Russian bags modern pentathlon title

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Sydney: Russian Dmitry Svatkovsky landed the Olympic modern pentathlon on Saturday with a perfectly timed run in the stamina-sapping 3,000 metres that wrapped up a gruelling day's competition.

He outran Hungary's Gabor Balogh and Pavel Dovgal of Belarus to land the gold medal after 10 hours of battling them in five disciplines -- shooting, fencing, swimming, equestrian and running.

Svatkovsky, who staggered across the line and sank to his knees in joyous disbelief, said, "This is the greatest day of my life."

Still gasping for breath after a day that tested his endurance to the full, Svatkovsky told Reuters, "It was like a miracle, all my dreams came true."

But he confessed, "I was a little bit nervous before running as I know the American guy Velizar Iliev ran very fast in the last world championships."

"I have had two injuries in the past year -- heel, back, knee, everything. I am not so young. I am old now," said the 28-year-old who is currently ranked 45th in the world.

The day started disastrously for Svatkovsky in the shooting. "For me it was terrible. In fencing I also made a terrible start."

Then he gradually pulled himself up the field, bettering his personal best by two seconds in the 200 metre swim.

"Before the riding I thought Chad Senior of the United States must win and I would try to get silver or bronze. After the riding, everything changed in a minute," he said of his superbly balanced showjumping round.

In the 24-man field, the day-long competition was engineered for a cliffhanger finish in the running. The leader on points started first and the others followed at intervals determined by the number of points they lagged behind him.

Svatkovsky had 19 seconds to make up on joint leaders Olivier Clergeau of France and the American Iliev. On the track that twisted and turned round the baseball stadium, he ran a canny, tactical race and gradually wore the leaders down.

The sport, one of the highlights of the ancient Olympics for 900 years, had a great supporter in Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founding father of the modern Games.

But current Olympic chief Juan Antonio Samaranch was no great fan and had threatened to pull it from the Games' already crowded calendar because of limited spectator appeal.

However, he was on hand to cheer Svatkovsky home in an apparent sign of support for the beleaguered sport. He was joined by 14,000 wildly cheering supporters who certainly enjoyed the grandstand finish around the stadium.



(c) Reuters Limited.