Jubilant Jess Varley storms through field again to win superb silver at UIPM 2022 Pentathlon World Cup Final in Turkey

25 June 2022

University of Bath alumna Jess Varley produced another outstanding laser-run performance to secure a superb silver for Pentathlon GB at the UIPM 2022 Pentathlon World Cup Final in Ankara, Turkey.

Olympic Champion Joe Choong finished just outside the medals in the men’s final and there was another impressive top-10 finish for University of Bath sporting scholar Olivia Green in the women’s race.

Varley, who studied Natural Sciences and trains with Pentathlon GB at the Team Bath Sports Training Village, had stormed through the field to take a gold medal on her last visit to Ankara for World Cup IV earlier in the month and went mighty close to repeating that feat in the women’s final on Saturday, surging from 38 seconds behind leader Elodie Clouvel going into the laser-run to draw level with the French athlete on the last lap.

Clouvel, silver-medallist at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, had enough left in the tank to produce a big sprint finish and take the title but Varley was thrilled to add another medal to her collection in eye-catching fashion.

“If you had told me at the beginning of the season that I would finish the World Cups with a gold and then a silver in the Final I wouldn’t have believed you,” she said.

“I’m absolutely delighted to come back and put in another really good performance – exhausted but delighted! I’ve worked really hard on my running, it’s one of the disciplines I really enjoy, and this season my shooting has improved too so that’s what has really helped me make the next step up.

“I didn’t quite have it in the sprint finish to catch Elodie but I’m really happy and excited for the World Championships now.”

Green, who studies Sport and Exercise Science and is supported by an Alumni Fund scholarship, matched her overall World Cup ranking as she crossed the line in ninth place at the end of an impressive World Cup season.

The men’s final saw Mathematics graduate Choong, World Cup Final champion in 2019, perform consistently across all disciplines but have to settle for fourth place on this occasion.

Click here to find out more about combining study and modern pentathlon at the University of Bath.

Picture credit: UIPM / Augustas Didžgalvis

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