With a thrilling comeback and impressive performances in the individual events, Diána Rajncsák and Orsolya Varga won the silver medal in the women’s relay competition at the European Modern Pentathlon Championships in Istanbul.
On the opening day of the championships, it initially did not look like the young Hungarian duo would finish on the podium. In the fencing ranking round, the Hungarian athletes finished seventh in a field of eight pairs.
In the subsequent round of eight, they faced the Swiss team. The duel ended in a tie. Based on the rules—which, in the event of a tie, consider the better placement from the preliminary round—the Swiss team advanced to the next round. The Hungarian team thus had to settle for seventh place in the first event for the time being.
What followed was a display of fighting spirit and class.
On the obstacle course, the young duo was in top form. With a best time of 58.05 seconds, the Hungarian team won the event and moved up a spot in the overall standings.
They carried that momentum straight into the pool. Diána Rajncsák and Orsolya Varga entered the 2×50-meter freestyle relay in second place overall. With the third-fastest time in the field (57.39 seconds), they defended their position.
Going into the decisive laser run (3×600-meter run for both athletes, interspersed with three shooting rounds), the Hungarian team trailed the leading Belarusians by just three seconds. Right behind them were the Swiss (+11 seconds), followed by the relay teams from Russia, Italy, and the Czech Republic.
Although the Swiss team quickly took the lead and seemed headed for victory, the Hungarian duo remained undeterred.
With a time of 13:35.36 minutes, they posted the second-best performance in the laser run, held on to second place until the finish, and deservedly crossed the finish line in second place.
Bronze went to the athletes from Russia.
János Belák, the sports director of the Hungarian national pentathlon team, was thrilled with the success of his young athletes after the competition. “That was a very pleasant surprise. Both of them had already performed well in fencing and only fell short due to their seeding. On the obstacle course, they left everyone behind. Their swimming was strong as well, but what I’m most pleased about is that both fought so hard in the laser run and kept pace with even experienced adult-class athletes without any trouble,” he explained.
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Via MTI; Featured photo: MTI/Vasvári Tamás
