Five GB athletes to tackle World Cup Final
22nd May 2013
Five British athletes will contest next week’s Modern Pentathlon World Cup Final in Russia.
Joe Evans and Jamie Cooke go in the men’s competition, with world champion Mhairi Spence and London 2012 Olympic silver medallist Samantha Murray joined by Katy Burke in the women’s competition.
The World Cup Final is a straight final with no need for athletes to tackle semi-finals first. Athletes are invited to compete at the event based on their performances at this year’s World Cup series events.
The 2013 World Cup Final, which is at Nizhny Novgorod in Russia, will be 19-year-old Joe Evans’ first and follows his bronze medal on his World Cup debut in Palm Springs in February.
He’s looking forward to the challenge but says he doesn’t feel under pressure after announcing his arrival on the international stage with that impressive bronze in California.
“It will be a new experience for me to compete at an event that’s a straight final,” said Evans, who is studying Sports Performance at the University of Bath. “I don’t feel I have anything to prove, so I’m just going to go there and enjoy it.”
Jan Bartu Pentathlon GB Performance Director said the GB athletes won’t taper ahead of the competition.
“All of the athletes are going to there from full training, there won’t be a taper or any special preparation for them. They’ll fly in, compete on one day, fly out again and be back in training on Monday,” he said.
“The World Championships in August will be the ultimate milestone for us this year, but it will be a good experience for the younger athletes, particularly Jamie and Joe."
Britain’s athletes have already sampled success on the World Cup stage this year. In addition to Evans’ bronze in Palm Springs, Cooke won gold in Budapest earlier this month, where Spence also won bronze.
GB athletes competing at 2013 World Cup Final
Men
Jamie Cooke - 03.03.91, Cheltenham – Bath
Joe Evans - 05.09.93, Whitchurch, Shropshire – Bath
Women
Katy Burke – 01.06,89, Cleveleys, near Blackpool - Bath
Samantha Murray – 25.09.90, Clitheroe, Lancashire - Bath
Mhairi Spence – 31.08.85, Farr, near Inverness - Bath
World Cup Final schedule
Friday 31 May: Women’s Final
Saturday 1 June: Men’s Final
Sunday 2 June: Mixed Relay Final
2013 senior modern pentathlon calendar
20-24 February: World Cup 1 – Palm Springs, USA
20-24 March: World Cup 2 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
17-21 April: World Cup 3 – Chengdu, China
8-12 May: World Cup 4 – Budapest, Hungary
31 May – 2 June: World Cup Final – Nizhny-Novgorod, Russia
11-17 July: European Championships – Drzonkow, Poland
15-21 August: World Championships – Kaoshiung, Chinese Taipei