Egypt, Hungary and Czechia lead gold rush at UIPM 2026 Pentathlon Junior & U17 World Championships
- Eleven nations share 14 world titles in wide-open combined championships
- Crowns fit well on new junior champions Karbownik (POL) and Bovenzi (ITA)
- Egypt, Hungary and Czechia top medal table as Lithuania finish on high
Eleven nations joined the gold rush at the first combined UIPM Pentathlon World Championships of 2026, sharing 14 world titles among their Junior (U22) and U17 athletes in another global celebration of the reimagined Modern Pentathlon.
Egypt led the final medal table with 11 podium visits, but the two competitions were so tightly contested that no team won more than two golds overall – Hungary and Czechia the only other nations to double up.
Having hosted a pioneering indoor World Championships for the elite last August, Kaunas (LTU) proved an exceptional venue once again as emerging generations of pentathlete enjoyed a week of top-class sport and friendly rivalry. Twin sisters Katharina and Florina Jurt contributed strongly to Switzerland finishing equal-fourth in the medal table with Ukraine, led by 2025 and 2026 individual junior silver medallist Danylo Sych.
Malgorzata Karbownik of Poland and Matteo Bovenzi of Italy became the new junior world champions, inheriting the crowns last year by all-conquering Egyptians Farida Khalil and Moutaz Mohamed. And there were some eye-catching results at U17 level, with gold medals for Türkiye and South Africa (thanks to women’s champion Tatiana Thomatos), and Korea enjoying podium time. Host nation Lithuania ended the week on a high with a silver medal in the U17 Mixed Relay.
- Read the Junior Women’s Final report and reaction
- Read the Junior Men’s Final report and reaction
- Catch up on all the daily reports
- Check out the official competition photography
- View all results from Kaunas
President’s Reaction
UIPM President Rob Stull OLY commented: “What we witnessed in Kaunas over the past week was a wonderful celebration of how far the reimagined Pentathlon has already come. To see so many nations winning world title and medals, young athletes from across the globe rising to the occasion and nations with emerging development programmes making important breakthroughs, it all fills us with so much pride.
“The standard of competition, the diversity of success and the spirit shown throughout the week were all compelling signs that our sport, thanks to the inclusion of Ninja-based Obstacle Racing and the recent finetuning of Fencing and Swimming, is becoming stronger, more accessible and more exciting for athletes as well as viewers.
“Kaunas is an established host city and I am grateful once again to the Lithuanian Modern Pentathlon Federation for providing a first-class competition.”
Watch and follow
The UIPM 2026 Pentathlon Junior & U17 World Championships has now concluded. We are less than a month away from the ‘Race Across China’, consisting of the UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Championships (August 24-30 in Guiyang) and the UIPM 2026 Obstacle World Championships (September 2-6 in Beijing). Both flagship senior competitions can be watched watch free on YouTube.
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