Bath students past and present combine to win World Championships gold as Pentathlon GB athletes excel in Guiyang
University of Bath student Seb Forrest and graduate Ross Charlton are Pentathlon World Champions after winning men’s relay gold in superb style at the 2026 event in Guiyang, China.
Paris 2024 Olympian Kerenza Bryson also bagged a bronze brace after placing third in both the women’s individual rankings and the women’s team event with Emma Whitaker and Poppy Clark.
All five athletes are part of the Pentathlon GB squad based at the Team Bath Sports Training Village, a UK Sport-accredited Elite Training Centre.
The men’s relay saw Mathematics student Forrest and Sports Performance graduate Charlton lead the way in the obstacle course race which, along with solid performances in the fencing and swimming, gave the Brits a one-second lead going into the laser run.
They then excelled in the decisive discipline, going below 10 seconds in four of their six shoots, to eventually finish 19 seconds clear of the runners-up from Russia.
The women’s final saw Bryson – who has returned to full-time training this year – produce a trademark strong fencing performance to record 25 victories from 35 bouts. She dropped from second to eighth after the obstacle course and swimming but made up the ground with a strong laser run, eventually finishing on the podium some five seconds clear of the chasing pack.
Whitaker was ninth and Biochemistry student Clark – supported by a Team Bath Breakthrough Scholarship – was 16th, meaning that the British women were third overall in the team rankings.
Charlie Follett and Chloe Johnson narrowly missed out on a medal in the women’s relay, placing fourth.
The Team Bath Sports Training Village has been home to Pentathlon GB’s National Training Centre since 1998, with athletes able to prepare for all five disciplines on one site. Visit teambath.com/pentathlon to find out more.
