The fencing ranking round of the Modern Pentathlon might normally be a contender for lowest profile event of the Olympics but a sizeable Paris crowd produced plenty of noise. French medal contender Elodie Clouvel had them stomping and cheering as she led the women’s competition at the North Paris Arena, a cavernous exhibition centre out on the fringes near Charles de Gaulle airport. She registered 27 wins and eight defeats from her one-to-one bouts to end up with 260 points. Hungarian Michelle Gulyas was second, on 245, with Britain’s defending champion Kate French third on 240.