Egypt’s Ahmed Elgendy entered the Games as a heavy favorite, and he was nearly perfect from start-to-finish. He won gold in the men’s event while setting a world record with 1555 points. 

On the women’s side an exciting laser run saw the lead change from France’s Elodie Clouvel to Hungary’s Michelle Gulyas, who took home the gold. 

A new compressed 90-minute format made the event feel fast and action-packed. The Palace of Versailles also provided the perfect backdrop for the semifinal and final events. 

The event bids farewell to the equestrian discipline. In 2028, an obstacle course will replace show jumping, a way for the sport to evolve in the 21st century. 

Here’s a look back at all the action, from highlights to medal results and everything in between.

REPLAYS: MODERN PENTATHLON
RESULTS: MODERN PENTATHLON

Men’s modern pentathlon medalists:
🥇: Ahmed Elgendy (EGY)
🥈: Sato Taishu (JPN)
🥉: Giorgio Malan (ITA)

Women’s modern pentathlon medalists:
🥇: Michelle Gulyas (HUN)
🥈: Elodie Clouvel (FRA)
🥉: Seong Seungmin (KOR)

Elgendy entered the Games as a question mark after dislocating his shoulder in June. On Day 1 of the competition, he finished tied for the top spot with Ukraine’s Oleksandr Tovkai with 245 points. 

Elgendy never looked back as he led the entirety of the men’s semifinal, he finished Day 2 with an Olympic record of 1,516 points. 

In the final, Elgendy entered the laser run with a 17-second advantage. Japan’s Sato Taishu was consistent all day to finish a comfortable second for the silver medal. The bronze medal came down to the laser run between South Korea’s Jun Woong-Tae and Italy’s Giorgio Malan. Malan’s shooting and fast run lifted him to bronze. 

Defending champion Joe Choong of Great Britain had a disastrous fencing round and spent the rest of the tournament playing catch up. He’d finish ninth overall after a difficult time in Paris.

Through three days of competition, it looked like Clouvel had no kryptonite and was the favorite to win the women’s modern pentathlon. Turns out, she did have one weakness – the laser shooting in the run. Gulyas took advantage to come from behind and win the event, her 1,461 points was a world record in the evolving event.

Clouvel was still happy to win silver in front of a favorable home crowd at the beautiful Place of Versailles. Her second silver medal in the event (Rio 2016).

A bright future is ahead for South Korea’s Seong Seungmin, who became the youngest woman Olympic medalist when she finished third for bronze. The pentathlete was already talking about LA 2028.