Egypt’s Ahmed Elgendy has won his country’s first gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games with a record-breaking performance in the modern pentathlon.
The 24-year-old, who claimed silver at Tokyo 2020, set a new world record with 1,555 points, surpassing the previous mark of 1,551 set by Hungary’s Csaba Bohm in June.
Elgendy had already established an Olympic record of 1,516 points in the semi-finals before improving on it in the final.
On the last day of competition, he excelled in riding (300 points), fencing (245 points) and swimming, where he completed the 200m freestyle in 1:59.30 for 322 points.
With a 17-second head start in the laser run – his speciality and the final event – Elgendy finished 13 seconds ahead of Japan’s Taishu Sato, securing 698 points and the world record.
This victory makes Elgendy the first African athlete to win Olympic gold in modern pentathlon.
His gold is Egypt’s first in Paris and their third medal overall, following Mohamed Elsayed’s bronze in fencing and Sara Samir’s silver in weightlifting earlier in the day.
The Paris Olympics mark the last time modern pentathlon will include horse riding. The sport will introduce “American Ninja Warrior”-style obstacle courses for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
This change was prompted by concerns over animal welfare after an incident at the Tokyo Olympics where a German coach struck a horse during competition.
