Modern Pentathlon Jeon Woongtae Starts Better Than Tokyo... 4th Place on Day One [Paris Olympics]

22 Wins 13 Losses with 235 Points
Seochangwan Ranks 10th with 20 Wins 15 Losses

Modern pentathlete Jeon Woong-tae (Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall) got off to a smooth start, signaling a green light for his challenge to win an Olympic medal for the second consecutive time. On the 8th, at the North Paris Arena in Paris, France, he competed in thirty-five matches in the men's fencing ranking round of the 2024 Paris Olympics modern pentathlon, recording 22 wins and 13 losses. He scored 235 points, ranking 4th out of thirty-six competitors.

This is a better start than at the 2020 Tokyo Games, where he won the bronze medal. At that time, he achieved 21 wins and ranked 9th.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The modern pentathlon is an event where one athlete must compete in fencing, swimming, equestrian, athletics, and shooting. On the first day, a fencing pool league is held. Thirty-six athletes face each other once in one-minute ?p?e bouts for one point each. Twenty-five wins correspond to 250 points; winning more than that adds 5 points per additional win, while losing deducts 5 points per loss. If no successful attack is made within one minute, all are recorded as losses.

Fencing also takes place in the semifinals and finals. However, starting from the bottom two in the ranking round, matches are held in a 'survival' format. The winner advances, but only 1 point is awarded for a bonus round victory, so the ranking round has a much greater impact on the overall score.

Jeon Woong-tae started his climb into the top ranks by winning four consecutive matches from the fourteenth bout. From the twenty-ninth match, he went on a five-match winning streak, raising his ranking. Seo Chang-wan (Armed Forces Sports Corps), who also participated, recorded 20 wins and 15 losses in his first-ever Olympic competition, placing 10th.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Tokyo Games silver medalist Ahmed Elgendy (Egypt) and Oleksandr Tobkai (Ukraine) each recorded 24 wins (245 points), forming the leading group. Pavels Svecovs (Latvia) followed with 23 wins (240 points). On the other hand, Tokyo Games gold medalist Joseph Choong (United Kingdom) managed only 14 wins, placing 29th (195 points).

Jeon Woong-tae and Seo Chang-wan will enter full competition in the semifinals held at the Palace of Versailles on the 9th.