British trio to make World Cup Final debuts in Moscow
Three young British athletes will make their modern pentathlon World Cup Final debuts later this month (19-20 June).
Freyja Prentice, Samantha Murray and Katy Burke feature in a five-strong British team for the competition in Moscow. They will be joined by Sam Weale and Nick Woodbridge, who contest the men’s event.
Prentice, Murray and Burke had to hold off a strong challenge from some of Britain”s more experienced pentathletes, including Beijing 2008 Olympians Heather Fell and Katy Livingston, to secure places to compete in Moscow.
To qualify for the World Cup Final athletes must finish in the top-36 in the five-event World Cup Series, but some extra places are then available because only the top three athletes from each nation can compete.
Such is the depth of the women’s sport in Great Britain that seven British pentathletes featured in the top-36 in the 2010 World Cup Series.
Freyja Prentice, who has just turned 20, was the highest ranked Brit in sixth. Originally from Inverurie near Aberdeen, she now lives in Bath, where she is studying Biology at the University of Bath and trains at the Pentathlon GB high performance centre
She is joined in Moscow by Samantha Murray, who is also 20 and ranked ninth in the 2010 World Cup Series. From Clitheroe in Lancashire, she is studying French and Politics at the University of Bath.
Katy Burke, who has just turned 21 and was ranked at 13 in the 2010 World Cup Series, is originally from Cleveleys in Lancashire and has just completed a Sports Performance degree at the University of Bath. Like Prentice and Murray, she trains at the Pentathlon GB high performance centre.
But Heather Fell (ranked 17th), Mhairi Spence (18th), Katy Livingston (25th) and Louise Helyer (32nd) miss out.
Sam Weale qualified for the World Cup Final in 20th place in the men’s rankings, with Nick Woodbridge ended the series in 40th, but because some nations ahead of him had qualified more than the maximum three athletes, he gets the opportunity to compete.
Jan Bartu, Pentathlon GB Performance Director, said: “The boys have both done a World Cup Final before, so they know what to expect. We are looking for improved performances from both of them.
“It’s going to be an intensive and challenging experience for the girls,” he added.
“It’s particularly important for the whole team to have opportunities to do the combined event under pressure at this level,” he added.
The women’s event takes place on Saturday 19 June with the men going on Sunday 20 June.
For further information, please contact Steve Ballinger in the Pentathlon GB press office at Matchtight Ltd on 07765 071683 or visit the Pentathlon GB website
