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Christopher Patte of France came with his best-ever performance to win the Champion of Champions title in the Modern Pentathlon event held at the Al Shaqab Arena yesterday.
Patte garnered 5760 points to take gold ahead of Cuba’s Jose Figueroa (5720) and Belarus’ Stanislou Zhurauliou (5696) who took the silver and bronze medal, respectively.
Patte who had finished 17th at the 2012 London Olympics was mighty pleased with his performance. “This is a very satisfying effort to win the title here. I had good form from the very first competition this year and I am very pleased with my performance this season. Fencing and running was good for me today, but my main event was shooting where I excelled,” a jubilant Patte told the Gulf Times.
Participants in the Modern Pentathlon event pose after the conclusion of the competitions at Al Shaqab Arena yesterday. PICTURES: Jayan Orma
The Frenchman was amazed with the facilities at Qatar Foundation. “This is a great facility and I am glad that I had the opportunity to compete is such a magnificient place. I am looking forward to coming back here. It really motivates the athletes to perform at their very best here,” Patte added.
Cuba’s Figueroa was elated with his second place finish after hoping to be in the top five. “This is one of my best performances and I am very happy to have finished second in such a major event. The combined event was my strength. I won
the fencing event and that pleased me. I trained two months for this event and it is great to finish on a winning note.”
The Cuban revealed his future plans. “My next target would be the Pan American Games and if all goes well, I will be there at the Rio Olympics in 2016.”
Bronze medallist Zhurauliou said, “I am very happy to have finished third in such a strong field. For me this was a surprising result because I trained only two weeks in the lead-up to this event. Maybe if I train hard I could do better. Fencing and shooting were my strong points.
Organised by the Qatar Foundation in co-operation with the Qatar Olympic Committee, the world renowned state-of-the art facilities of the Al-Shaqab Arena played host to the end of year showpiece Champion of Champions. The very best athletes from around the world participated in the first ever Modern Pentathlon event held in Qatar.