Tokyo 2020 - Joe Choong creates history becomes Britain's first individual male Olympic modern pentathlon champion
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Updated 07/08/2021 at 13:44 GMT
A day after Kate French won gold, Choong matched his team-mate's achievement, and that of Sydney 2000 winner Steph Cook, by becoming an Olympic modern pentathlon champion. Choong led from the first round and never relinquished his advantage. You want it? We have it. Stream every Olympic event live on discovery+.
'He starts to smile!' - GB's Choong 'makes history' with stunning pentathlon gold
Joe Choong became the first British man to become an individual Olympic modern pentathlon champion by leading from start to finish at Tokyo 2020.
The 26-year-old emulated the achievement of his team-mate Kate French and Sydney 2000 gold medallist Steph Cook to win gold.
After solid performances in both fencing rounds, swimming and horse riding, Choong went into the laser run - a combination of running and shooting - with a 12 second advantage. He led through the first three laps, but was overtaken by Ahmed Elgendy after the final visit at the range.
Choong kicked up the final ramp, sprinted round the bend and crossed the line first in an incredible finish to win gold, roaring as he took the tape.
James Cooke finished ninth.
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'Incredible performance' - Britain's French storms to pentathlon glory
"I'm in shock. I was thinking down the last straight that he [Elgendy] wasn't going to catch me and I was there swearing in my head," said Choong.
"There were a couple of heavy jumps on the ride but, compared to a lot of the boys out there, I could be pleased with that.
I've been thinking of the moment ever since I can remember. I was five when watching Sydney, then Kelly Holmes in Athens. I've always said I've wanted to be the best in the world at something. This is a dream come true.
"Kate and I always seem to match each other's results so I was feeling the pressure to keep up with her."
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'The performance of his life!' - GB's Choong receives pentathlon gold medal
Choong had begun the competition on Thursday by finishing first in the fencing ranking round, putting him on 250 points, level with Russian Alexander Lifanov but having earned an extra victory within his tied group.
He started the final, main day of competition with a solid third place in his 200m freestyle heat, behind Cooke, in a time of 1:54.87.
From that, it was on to the fencing bonus round, where points are combined with the ranking event. Choong finished top of the leaderboard on 573 points, 19 points ahead of his nearest rival Jinhwa Jung of South Korea. James Cooke found himself 10th, still in the mix for the medals.
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'Her face says it all' - 'Devastation' for pentathlon leader as horse refuses to jump
But as we saw in the women's event, everything can change in the show jumping, where all competitors are assigned a random horse. It is up to athletes to strike an instant bond, and Choong was given a boost when he drew Clntino, the same horse which helped French to victory.
He got round collecting 14 penalty points to keep his place at the top of the standings, with a 12 second lead going into the run-shoot. Cooke's seven penalty points moved up to ninth overall, leaving him 15 seconds off the podium.
The course consists of four laps of 800m, combined with stopping on each round to try and hit five targets with a laser pistol. Choong went out quickly and looked to be controlling the race, but faced a battle in the final lap, when Elgendy overtook him.
But Choong responded and stuck on the shoulder of the Egyptian and turned on the afterburners in the final 300m to take victory.
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