Modern Pentathlon – Silver Medal for Ireland in World Cup Mixed Relay
NATALYA Coyle and Eanna Bailey made history in the USA yesterday (Sunday) where they won Ireland’s first ever medal at a World Cup competition. The pair claimed Silver in the Mixed Relay event of the modern pentathlon in Palm Springs, California.
Both athletes produced an excellent display in the fencing to score 31 victories and 21 defeats for 910 pentathlon points and a share of third place on the leader board.
They then moved on to the swim, where Bailey posted a fantastic 100m split of sub 55 seconds to claim third place in the pool. The time for the pair of 2:01.71 gave them 1340 pentathlon points and kept them in third spot heading to the riding event. Coyle, riding “Mo”, knocked one rail while Bailey went clear on “Leap” and their points score of 1116 was enough for second place in the riding event. A zero score for the Russian team saw the Irish move up the leader board to second place before the final run/shoot event.
Hungary started the handicapped race in first place with Ireland following at 18 seconds and the Chinese team in third. A nervy start from Coyle saw her spend 22 seconds on the range for the first shoot series. Strong running kept the Chinese team distant coming into the range for the second shoot. Another uncharacteristically anxious shoot from Coyle meant the gap to the chasing pack closed a little but she kept a decent gap over the last 800m to the change over.
Bailey, showing no signs of nerves, cleared his first shoot series in 9.4 seconds and his second in 11.7, ensuring the challengers kept their distance and the Irish athlete powered home to claim the Silver medal behind the Hungarian team in Gold with the Ukraine overhauling China to take the bronze.
Bailey and Coyle had both competed in the individual events in the preceding days, finishing 15th and 25th respectively. Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe also competed in the men’s event, finishing 16th. The team will miss World Cup 2 in Rio and return to training in Ireland to prepare for their next competition; World Cup 3 in China.
Colin McClelland, Horse Sport Ireland
Category: International, News, Other
