these are the standings then after the points

00:43:45 from swimming are added to the athletes scores.

00:43:49 Yan Kouf leads the way.

00:43:52 Cicinelli and Pillage separated by three points.

00:43:55 So that gives you an idea, doesn't it?

00:43:56 'Cause Cicinelli was in ninth place.

00:43:59 So Pillage now is three points closer to ninth place.

00:44:03 Still six athletes to go.

00:44:14 And these are those said six athletes.

00:44:16 Patrick Dogg, top of the pile at the moment.

00:44:18 Jack Wangsera in second place.

00:44:19 Timoshenko in third.

00:44:21 Shubhan in fourth.

00:44:22 Saito in fifth.

00:44:23 Li in sixth.

00:44:25 - So we introduce the athletes swimming in heat number three.

00:44:38 Patrick Dogg, the man of the day on top of the pile

00:44:42 with 27 victories in the ranking round.

00:44:46 - He's a man in form, isn't he?

00:44:47 Patrick Dogg's good to see.

00:44:48 Chang Wangsera who won World Cup,

00:44:52 I think it was World Cup final silver medal last year.

00:44:55 I need to double check that.

00:44:57 - Silver medal was Joseph Chung.

00:44:59 - Oh yeah, 'cause it was.

00:45:01 It was the World Cup he won silver at.

00:45:03 Maybe it was the year before.

00:45:04 Double check that, we'll come back to it.

00:45:07 - I think he came in sixth at the World Cup final.

00:45:09 - Yeah.

00:45:11 Pavlo Timoshenko, the Olympic silver medalist,

00:45:15 Mohamed Shubhan, the multiple medalist from last year.

00:45:18 - Okay, Taisho Saito from Japan, swimming lane number five.

00:45:36 And to top things off, the Chinese athlete,

00:45:39 Shu Huang Li, swimming lane number six.

00:45:42 - Shuan Li third at the Asian Games last year.

00:45:47 Third in Tokyo World Cup final,

00:45:52 and has booked his spot at the Paris Olympic Games.

00:45:56 - So here we go then, the final heat of the semi-final.

00:46:07 - Okay.

00:46:08 Here's our, the top six athletes as being stand.

00:46:15 - Madam starter.

00:46:16 So here we go, heat number three, about to get underway.

00:46:37 Waiting for that start, our six athletes.

00:46:40 Off we go.

00:46:43 - So it's probably the slowest heat of the three.

00:46:51 Into their first turn, this is looking quick

00:46:57 from these athletes, Mohamed Shubhan looks to be leading

00:47:00 the way in the red cap.

00:47:04 Good form from him as we approach the second turn

00:47:09 in the 50 meter mark of this race, 28 seconds on the clock.

00:47:14 So a bit slower than heat number one and two.

00:47:17 I'd say a time of 2.03 would be expected here

00:47:26 by Mohamed Shubhan, but we'll just have to wait and see.

00:47:31 - Changuang Seou, swimming quite well as well.

00:47:35 We'll see this times as we approach the halfway mark

00:47:39 of this race.

00:47:41 - Halfway stage then, and it is Shubhan ahead of Seou.

00:47:44 Patrick Dogg in third place.

00:47:46 Patrick Dogg's famously, not famously,

00:47:49 the fastest of swimmers, so he's doing well here.

00:47:52 I feel like there's something special about Patrick Dogg

00:47:56 in this competition, isn't there?

00:47:57 Could be about to win his second World Cup medal.

00:47:59 - Yeah, I think, well you know the athlete spirit

00:48:03 is a huge driving factor in their actual success.

00:48:08 So I think Patrick Dogg does have that,

00:48:11 and he has that determination to finish things off

00:48:14 if things go well in the finals.

00:48:16 - Well, Valentin Belo, sorry, Valentin Praz

00:48:20 and Christopher Paz are already warming up

00:48:21 on the fencing, the laser run course.

00:48:25 So that gives you the little bit of an advantage

00:48:27 being in those first heats, but we are in the final

00:48:31 few moments then of this swimming heat.

00:48:35 - I'll say 205.

00:48:37 - Final few meters then, as the athletes make their way

00:48:44 to the finish line.

00:48:46 Hannah Shubhan fastest, Seou in second place,

00:48:51 and Patrick Dogg with a time of around 208.

00:48:56 He's inside the top three there.

00:48:58 Gets himself outside the pool, Mahali Shubhan.

00:49:01 - Yeah, he's just asking for his time.

00:49:03 - How far over two seconds was it, 205?

00:49:05 Yeah.

00:49:06 It's not Shubhan's fastest time of the year,

00:49:09 but it's not too bad.

00:49:10 - He's in a good position, I think he can

00:49:12 fare well without swimming. - He's comfortable, isn't he?

00:49:16 So, 15 minutes now, the gap between swimming and laser run.

00:49:21 That means that the athletes currently dripping wet

00:49:25 getting out of the pool have just 15 minutes

00:49:28 to get themselves dry, switch up their uniform,

00:49:31 and get themselves to the start of the laser run.

00:49:34 It's a quick transition as we look back at the replays

00:49:38 of the start of the swimming.

00:49:41 In they go.

00:49:42 - And so some quick time, the quickest time today

00:49:55 was set by Miles Pudge at a two minutes flat.

00:50:00 Conserved a little bit of energy there, you have to believe.

