Tokyo Olympics: Joseph Choong wins gold for Great Britain in men’s modern pentathlon

Joe Choong became Britain’s first winner of the men’s modern pentathlon as Team GB completed a clean sweep at the Tokyo Stadium.

Just 24 hours after Kate French claimed the women’s title, Choong led the multi-sport event from start to finish and eventually reached the tape five seconds ahead of Egyptian Ahmed Elgendy.

Choong is the first Team GB athlete to even win a medal in the men’s individual event since its inception in 1912 and Britain are the first country to do the double at one Games. It is Britain’s 20th gold medal at the Tokyo Games.

Joseph Choong won gold for Britain to complete fantastic 24 hours in modern pentathlon

Choong wasn’t entirely accurate in the four visits to the shooting range but did enough

His strength in the running enabled Choong to hold off his rivals to finish in first position 

The world No 1 was in front from Friday’s fencing and kept his lead throughout today’s swimming and showjumping.

That meant Choong held a 12-second lead going into the laser run finale. And though he was briefly overtaken by Elgendy following the shooting on the final lap, he retook the lead in the final 200metres and won with a sprint finish. 

‘I pulled myself together and this time I’ve nailed it,’ Choong told the BBC afterwards.

‘I’ve always said I wanted to be the best in the world. This is literally a dream come true.

Choong competes in the show jumping stage of the modern pentathlon earlier on Saturday

The gold medallist takes on Alexander Lifanov of the Russian Olympic Committee in fencing

‘I’m in shock. I was swearing in my head. There were a couple of heavy jumps on the ride, the swim was good, the fencing was good and the running was pretty tactical. The shooting was pretty sketchy but I pulled myself together.’ 

Choong, 25, hails from Orpington in Kent and has previously won silver at the 2018 World Championships in Mexico City in the team event. 

He held a 12 second lead at the beginning of the laser run – a 3,000 metre run combined with four visits to the shooting range where the target must be hit five times – and never looked like relinquishing that lead.

He held plenty of energy in reserve for the final part of the run, an insurance policy as his rivals shot with greater accuracy.   

Choong started the laser run with a 12-second advantage and didn’t relinquish his lead

Kate French won a sensational gold medal for Team GB in the women’s modern pentathlon

He missed three shots on his first trip to the range, allowing his rivals to eat into that 12-second advantage but he was faultless with his first five shots second time around.

Egypt’s Ahmed El Gendy surged up from 13th position to overtake Choong going into the final lap but the British athlete drew on his reserves of stamina in the last 800 metres and ultimately won comfortably.