Delighted French follows up gold with World Cup silver
University of Bath based pentathlete Kate French has continued to display her fine form and dominance on the world stage by taking silver at the World Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The silver is an impressive result for the Brit who now boasts backto-back World Cup medals after her incredible gold performance in Budapest just two weeks earlier.
Despite a challenging day, French was able to maintain her focus ahead of the laser run, where she put in a sensational performance to make up her 21 second handicap and move from 6th place to head of the race ahead of the final shoot.
An exhilarating battle with Marie Oteiza from France, including light-for-light shooting, made for an exciting watch for the coaches and support staff permitted to attend the closed event in Sofia.
Whilst a second gold was just out of reach, the back-to-back podium for French, is yet another example of the form she finds herself in as she moves towards Tokyo in the summer.
French said: “I’m really pleased. It’s been quite a tough day – nothing had been easy – but I’m just really pleased with second place.”
Fellow Brits Jo Muir, Francesca Summers and Jess Varley, all also based at Pentathlon GB’S National Training Centre at the University of Bath, also found success throughout the day, with all three finishing in the top 11.
Pentathlon GB’S performance director Jan Bartu was incredibly pleased with all four British women’s performances
“It was another excellent performance from Kate. She showed consistency, focus and self confidence throughout the day. To secure another podium and know we still have some room for improvement, is a great place to be ahead of our journey towards Tokyo.
“Jo, Frankie and Jess also put on fine displays of skill, fighting spirits and matured competition craft to secure excellent final positions. I’m really pleased with how the whole team has conducted themselves today”.
With the World Cup series providing crucial Olympic Ranking points, the results for Muir, Summers and Varley are another step towards the elusive hunt for quota places for Tokyo.
■ World Cup 2 in Sofia was just the second event of the 2021 season for the British team, and for Tom Toolis, it was just his second event since injury has kept him off the world stage since September 2019.
While University of Bath based Toolis was pleased to be back competing in World Cup 1 (Budapest) two weeks earlier, his final position of 18th didn’t feel quite representative of the form he finds himself in, with the athlete himself citing a lack of consistency for his final position, and a desire to set things right next time.
The Brit certainly did that, combining a solid swim with an excellent result in the fencing and a clear round in the ride, to find himself in third position ahead of the laser run.
After an exciting battle with eventual silver medallist Robert Kasza, in which the two athletes traded places several times up until the final shoot, Toolis ultimately had to concede places in the final stages of the run, but pushed to the end to cross the line in 6th.
The result equals his position in his last trip to a World Cup in Sofia, back in 2019, and will certainly reinforce Toolis’ confidence in his current form.
Joining Toolis in the final was Sam Curry and Joe Choong.
Both athletes excelled at points in the day, with Choong taking the top spot in the swim, and Curry amongst the best results in the ride.
Whilst both men fought hard in the final event of the day, neither were able to make the top 10, but finished in well-earnt 15th (Choong) and 16th (Curry) positions.
With the international competition calendar resulting in back-toback weekends in Sofia, all three men, and fellow compatriot, Jamie Cooke (who was unsuccessful in qualifying for the final) were already looking ahead to World Cup 3, running from April 14 to 18.