00:50:06 And those athletes in the top pile

00:50:08 have put in some decent swimming times

00:50:11 and we'll see the overall standings in, here we go.

00:50:14 Patrick Dog is still leading.

00:50:16 One second behind him is Changwan Seo.

00:50:17 Mohamed Chabane is 22 seconds behind.

00:50:22 Pavel Timoshenko, Taishev Stato in fifth,

00:50:25 Yankov in sixth, Chichinelli in seventh,

00:50:27 and Ahmad Agendi moved up to ninth as well as Miles Pudge.

00:50:30 - Moved up into ninth, Pudge has moved up into eighth.

00:50:33 And look how close that is, it's just a point between

00:50:38 the athletes in 10th and ninth place.

00:50:43 Yankov in 10th place.

00:50:50 And those are the athletes that will be battling

00:50:52 to try and get themselves.

00:50:54 Yes, that is the case.

00:51:01 All right, folks, we'll be back in a short while's time

00:51:05 with our buildup to the start of the Laser Arm.

00:51:09 We'll see you all there.

00:51:10 (upbeat music)

00:51:17 (upbeat music)

00:51:20 (upbeat music)

00:51:22 (upbeat music)

00:51:50 - And that concludes the swimming discipline

00:51:53 here in semi-final A in World Cup number two here in Ankara.

00:51:58 Welcome back to the UIPM TV.

00:52:02 Let's just take a look at how things move over

00:52:04 from the pool to the Laser Run Arena.

00:52:06 It's again a very short walk to the start of the Laser Run.

00:52:11 The athletes will be running a total of five times 600 meters

00:52:14 for a total of three kilometers and four shooting series,

00:52:19 five green lights they have to hit

00:52:21 in order to continue on their way.

00:52:25 And again, today, there are no winners, there are no losers.

00:52:31 There are just the top nine from the semi-final

00:52:34 making it to the finals on Saturday.

00:52:36 Here we go, folks.

00:52:37 This is gonna be an exciting one.

00:52:40 So we are done with the fencing ranking round,

00:52:44 done with the bonus round,

00:52:45 done with the swimming for semi-final A

00:52:48 and a couple of athletes moved up and down the standings

00:52:51 post-swimming.

00:52:54 The likes of Ahmed El-Gindi and Myles Pillage

00:52:57 moving up into eighth and ninth

00:52:59 after starting at 12th and 13th,

00:53:03 which really pulls that pack together

00:53:06 as we get ready to start the Laser Run.

00:53:11 There are the athletes warming up,

00:53:13 final touches before their race.

00:53:17 A couple of athletes had more time

00:53:19 to prepare for the Laser Run.

00:53:21 The athletes of heat number one and two in the swim

00:53:24 had a bit more time of rest

00:53:25 and a lot more time to kind of shake things off

00:53:30 before that Laser Run.

00:53:32 And in your shot there is the athlete

00:53:36 Jan Kuff from Czech Republic.

00:53:38 Shooting is absolutely crucial today.

00:53:46 One bad shoot and it would mean

00:53:48 that you are out of the finals.

00:53:51 So it's really about focus today.

00:53:53 It's about honing in your skills

00:53:55 and just focusing on your target

00:53:59 and leaving that pack behind.

00:54:03 You wanna be comfortable,

00:54:05 but you don't wanna put in too much effort

00:54:07 that you feel like you exerted too much effort

00:54:10 to be able to perform tomorrow.

00:54:13 (crowd chattering)

00:54:16 So the athletes are just putting on

00:54:22 the numbers on their jerseys,

00:54:24 running around the track a couple of times.

00:54:27 It's a very versatile track here in Ankara.

00:54:32 We've got sand, we've got hard surface,

00:54:34 and we've got a track.

00:54:42 That's quite an exciting loop here.

00:54:46 And as the athletes go behind the shooting arena

00:54:49 and into the forest,

00:54:50 we'll see some pretty exciting shots

00:54:53 during the Laser Run from that.

00:54:55 And as you can see here,

00:54:56 the athletes are just strapping in their chips

00:54:59 and these are what indicate the differences

00:55:02 between the athletes in terms of seconds.

00:55:05 And we'll see split times all across the Laser Run

00:55:08 to keep track with the athletes

00:55:10 and see which positions they occupy.

00:55:14 So just under 10 minutes to go

00:55:16 until the start of the Laser Run.

00:55:17 We'll try to bring you an interview

00:55:19 with one of the athletes or coaches

00:55:22 in the field here today

00:55:23 and bring you closer to the live action here in Ankara.

00:55:27 Chilean coach there just pinning Bustos' number

00:55:33 on his vest.

00:55:37 And this is shaping up to be an exciting Laser Run

00:55:41 here in Semi-Final A.

00:55:42 Big names in this Semi-Final.

00:55:45 We have Christopher Pate, Ahmed El-Gendi,

00:55:48 Valentin Prado are actually starting further down the order.

00:55:52 Matteo Cicinelli, Lucas Gittovsky,

00:55:56 Miles Pillage, Patrick Dogg,

00:55:58 who's currently occupying first place.

00:56:00 And I'd say he's definitely a favorite for a medal here

00:56:04 if he manages to push things through in the riding event.

00:56:07 And I've just gotten confirmation of the results.

00:56:10 Patrick Dogg will be starting in first place.

00:56:12 One second behind him will be Changua Anseo.

