From six-year-old Malika Ibrahim to 72-year-old Coenraad Janse van Vuuren, a festival of sport for all ages brought the joy of participating in the 2024 Biathle/Triathle World Championships held from 8 to 13 October by the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM), reports Inas Mazhar.
Altogether 600 athletes from 33 countries took part in the five-day Biathle/Triathle World Championships held at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport in the Egyptian city of Port Fouad.
Egyptians snared a whopping 140 medals for both the abled and disabled, in the Biathle/Triathle and Para Laser-Run World Championships: 61 gold, 52 silver and 27 bronze medals.
Competition was fierce in the Biathle/Triathle, including Para categories during the individual finals. The tournament started with a Para Laser Run for PMP7, PMP1 and mixed categories.
The competition saw African athletes feature prominently on the podium, with huge names from host nation Egypt and South Africa joined by athletes from Burkina Faso and Mali.
Biathle is a sub-sport of the modern pentathlon consisting of running and freestyle swimming. Triathle is an event that involves cross country running, freestyle swimming and laser pistol shooting in multiple sequences. It too is a sub-sport of the modern pentathlon.
Biathle and Triathle are cornerstones of the UIPM development programme and have proved a huge success both as an entry point to UIPM sports and as a training vessel for the running, swimming and shooting parts of the pentathlon in real race conditions. The sequence of the Biathle is run-swim-run, while athletes in Triathle compete in a swim-run-shoot format. It made its debut on the international stage at the UIPM Biathle/Triathle World Championships in 2013 in Cyprus. The UIPM Biathle/Triathle national tour is now held in all regions of the world.
According to the UIPM website, the diversity of this global gathering, bringing together so many athletes of different age groups and cultures, is one of its most powerful charms with this year’s competition combined with the UIPM Para Sports World Championships to ensure a truly inclusive environment.
UIPM President Klaus Schormann, despite missing the championships, shared a message to the pentathlon family. “On behalf of the UIPM Executive Board I am thrilled to see the UIPM 2024 Biathle/Triathle World Championships coming to the beautiful beach resort of Port Said. We are grateful to the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport, the Egyptian Modern Pentathlon Federation, the National Olympic Committee and all regional and national authorities who have cooperated in creating a welcoming environment for the many hundreds of athletes who will compete here this week.
“Thanks to the beauty of the surroundings, and the competitive spirit and camaraderie that exists between Biathle and Triathle athletes of all ages, many special memories will be created in Port Said,” Schormann said. “This is an exciting moment for our sport, not only within Egypt but across Africa and the Middle East where it is so important that we also deliver a message of peace, respect and togetherness.”
* A version of this article appears in print in the 17 October, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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