Four British modern pentathletes through to Saturday’s final
8th May 2008Four British women modern pentathletes will compete in Saturday’s final of round five of the 2008 World Cup in the Czech Republic.
Heather Fell, Georgina Harland, Katy Livingston and Mhairi Spence all came safely through their semi-finals in Kladno today (Thursday).
Fell and Livingston both qualified from semi-final A. Fell came 12th overall on 4072 points with Livingston booking the 18th and last qualifying place for the final with 3944 points.
In semi-final B both Spence and Harland finished in a pack of 18 that crossed the finish line at the end of the 3km run within a five-second interval to book places in Saturday’s final.
Spence was sixth overall on 4132 points from the four modern pentathlon disciplines contested in the semis, with Harland joint ninth on 4128.
Harland, bronze medallist at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, said: “It doesn’t really matter whether you come first or 18th in the semi-final – it’s all about qualifying for the final. We wipe the slate clean and start again in the final on Saturday.”
Tomorrow (Friday) Britain’s men – David Atkinson, Ben McLean, Sam Weale and Nick Woodbridge – bid for places in the men’s final on Sunday.
A total of 36 men and 36 women will compete in the modern pentathlon at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Up to two athletes of each sex can compete, subject to qualification through performances at a series of pre-determined events.
Britain’s Katy Livingston and Heather Fell have already achieved the Olympic qualifying standard by virtue of top-eight finishes at last year’s European Championships. A further qualifying opportunity is at the World Championships in Hungary at the end of May.