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Korea’s Sung Seung-min takes silver at UIPM World Cup in Bulgaria

Published: 12 May. 2025, 12:09

Sung Seung-min celebrates winning a silver medal at the third UIPM World Cup in Pazardzhik, Bulgaria, on May 11. [YONHAP]

Sung Seung-min of Korea National Sport University won silver at the third UIPM World Cup in Pazardzhik, Bulgaria, on Sunday, becoming the first Korean athlete to medal at a World Cup event since the modern pentathlon replaced equestrian with obstacle racing.

Sung finished second in the women’s final with a total of 1,466 points across fencing, swimming, obstacle racing and laser run — combined running and shooting — narrowly trailing Farida Khalil of Egypt, who earned 1,485 points.

This season marks the first in which the International Union of Modern Pentathlon (UIPM) has removed equestrian and introduced obstacle racing across all World Cup events.

The change follows criticism that the previous method of randomly assigning unfamiliar horses hindered fair competition and athlete safety.

After controversy during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, UIPM announced it would eliminate equestrian from the sport starting with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. It held a vote in May 2022 to adopt obstacle racing in its place.

Although last year’s competitions still included horse riding for Olympic qualification, UIPM gradually expanded the use of obstacle racing. This season, the World Cup circuit has fully transitioned to the new format.

Sung, who became the first Asian woman to win an Olympic bronze medal in the sport at the Tokyo Games, failed to reach the final at the second World Cup after a mistake in the obstacle event. She rebounded in Bulgaria with a strong all-around performance, demonstrating growing confidence in the revised format.

In the final, Sung placed second in fencing with 250 points, fourth in swimming with 272 and 12th in obstacle racing with 319. Based on these results, she started fourth in the laser run and overtook two competitors to finish second.

“I wasn’t fully prepared for the second World Cup, and the result showed that,” Sung said after the race. “But I’m happy I was able to perform well this time.”

Khalil, 14, won the women’s title and drew widespread attention. UIPM announced that she set world records in both the obstacle event with a time of 27.7 seconds and her total score of 1,485 points.

Shin Soo-min of the Gyeongnam Modern Pentathlon Federation finished 10th with 1,414 points.

Over in the men’s final, Seo Chang-wan of the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps placed 16th with 1,505 points.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY SONG JI-HOON [[email protected]]