59th WMC Aeronautical Pentathlon – Gran Canaria (ESP) – Competition Day 4
GRAN CANARIA (ESP) – The 59th World Military Aeronautical Pentathlon Championship ended yesterday in Gran Canaria with the last two events of the competition, the obstacle course and the orienteering race, which allowed our military athletes to win and crown two new military world champions.
The obstacle course is 300-400m long and has between 10 and 12 obstacles to overcome. The obstacles are the same type as those in the military pentathlon but can be placed on hilly or uneven terrain and be placed in a different order.
Finishing the women's obstacle course with a time of 1'27''07, Ukraine's Yelyzaveta Zenova dominated the event head and shoulders ahead of Brazil's Ellen Caroline de Souza by nearly 13 seconds. The Czech Karolina Zolnová, winner the day before of the Ball Contest, finished third ahead of the two Russians Ekaterina Ivleva and Ekaterina Utina.
Everything was going to be decided in the orienteering race for the Russian Anastasia Petrova, 8th in the obstacle race, and in the lead of the provisional ranking with 180 points ahead of her compatriot Ivleva before this final event.
The orienteering race was to the advantage of the Spanish delegation who placed three athletes in the top 4. Rocio Sosa Rodriguez was the fastest and finished more than 8 minutes ahead of her compatriot Ana Gallarín Lopez. With a final time of 53'49'', the Ukrainian Yelyzaveta Zenova finished third ahead of another Spaniard, Maria Luengas Mengual.
Thanks to a seventh place in this orienteering event, the Russian Ekaterina Ivleva took advantage of the poor performance of her compatriot Petrova to overtake her on the line and become the new World Military Champion of Aeronautical Pentathlon. A well-deserved title for Ivleva, who showed her consistency throughout the four days of competition. The triumph is total for the Russian delegation which places two other athletes on the podium: Ekaterina Utina finishes second while Anastasia Petrova, who led the dance until the last event, wins the bronze medal.
Not surprisingly, Russia (Ivleva, Utina and Petrova) also won the women's team competition with a comfortable lead of more than 900 points over the host country, Spain (Luengas Mengual, Gallarín Lopez and Sosa Rodriguez). Brazil (Caroline de Souza, Soares da Silva and Nishigawa Silva Lopes) finished third.
In the men's competition, the obstacle course was fatal to the provisional leader of the competition, the Ukrainian Dmytro Kmetiuk, who finished in 33rd place.
His compatriots Mykhailo Bezuklyi and Yaroslav Vasiluta had a superb performance and took the first and second place in the obstacle race ahead of the Brazilian Ariel José Pimentel Kaczmark.
The Spaniard Eduardo Carrillo Martinez-Osorio made a great comeback in the general classification thanks to his ninth place in the obstacle race. He showed an exceptional performance in the orienteering race which was also dominated by the four Spanish athletes who finished in the top 4.
Eduardo Carrillo Martinez-Osorio won the orienteering event with a considerable lead that allowed him to overtake the Ukrainian Kmetiuk and become the military world champion. Victor Rodriguez Sanchez also put in a superb performance in the last event, finally taking third place in the final ranking!
Spain also won the men's team competition ahead of Ukraine and Brazil.
This magnificent competition was a success for the organizing country, which did everything possible to ensure that everything went smoothly for our CISM athletes.
- Program of the event
- Final Results : Male - Female
In the evening, the Closing Ceremony took place in the presence of the CISM President, General Hervé Piccirillo; Colonel Leonardo Perdigao de Oliveira, Vice President Americas and Official CISM Representative of the event; Colonel José Carlos García-Verdugo Sánchez, Chief Delegation of Spain to CISM; Major-General Juan Pablo Sánchez de Lara, Commander of the Canary Islands Air Force Command; Colonel Eduardo Utzig Silva, PCSC Aeronautical Pentathlon; Mr. Norberto Francisco Castellano Ortiz, the Sports Advisor of the Government of Gran Canaria ; Colonel Jesus Maria Gonzalez Garcia, member of the Organizing Committee; as well as local and international high authorities.
The CISM President General Hervé Piccirillo took the floor to close the event and thank the athletes and organizers: “Since the CISM creation, Spain has played a major role in its development and its influence worldwide. The Spanish Armed Forces have been a CISM member for 70 years (since 1951). You have been extremely active with the organization of almost 30 World Military Championships and participation in more than 400 CISM sport events. This world military event was an outstanding competition, full of demonstrations of cooperation, comradeship and most importantly in my opinion, friendship.”
“Today, everyone rediscovers the joy and happiness of once again sharing the military values of CISM which has united us since its creation in 1948: solidarity, friendship, resilience and universality. All these values are essential for a Nation to live together and necessary for the world population to live in peace. To conclude, I wish you the best for you and your families, have a safe trip back in the spirit of the founders of CISM, friendship and fraternity. I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year", concluded the CISM President.
Thank you Spain for this amazing event and see you next year in Tikkakoski, Finland, from 17 to 25 August for the 60th WMC Aeronautical Pentathlon !
(Source: CISM Media and Communication Department)