00:56:16 Mohamed Chabane is a bit further back,

00:56:18 22 seconds behind.

00:56:20 And Pavlo Timoshenko behind him.

00:56:22 But let's just take a look at where Ahmed El-Gendi starts.

00:56:25 He's starting in ninth place.

00:56:27 That's the position you wanna be in.

00:56:29 But before we do that,

00:56:30 let's just go to James with an interview.

00:56:32 (swooshing)

00:56:35 - With British athlete Sam Currie

00:56:39 building up to the starts of the Laser Run.

00:56:42 Quite an intense part of the competition this,

00:56:43 isn't it Sam?

00:56:44 You don't have much time getting in the pool.

00:56:46 You still see athletes swimming

00:56:48 and then other athletes warming up.

00:56:49 It's chaos this bit, isn't it?

00:56:50 - Yeah, thanks very much for having me.

00:56:51 It is crazy to actually just turn around in 15 minutes.

00:56:55 Yeah, yeah, no.

00:56:57 So what the athlete's trying to do now

00:56:59 is just clear all the lactate out

00:57:01 and then just start to focus on that shooting

00:57:03 'cause the shooting's so hard after a hard swim.

00:57:05 - You obviously didn't make it through to semi-finals.

00:57:07 Sorry to see that.

00:57:08 But you were discussing with me just then

00:57:10 as we were walking towards the interview position

00:57:12 just how difficult this part of the competition's become.

00:57:15 Running, such an important part of the competition.

00:57:18 Listen, it's always been important

00:57:19 but it's even harder this year, isn't it?

00:57:21 - It's huge.

00:57:22 When you're looking at the men's competition now,

00:57:23 there's no weak running.

00:57:25 So often it's done on the range.

00:57:27 So what we're gonna see today is some really quick running

00:57:30 but it's all about how they're gonna shoot

00:57:32 that will make the difference.

00:57:33 - And also at this point in the competition

00:57:35 it's all about getting into that top nine, isn't it?

00:57:37 When you're out there on the course,

00:57:38 counting the athletes ahead of you,

00:57:39 are you working out who's behind you?

00:57:40 How much mathematics goes into this?

00:57:43 - Huge, luckily.

00:57:44 Like a lot of us have coaches shouting positions

00:57:47 but if you're in that top,

00:57:48 you generally know where you are.

00:57:50 It's got a lot more complicated

00:57:52 when you turn around and you've got 12 athletes

00:57:54 chasing you down.

00:57:55 So yeah, stressful times.

00:57:56 - And just when you're at the shooting range

00:57:58 and you see eight, nine athletes

00:58:02 all in the shooting range at the same time,

00:58:03 does that play on your mind at all?

00:58:05 Or do you just focus on those green lights

00:58:08 in front of you and what you're doing?

00:58:09 Or does the pressure get added

00:58:10 when other people are surrounding you?

00:58:11 - Yeah, it's easy for everyone to just say,

00:58:13 I'm gonna focus on the target.

00:58:14 But ultimately you've got sort of eight, nine

00:58:16 flashing lights around you.

00:58:17 So you see that but ultimately you're gonna try

00:58:20 and just focus on your own thing.

00:58:22 Focus on your process because that's the thing

00:58:24 that's gonna get the target cleared.

00:58:25 - And just a quick one before we hand back

00:58:28 to the guys in the commentary box.

00:58:29 Anyone you've got your eye on making a late surge?

00:58:32 Anyone that's gonna perhaps try to get themselves

00:58:36 in that top nine?

00:58:37 Is it sort of difficult coming from further back?

00:58:39 Like who's got your eye on at the minute?

00:58:42 - Well we've got the British favourite, Miles Pillage,

00:58:43 who's gonna put in an absolute shift.

00:58:44 I've no doubt about that.

00:58:46 So we'll put him down for one spot.

00:58:50 Behind the other guys you've got El Gendy,

00:58:53 Marvin, Doge, Chris Pat.

00:58:55 So this field is stacked.

00:58:57 So shooting's gonna make all the difference here.

00:58:59 - Sam, always a pleasure speaking to you, mate.

00:59:00 Hopefully we'll see you in more semi-final action

00:59:01 later on in the year.

00:59:02 Good man.

00:59:03 - Cheers, mate. Good to see you.

00:59:04 - Cheers, you too, mate.

00:59:05 - Sam Curry, the British athlete with some insight there

00:59:09 on the transition time between the swimming

00:59:11 and the laser run as well as just how important

00:59:15 that shooting has become.

00:59:16 I mean all the athletes in the field are incredible runners

00:59:19 and it all comes down to the shooting range

00:59:23 and who slips up and lets that position out of his hand.

00:59:27 But here you have in your shot there,

00:59:30 the star of the show, Patrick Doge,

00:59:32 starting in first position.

00:59:35 And we are definitely expecting him to be

00:59:41 in that final Chang'an Seiyo

00:59:42 with a beautiful shot there of him shooting.

00:59:45 It's just a bit of a different strategy and dynamic

00:59:50 when it comes to the shooting.

00:59:53 - Yeah, I think it's a really important portion

00:59:54 of this warmup 'cause the athletes obviously all know

00:59:57 how to shoot and it's all about fine tuning the skills,

01:00:01 making sure you're steady,

01:00:04 making sure you're not letting the nerves get to you

01:00:06 and just shaking it out after that swim

01:00:09 'cause the swim does take it out of your arms a bit.

