LONDON: Czech military officer David Svoboda took gold in the Olympic men’s modern pentathlon on Saturday, pipping China’s Zhongrong Cao to the title in a thrilling combined run and shoot finale.
Svoboda, who stormed to an early lead after equalling the Olympic fencing points record, had slipped into second behind Cao after struggling in his swimming heat.
But a cleaner result in the riding than his Chinese rival put the 27-year-old first going into the final event, where he proved the stronger runner, crossing the finish line six seconds ahead of Cao to set an Olympic record of 5,928 points.
Hungary’s Adam Marosi took the bronze, with Russia’s Andrei Moiseev, who had been seeking his third successive Olympic gold, only managing seventh. (Reuters)