Irish pentathlon will be represented by a record contingent at the ECMP European Modern Pentathlon Championships when five athletes make the trip to Hungary for this week’s event (17-23 July).
Two-time Olympians Natalya Coyle and Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe will spearhead the Irish challenge, aiming to build on their incredible Pentathlon World Cup performances earlier this season, and they will be joined by Eilidh Prise, Kate Coleman and Sive Brassil.
Lanigan-O’Keeffe (26) enjoyed his breakthrough success at the European Championships when he won men’s individual gold in Bath in 2015. So far 2018 has been another year of great progress and he won bronze in the prestigious World Cup Final last month in Astana, Kazakhstan after winning a spectacular gold in the final event of the regular season in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Coyle (27) finished just shy of the podium in fourth place in the women’s individual event in Astana, having secured a silver medal on her previous outing in Sofia.
Prise (22) made a big impact at last weekend’s World University Championships in Budapest, Hungary where she was sixth in the individual and fourth in the mixed relay alongside Michael Healy.
In May, Coleman (28) teamed up with Healy to win an excellent silver in the mixed relay at the World Cup event in Kecskemet, Hungary, while Brassil (24) finished 14th in the first two events of the season in Cairo and Los Angeles.
“Pentathlon Ireland is delighted with the recent run of great results by our pentathletes,” said Pentathlon Ireland chief executive Paddy Boyd. “We wish each and every one of them the best of luck as they head into the European Championships.”