01:00:12 And yeah, these athletes need to be ready

01:00:17 and getting that lactic out of their system

01:00:21 before the start of the laser on Ahmed Aghenzi

01:00:23 on your screen there.

01:00:24 Starting further back than he would have liked.

01:00:27 Didn't have the best defenses yesterday,

01:00:29 fenced 16 victories.

01:00:32 Yeah, but with a quick swim,

01:00:36 he managed to start in ninth place, but make no mistake,

01:00:40 he is starting 41 seconds behind,

01:00:42 but only one second behind him is Shu Huang Di

01:00:45 starting in 10th.

01:00:46 Yuri Kovalchuk, two seconds behind him,

01:00:48 so it's gonna be incredibly,

01:00:51 incredibly fast from all these athletes

01:00:55 as we welcome James back in the commentary box.

01:01:00 - So just featuring a few athletes

01:01:05 and taking a bit of a closer look here,

01:01:06 let's have a look at Chang Wang Seo

01:01:09 and what he's achieved.

01:01:11 There's that World Cup silver medal

01:01:13 that he progressively built up towards.

01:01:16 Chang Wang Seo is eighth in the senior world rankings

01:01:20 and 18th in the Olympic rankings.

01:01:24 18 World Cup starts, the first of which came in 2017.

01:01:28 And compared to other athletes,

01:01:33 fencing-wise he's 5% below average,

01:01:36 but it's swimming and indeed laser run

01:01:38 where it really doesn't make up time.

01:01:39 He's a quick runner, he's a quick shooter,

01:01:41 and Chang Wang Seo, you feel, from this position,

01:01:45 is very dangerous and I would say a good potential prospect

01:01:50 for a medal here in Ankara.

01:01:52 It's a competition he's succeeded at in the past.

01:01:55 And let's take a look at where he starts

01:01:59 and where he finishes in terms of previous results.

01:02:03 So Ankara in 2023, started fourth, finished fourth.

01:02:08 Budapest started eighth, finished fourth.

01:02:11 You can see progressively moving up the standings

01:02:14 apart from actually Cairo this year

01:02:16 where he dropped a couple of places.

01:02:18 This is of course semifinals, no medals, one or loss today.

01:02:21 It's all about getting inside that top nine,

01:02:23 but there he is, Chang Wang Seo,

01:02:25 a man in form at the shooting range

01:02:27 and hoping to make his way through

01:02:31 to the final comfortably.

01:02:32 Another man hoping to make his way through to the final

01:02:36 is one of the in-form athletes over the past 12 months,

01:02:40 Mohamed Shaban, who picked up a medal

01:02:42 at every event last year, bar the Cairo World Cup.

01:02:46 He has a senior world ranking of second,

01:02:49 an Olympic ranking of 74th,

01:02:51 but that is of no real concern to him at the moment.

01:02:56 - Yeah, he already has his quota.

01:02:57 - Two world championship medals

01:03:00 and four World Cup medals.

01:03:03 He is one of the most consistent athletes

01:03:07 out there at the moment.

01:03:08 Compared to the others, well, he is a very good fencer.

01:03:11 He's 10% above average,

01:03:13 solid swimmer and a solid laser runner.

01:03:14 He is very much a solid all-rounder

01:03:18 when it comes to pentathlon.

01:03:19 And it's that consistency that consistently wins you medals.

01:03:24 What about where he starts and where he finishes?

01:03:26 So taking a look from a bit further back to last year,

01:03:29 Budapest started second, finished second,

01:03:31 Angkor in the World Cup final, started first, finished first.

01:03:35 You remember that dramatic battle with Joseph Chung

01:03:37 and in the World Championship in Bath,

01:03:39 picked up a bronze medal after starting in sixth place.

01:03:42 And Cairo, he went backwards,

01:03:43 but he doesn't seem to have much luck in Cairo, does he?

01:03:45 Here in Angkor, starting in third here in the semifinal

01:03:50 and will hope to at least hold on to third.

01:03:53 I'm sure he'll be inside that top nine

01:03:55 come the end of the laser run.

01:03:57 So athletes now starting to make their way

01:04:00 to the start/finish line.

01:04:02 And just, yeah, trying to look a little bit

01:04:07 down these standings.

01:04:08 It's very tight and congested around that ninth place spot.

01:04:11 So we could see some athletes

01:04:14 switching and changing positions.

01:04:16 Ahmed El Gendy currently in ninth place,

01:04:19 41 seconds off the leader.

01:04:21 Imagine El Gendy will qualify from that position.

01:04:24 What do you think?

01:04:25 - Yeah, I hope so.

01:04:26 I mean, he has some big names behind him.

01:04:30 Xu Huang Li is one second behind.

01:04:33 Yuri Kovalchuk, two seconds behind.

01:04:35 And eight seconds behind is Esteban Bustos.

01:04:38 Christopher Patis also on his trail.

01:04:41 So it's going to be a difficult one for,

01:04:43 I'd imagine most of the athletes in this semifinal.

01:04:45 I don't think even Patrick is safe yet.

01:04:48 So.

01:04:49 - No, I mean, listen, we saw yesterday with Elodie Clouvel,

01:04:52 anything can change.

01:04:53 Patrick though is looking good in this competition,

01:04:56 but his lead over Chang Wang Tse

01:05:00 has just been reduced to one second,

01:05:03 but Chang Wang Tse has been in really good form here.

