Elgendy wins first gold for Egypt

Ahmed Elgendy took Egypt's first gold medal of the Paris Olympics when he won the men's Modern Pentathlon with a world record 1 555 points, despite slowing at the end, in the grounds of the Palace of Versailles on Saturday.

Japan's Taishu Sato took the silver and Italy's Giorgio Malan the bronze, meaning three continents were represented on the podium.

Elgendy's gold was an Olympic first for an African athlete in Modern Pentathlon and followed on from the silver he took in Tokyo three years ago, which was the first medal for Egypt in the sport.

#Gold medal glory for Egypt! 🇪🇬

Congratulations to Ahmed Elgendy, clinching first place in men's modern pentathlon!

This is the first-ever gold for Egypt and Africa in modern pentathlon! 💪@anoc_Olympic | @worldathletics | #Modernpentathlon | #Paris2024 | #Samsung |… pic.twitter.com/HAF2cuyBkd

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 10, 2024

The Egyptian was in control from the start, building on his top fencing ranking with a clear round in the show jumping – after teammate Mohanad Shaban was eliminated for a fall – solid swimming and a steady hand in the laser shooting.

"After the riding I was feeling more confident, seeing the gold medal," the Egyptian, who was almost unsaddled in Friday's semifinal but was one of just six to get round without penalty on Saturday, told reporters.

"Before the riding, (I had) some doubts because yesterday's riding was not the best."

The jumping marked the last time horses will make an appearance in a men's final, with the equestrian element to be replaced by obstacle courses at the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

Elgendy, who said he planned to continue to Los Angeles 2028, was clear going into the fencing bonus round where he stayed 13 points ahead of Japan's Taishu Sato.

That advantage expanded to 17 points after the swimming, with Switzerland's Alexandre Dallenbach becoming the closest rival and Sato dropping down to fourth.

Elgendy then started the laser run with a commanding advantage that he never looked like giving up, despite some time lost on the shooting, as his rivals battled behind him to be second best.

"After the first shooting, I had to run very fast for the second (lap), so I can compensate for the first shooting," said the new champion.

The Egyptian raised his arms high in the air at the last turn of the track, celebrating already.

Britain's reigning Olympic champion Joe Choong was fastest in the swimming section but paid the price for a poor performance in Thursday's fencing ranking round and finished ninth overall.

"I left it all out there. I said yesterday I was sort of lying in wait for slip-ups to happen but I needed those to happen and they didn't," said the Briton.

"There was nothing else I could do and at the end of the day I've still got that gold medal in my sock drawer at home."