Olympic Qualification at Modern Pentathlon Test Event

The first day of the London 2012 Modern Pentathlon test event, the UIPM World Cup Final supported by UK Sport, offered up great competitive action, across two venues, for both athletes and crowds to enjoy.

Robert Kasza (HUN) came out on top of the high quality men's field, made up of 36 athletes, after the four event contest qualifying for the Olympic Games next year in the process.

The day, which began at Crystal Palace (a non 2012 venue), included a round-robin fencing schedule, w hich was won by Pavlo Kirpulyanskyy (UKR), and 200m freestyle swim which saw British athlete Jamie Cooke improve his own long course swimming World Record, shaving a remarkable 1.11 seconds off his previous best.

The competition then moved to Greenwich Park where a 12 jump Show Jumping competition took place with Jinhwa Jung (KOR) leaping to the top of the leader board after a near perfect round, in front of over one thousand people watching from the grandstand.

Robert Kasza (HUN), who started the combined run/ shoot in second place, won the title after an impressive athletic display. Athletes contested a 30m run which led onto a shooting range where they then used new laser gun technology to hit a target three times, followed by a 1km run. The run/ shoot element process was then repeated twice more and resulted in a second place finish for Aleksander Lesun (RUS) while British athlete Nick Woodbridge took third place.

The main changes to Greenwich Park as it transitions into the Modern Pentathlon test event are within the arena where a shooting range was constructed for the run/ shoot element of the competition.

Following the Equestrian test event earlier in the week The London 2012 Organising Committee has been able to return large sections of Greenwich Park to community use three days ahead of schedule. The Boating Pond is also now back in use, one week earlier than planned.

Graham Dear, Park Manager of Greenwich Park for The Royal Parks said: "The Royal Parks is working closely with LOCOG and we're really pleased with the progress that is being made to reopen the park. We're already ahead of schedule and the majority of the park is now accessible."

Tomorrow the women's event begins at 7.55am with Fencing and Swimming at Crystal Palace before moving on to Greenwich Park for Riding and the Run/Shoot from 13:50.

Spectators planning to visit Greenwich Park for the second day of competition, on Sunday 10 July, should note all DLR services will be closed from start of service until midday.

As part of the London Prepares series, the event will allow the London 2012 Organising Committee to test key aspects of its operations in preparation for next year's Games - including the field of play (for the main arena), timing and scoring technology, venue installation and workforce.

For more information, visit: www.london2012.com

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