01:05:06 So those two aren't racing against each other.

01:05:10 Of course, they are just trying to get inside that top nine.

01:05:15 Not going to push too hard today,

01:05:16 but to have a fencing ranking round

01:05:19 as good as those two have had,

01:05:20 that carries with you into the final.

01:05:23 There's no repeat of the fencing ranking round.

01:05:26 So that is locked in and in the bag.

01:05:28 So I think if either Patrick Dogg or Chang Wang Tse

01:05:31 weren't to qualify for this final,

01:05:34 they would be gutted because it's an amazing opportunity

01:05:37 with a 27 and a 25 in the ranking round.

01:05:40 - Definitely.

01:05:41 I mean, it's said that Chang Wang Tse was 2%

01:05:47 less than average in the fencing,

01:05:49 but today was a totally different story

01:05:52 with 25 victories from him.

01:05:53 - Yeah, yeah, you'll see potential medal prospects

01:05:56 right in front of you there.

01:05:57 Chang Wang Tse is dangerous.

01:05:58 One second lead over Patrick Dogg has over Chang Wang Tse.

01:06:03 And away they go.

01:06:05 It's great to see Patrick Dogg out in the front like that.

01:06:07 He is an athlete who's consistently been competing well

01:06:11 in pentathlon over the years.

01:06:13 And it's good to see him with that number one on his shirt.

01:06:17 And it's good to see Chang Wang Tse,

01:06:19 those two very cool athletes.

01:06:21 Mahan Ashaban as well.

01:06:23 It's good to see him back at the top of the pile

01:06:24 after he had a little bit of a difficult time

01:06:26 with things in Cairo.

01:06:28 Pavlo Timoshenko, ever consistent athlete.

01:06:31 He's in fourth place.

01:06:33 Taisho Saito in fifth.

01:06:35 Yankov in sixth.

01:06:37 Matteo Cicinelli in seventh.

01:06:39 Miles Pillage in eighth.

01:06:40 Ahmed El-Gendi in ninth.

01:06:42 That is your top nine.

01:06:43 That is who they are all chasing and hunting down.

01:06:47 Shu Han Li in 10th place.

01:06:49 Yuri Kovalshchuk in 11th.

01:06:50 Vestavan Bustos in 12th.

01:06:52 Then you've got Christopher Patt.

01:06:53 I'll tell you what, there is going to be one mega battle

01:06:57 for ninth place, but already athletes are opening up

01:07:00 little gaps here and there.

01:07:03 You can see a few battles going on across the field.

01:07:06 But it's still neck and neck between Patrick Dogg

01:07:10 and Chang Wang Tse, who are pacing themselves out up front.

01:07:12 Here you go, the battle for ninth.

01:07:17 Miles Pillage.

01:07:19 Matteo Cicinelli might even pull into that battle.

01:07:21 Ahmed's a quick runner, isn't he?

01:07:23 I think he will probably make up a position or two

01:07:25 on this opening formation lap.

01:07:27 He's right on the tail of Miles Pillage,

01:07:29 who's disappearing off into the woods.

01:07:32 Do you know what?

01:07:32 It's kind of hard to overtake someone

01:07:35 in that portion of the race because it

01:07:37 is a very tight, narrow road.

01:07:39 But he might just do that.

01:07:40 He pushes up to eighth place.

01:07:43 Miles drops down to ninth.

01:07:45 But this is, again, only the first lap of this race.

01:07:48 We have five laps overall.

01:07:52 And we have the very dramatic shooting.

01:07:56 Looking forward, really looking forward

01:07:57 to when the athletes get to the range,

01:07:59 because that really mixes things up.

01:08:01 So there we go.

01:08:02 At the range is Patrick and Chang Wang.

01:08:04 Both two for two so far.

01:08:06 Chang Wang-- they're both three for three.

01:08:08 Chang Wang misses his fourth.

01:08:09 Good shooting is from Patrick Dogg and from Chang Wang.

01:08:12 A sub 10-second shoot and around a 10-second shoot.

01:08:15 Those two set in the benchmark beautifully there.

01:08:18 A really solid start to things here.

01:08:20 And you're seeing that confidence flowing

01:08:23 through Tseo and through Dogg.

01:08:25 They're probably enjoying each other's company.

01:08:27 You know what?

01:08:28 We're happy here.

01:08:29 I'm sure they're both quite happy to be just those two

01:08:32 pacing each other, running around together there.

01:08:34 That's kind of an interesting situation, isn't it?

01:08:36 Not two athletes who have probably

01:08:37 spent a great deal of time competing next to each other.

01:08:40 Mohamed Shaban-- let's have a look at some of these battles

01:08:42 further back, though.

01:08:43 Timoshenko away well.

01:08:44 Saito away well.

01:08:47 Ahmed El-Ghendi, sub 10 seconds.

01:08:48 Good shoot from him.

01:08:49 Yankovs taking a little bit longer here.

01:08:51 He gets away with a 16.5.

01:08:54 Ciccinelli struggling a little bit here.

01:08:56 Pillage with a 13-second.

01:08:57 That's not bad.

01:08:58 Esteban Bustos is trying to complete this, as is Lee.

01:09:01 Kowalczyk's a little bit slow at the range.

01:09:03 Bustos with a 12-second shoot.

01:09:04 Eventually, Lee and Kowalczyk get away.

