PARIS — South Korea's Seong Seung-min and her teammate Kim Sun-woo have advanced to the women's modern pentathlon final at the Paris Olympics, following their strong performances in Saturday's semifinals.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the reigning world champion, secured her place in the final after finishing fourth in Group A of the semifinals with a total of 1,400 points, well within the top nine qualifiers. Her teammate, Kim Sun-woo, also progressed, placing fifth in Group B with 1,396 points. The finals, to be held on Sunday, will reset all scores, with only the points from Thursday's fencing ranking round carrying over to determine the starting positions.
The competition took place at the historic Chateau de Versailles, west of Paris. Seong, aged 21 and a top medal contender following her recent world championship win, began the semifinals with a score of 293 in equestrian show jumping. She faced challenges in the fencing bonus round, losing her only bout and failing to add to her earlier fencing total of 225 points.
In the 200-meter freestyle swimming event, Seong excelled, posting the fourth-fastest time of 2:12.44, which earned her 286 points. Heading into the final event of the day, the laser run, she had accumulated 804 points. Despite some struggles in shooting, where crowd noise and proximity to a French competitor distracted her, Seong completed the laser run with a strong performance, securing 596 points after finishing in 11:44.13.
Reflecting on her performance, Seong acknowledged the challenges but remained optimistic about her chances in the final. "The crowd noise was something else. It hit me that this was the Olympics after all," she said, noting her determination to improve her shooting in the final. "I will make sure I won't make mistakes in the final," Seong added.
Meanwhile, Kim also showcased her skill in the show jumping event, scoring a perfect 300 points. She experienced a setback in fencing, losing to Laura Heredia of Spain, which left her with 220 points in that discipline. Kim finished the swimming event with 282 points and was in a strong position entering the laser run, where she ultimately secured her spot in the final with a ninth-place finish.
South Korea, which celebrated its first male medalist in modern pentathlon at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics with Jun Woong-tae's bronze, is now hopeful for a female medalist. Jun and his teammate Seo Chang-wan are also set to compete in the men's final later on Saturday.