01:09:06 These are all solid times, though.

01:09:08 Chen with a 10-second shoot.

01:09:10 I'll tell you what, this competition's come to life.

01:09:12 Kutovsky with a 13-second shoot.

01:09:14 No one's really, really struggled there.

01:09:16 There's been some solid times.

01:09:17 I don't think we've seen anything over 15,

01:09:20 16 seconds or so.

01:09:21 Dog, Marvin Dog, is a little bit slow at the range here.

01:09:25 Pradze with a 14.5.

01:09:27 Micheli with a 16.

01:09:29 And Dog, I think, at the slowest shoot of 20 seconds.

01:09:31 That is an outrageous standard from all 18 of those athletes.

01:09:37 Nobody going over 21 seconds.

01:09:39 That is a really, really, really solid shoot.

01:09:43 Yeah, I mean, let's not forget, this is Olympic year.

01:09:45 These are the Crème de la Crème of athletes.

01:09:48 This is the semifinals, and only nine of them are--

01:09:50 That's the pressure, doesn't it?

01:09:51 Yeah, of course.

01:09:52 We've seen slow shoots consistently

01:09:55 in this World Cup season, of course,

01:09:57 because the pressure's there.

01:09:58 Yeah, absolutely.

01:09:59 That was unbelievable.

01:10:00 That was--

01:10:00 I honestly think that's the best round of shooting consistently

01:10:03 across the board I've ever seen in six years of commentating

01:10:06 on this sport.

01:10:07 Right, Chang Wang Tso and Patrick Dog,

01:10:09 such is the speed of them.

01:10:11 They're already back at the shooting range.

01:10:13 Let's see how they get on.

01:10:14 Tso misses his first.

01:10:15 Dog's shooting well here, makes his first.

01:10:17 Chang Wang Tso struggling a little bit here.

01:10:19 Dog's missing a few as well.

01:10:21 So after a clean round from both Dog and Tso,

01:10:23 we're starting to see that pressure sink in.

01:10:26 Both now two out of the five.

01:10:28 Chang Wang Tso's made it to four out of the five.

01:10:30 Dog's found his routine a little bit here.

01:10:32 It's a 20-second shoot, give or take, for Tso.

01:10:35 Dog is now into the 20s, a 22-second shoot.

01:10:38 So isn't that funny, those two matching each other

01:10:40 the whole way through this race?

01:10:41 I think they'll both be happy enough with that,

01:10:44 but a slow second shooting round for Tso and for Dog.

01:10:46 What about the rest of the field?

01:10:48 Shabam with a 12.14.

01:10:50 Saito with a 7.57.

01:10:52 That's ridiculously fast.

01:10:54 Who else we got?

01:10:55 Timoshenko shooting well.

01:10:56 El Gendy consistent as ever, sub 10 seconds.

01:10:59 Kuf looking to go quicker than he did last time.

01:11:02 It was around 15 seconds for Kuf last time.

01:11:04 Ciccinelli's with a better shoot.

01:11:06 Kuf with a 17 point.

01:11:07 That's not too bad.

01:11:08 Mars Pillage with a great 11.53.

01:11:10 Kowalczyk and Bustos and Li and Pat

01:11:15 all out with good times.

01:11:17 Yeah, that's the battle for ninth.

01:11:19 Sorry, now has just got out with a 13 second shoot.

01:11:21 Chen for 13.

01:11:22 And you're just saying they're marrying the battle for ninth.

01:11:24 You're keeping an eye on that.

01:11:25 Yeah, Mars Pillage is currently in ninth.

01:11:27 But look at that.

01:11:28 Yuri Kowalczyk and Esteban Bustos are right on his tail.

01:11:32 I mean, one slip up in the range and things could go either way.

01:11:35 So these athletes really have no time to relax at all.

01:11:40 Nobody is taking it easy at this stage.

01:11:42 We're talking about seconds here.

01:11:44 That could be the difference in this Olympic year

01:11:47 between qualification or not.

01:11:49 There really is a lot of pressure on these athletes' shoulders.

01:11:55 Timoshenko solidly in sixth place.

01:11:57 Kuf and Ciccinelli locked in seventh and eighth place.

01:12:00 Then you can see Pillage as he goes past there on your screen.

01:12:03 That is the camera on the timing transition period.

01:12:07 So you see just how much those gaps are.

01:12:09 Bustos, Pat and Kowalczyk have Mars Pillage in their crosshairs.

01:12:16 And there you can see the gap between ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth.

01:12:21 And this is how the race is settling into its routine.

01:12:25 You feel like there is four athletes currently vying for that ninth spot.

01:12:31 It's currently Mars Pillage, but back at the range now,

01:12:34 we've got Chang Wang Seo and Patrick Dog.

01:12:36 Seo had a little bit of a lead over Dog heading into the range.

01:12:40 He's now made two out of the five, three out of the five.

01:12:42 Dog shooting a bit quicker than Seo here.

01:12:44 It's four out of five for Seo. Dog struggling on his third shot though.

01:12:47 Into the range goes Saito, who's been in very good form.

01:12:51 Shaban's in the range now as well.

01:12:54 Seo's gone. What about Dog? Dog's slow here.

01:12:56 Saito's going to overtake Dog. Unless can Dog get this done here?

01:13:00 He does. A 20 second shoot for Dog. It's not the end of the world.

01:13:02 Saito with the 14 seconds. A little bit slower than it was last year.

01:13:04 Last wrap. Timoshenko with a lightning fast shoot.

01:13:07 Right. Here is that battle for ninth place.

01:13:10 Pillage at the range.

01:13:12 Pat at the range. Kovalchuk at the range. Bustos at the range.

01:13:14 Chesnely gets away.

01:13:16 Pillage is shooting in ninth spot.

01:13:18 Jankun for the 15 second shoot.

01:13:20 Good shooting out from Pillage.

01:13:22 So Pillage holds on to that ninth spot.

01:13:24 What about the chasing pack? Kovalchuk now in tenth place.

01:13:27 Pat. So this is slow from the chasing pack,

01:13:31 although Bailing Chen maybe brought his way back into things.

01:13:34 That's about Bustos with a 20 second shoot.

01:13:35 That is a good shooting routine for Miles Pillage.

01:13:38 Yeah, absolutely. An 11 second shoot is just where he needs to be

01:13:42 to maintain his position.

01:13:44 I mean, he is still pretty much not in the clear.

01:13:47 These athletes are pushing their hardest, trying to make it into those top nine.

01:13:51 But Miles Pillage is doing well for himself here in Ankara.

01:13:55 You can see the screams and shouts from all the coaches trying

01:13:59 to encourage their athletes to push just a little bit harder.

01:14:03 It is the penultimate lap.

01:14:06 We have one more shooting to go and one more lap to go after this one.

01:14:09 So this is the angle here where you see the athletes coming past.

01:14:13 So we'll see there, Miles Pillage, how far off Jankun is he?

01:14:16 He is five seconds adrift.

01:14:19 So looking further back, is that Christopher Pat?

01:14:22 That's Yuri Kovalchuk.

01:14:24 And there's Christopher Pat.

01:14:25 Esteban Bustos in 12th place.

01:14:27 Bailing Chen. So Pillage is, he's OK.

01:14:31 He's long as he gets that final shoot done.

01:14:34 But then potentially you've got

01:14:37 yeah, that same pack still chasing down.

01:14:39 So no relief of the pressure.

01:14:43 It's all about this final shoot and who can hold their nerve.

01:14:47 Chang Wang Seou is confidently in first place.

01:14:49 Saito in second, Dog in third.

01:14:52 They're about to approach the range now. Here we go.

01:14:54 So top left of your screen, Chang Wang Seou.

01:14:57 I feel he'll be confident, comfortable.

01:14:58 He's relaxed into his rhythm of this race.

01:15:00 Three out of five for Seou. Four out of five for Seou.

01:15:03 This is a solid shoot.

01:15:04 And eight point five two.

01:15:05 We'll see you in the final Seou.

01:15:07 Saito and Dog going shot for shot.

01:15:09 El Gendy's moved up into the battle for the top three.

01:15:13 Shaban is shooting well.

01:15:16 Ahmed El Gendy with a 10 second shoot.

01:15:17 He moved up into second place.

01:15:18 We'll see you in the final, Ahmed El Gendy.

01:15:20 Good recovery from El Gendy.

01:15:22 And then Patrick Dog's away. He'll be through.

01:15:24 Saito will be through.

01:15:25 What about Ciccinelli?

01:15:27 What about Cuff? What about Pillage?

01:15:29 Pillage is a little bit slower here.

01:15:31 Ciccinelli with a 17 second shoot.

01:15:33 Kowalczyk could be about to overtake Pillage here.

01:15:35 So I think that's Kowalczyk who's moved up into ninth place.

01:15:40 So Pillage is losing out here.

01:15:41 He's going to miss out on qualification.

01:15:43 So Kowalczyk has shot well.

01:15:46 And is that Pillage? There he is.

01:15:47 So Pillage is going to have to find a real surge of pace.

01:15:50 He's six seconds behind and he's going to have to put absolutely everything.

01:15:54 It's hammer time.

01:15:55 But looking a bit further back, Esteban Bustos as well.

01:15:58 So we've got some good battles.

01:16:00 Kowalczyk looks like he might be slowing a little bit here,

01:16:02 which could bring some of the others back into things.

01:16:04 Pat's making a go of it as well.

01:16:06 Kowalczyk doesn't look as fast as it perhaps he'd want to be going.

01:16:09 And this is the battle now for ninth place.

01:16:12 It could go right down to the wire.

01:16:14 And Mars Pillage is giving this absolutely everything.

01:16:17 Watch out for Esteban Bustos and Christopher Bat in the background as well.

01:16:21 This is what it all comes down to, folks.

01:16:23 A quick look over the shoulder by Kowalczyk.

01:16:25 And he sees Mars Pillage absolutely storming down on him.

01:16:29 And there you can see Kowalczyk versus Pillage.

01:16:32 Are we going to see the overtake here from Mars Pillage,

01:16:35 who storms around the outside?

01:16:37 Look at this pace from Pillage.

01:16:38 He's had to do it the hard way.

01:16:40 But you feel from this point onwards, Pillage will qualify.

01:16:43 But Kowalczyk has saved a bit of energy and has not dropped off.

01:16:46 This battle will go right until the end of the race.

01:16:49 It's Pillage versus Kowalczyk for that ninth place.

01:16:52 Kowalczyk doesn't look like he's got the pace here.

01:16:55 A quick glance over the shoulder here for Mars Pillage,

01:16:58 who's found the pace when it's needed on the final lap.

01:17:01 He's absolutely storming through the end of this race.

01:17:04 Those are the athletes that are safely through.

01:17:07 But let's just keep our eye in the background to see if Pillage

01:17:09 has kept that ninth place spot.

01:17:11 He has. So Saito, Seyo, El Gendy,

01:17:15 Timoshenko, Dog, Shaban, Cicinelli, Kuff and Mars Pillage

01:17:21 qualify for Super Saturday's final.

01:17:24 Kowalczyk is the athlete to just miss out.

01:17:28 Yeah, that was definitely a dramatic finish.

01:17:30 And Kowalczyk took the lead.

01:17:32 Then Miles took the lead and Miles brought it home.

01:17:34 And these are the athletes

01:17:35 who are going to be missing out on qualification.

01:17:38 Yuri Kowalczyk, Christopher Papp.

01:17:40 Missing out on qualification there.

01:17:42 Roberto Micheli and Shuhuan Di.

01:17:45 But it is.

01:17:48 Lukas Gitovsky is actually at the bottom of the pile,

01:17:53 and I actually thought that he would make it up

01:17:57 the standing, started in 15th and is ending this race in 18th place.

01:18:02 Don't know exactly what went wrong, but again,

01:18:05 there are ups and downs in modern pentathlon all the time.

01:18:08 And today was just not his day.

01:18:11 So we'll leave you in the capable hands of Mariam

01:18:13 as we go to collect some interviews for the highlight show.

01:18:16 Mariam will let you reflect on what was a gripping semi-final.

01:18:20 That was good stuff, wasn't it?

01:18:22 Yeah, it was amazing.

01:18:23 Semi-final, you can see there in the near shot,

01:18:25 Miles Pillage is just doing a lactate test.

01:18:28 The British team is really monitoring their athletes

01:18:33 and making sure that they are scientifically

01:18:37 strategizing their techniques.

01:18:40 And let's just take a look back at this gripping laser run

01:18:43 we've had in the semi-final.

01:18:44 They started out with Patrick Dog and Changwan Seo,

01:18:47 as well as Mahalachapuram, leading the race again.

01:18:50 Today was not about positions.

01:18:54 It's all about getting into those top nine.

01:18:56 And these three have fared very well for themselves.

01:18:59 All made it to the finals.

01:19:02 Changwan Seo with an incredible shoot.

01:19:05 And you know what?

01:19:05 Most of the athletes today have had a very consistent shooting routine.

01:19:10 A couple missed out here and there.

01:19:13 But overall, I think this is one of the best shooting routines

01:19:18 we've seen in a long time.

01:19:21 And yeah, so just a confirmation of the athletes

01:19:25 who have made it through to the final.

01:19:27 Patrick Dog, Changwan Seo, Mahalachapuram,

01:19:30 Pavel Tomaschenko, Taisho Seto,

01:19:33 Yankov, Matteo Cicinelli, Miles Pillage and Ahmed El-Gendi,

01:19:38 which is basically the exact nine who started

01:19:42 in their positions, top nine before the laser run

01:19:47 and the laser run in the top nine as well,

01:19:50 and make it all through to the final.

01:19:53 Good stuff done from the athletes.

01:19:55 And across the day, we've

01:19:57 seen how much all the other disciplines

01:20:00 kind of incorporate together and help those athletes reach their position.

01:20:06 I mean, Ahmed El-Gendi and Miles Pillage definitely

01:20:09 gained some points in the swim there and

01:20:12 could have been the reason why Miles Pillage made it in ninth place at the end.

01:20:17 And a couple of people dropped back, of course, with some slower swims,

01:20:21 as well as some extra bonus points in the bonus round.

01:20:26 Here we go. Taisho Seto, Changwan Seo, Ahmed El-Gendi, Patrick Dog, Mahalachapuram,

01:20:30 Pavel Tomaschenko, Matteo Cicinelli, Yankov and Miles Pillage

01:20:34 with that dramatic finish.

01:20:36 You can see the camaraderie from the athletes.

01:20:39 Happy to have finished in those top nine.

01:20:42 That means they are part of the 18 who will be making it

01:20:46 to the finals on Saturday and in with a chance for medals.

01:20:49 Let's take a look at the final results.

01:20:51 Taisho Seto in first, Changwan Seo in second, Ahmed El-Gendi in third,

01:20:54 Patrick Dog in fourth, Pavel Tomaschenko, Mahalachapuram, Matteo Cicinelli,

01:20:58 Yankov and Miles Pillage

01:21:01 bringing it home at the end there.

01:21:04 Again, the order doesn't really matter in between those top nine.

01:21:08 They basically strolled across that finish line.

01:21:10 But these are the people who missed out on qualification.

01:21:14 Yuri Kovalchuk, Esteban Bustos, Christopher Pate, Balanchine,

01:21:17 Marvin "Vali" Dog, Valentin Prad, Roberto McKellie, Xu Huangdi

01:21:22 and Lukas Gatowski.

01:21:23 Yuri Kovalchuk was pretty close to making it into those top nine, but

01:21:28 extra bit of pace

01:21:31 that Miles Pillage found there at the end.

01:21:34 But that concludes semifinal A and

01:21:37 shorter later today.

01:21:41 We will be bringing you semifinal B.

01:21:43 But for now, we'll leave you with the images of today.

01:21:45 Thank you. And bye for now.

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