Dogue becomes UIPM Champion of Champions

At the Rio Olympics earlier this year, Patrick Dogue was in sight of a podium finish in the Modern Pentathlon. Placed 4th, with his strongest event Combined (shooting and running) only to go, the German was confident of winning any of the three medals. But Dogue failed to do well in shooting and had to settle for sixth place, just five points behind the bronze medallist. Yesterday, at the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) Champion of Champions in Doha, Dogue was in a similar position but this time he didn’t put a foot wrong.
At the Al Shaqab arena, the 24-year-old
Dogue started the combined event in sixth place. By the end of it though, he was crowned Champion of Champions after finishing first in the last event. Dogue’s 613 points in shooting and running propelled him to first place, with a total tally of 1438.
World champion Valentin Belaud of France was second with 1430 points, ahead of Robert Kasza of Hungary, who took bronze with 1427 points. Dogue was delighted to end the season on a high, and make it a German double in Doha, after his compatriot Annika Schleu had won the women’s title on Saturday.
“I am feeling very good. I was in the same position at the Olympics but did very badly in shooting and finished sixth. But here I was very good in shooting, so I won the gold,” Dogue said.
“Normally I am good in combined (shoot and run) but I had a bad day in Rio so fell out of the podium contention. I was sad later but sixth place is still not bad. Before going to Olympics if someone had told me I would come sixth, I would’ve taken it,” he added.
Yesterday, Belaud was breathing down Dogue’s neck but the German managed to stay clear and finished the race by a comfortable margin. “I won comfortably but Belaud is very fast. I know him since we were 15 and he is a very fast runner. We have competed hard against each other for years so I was wary of him at the beginning of the race. I knew he was behind me and was not far away from me but I managed to hold on,” Dogue said.
For Belaud, it was not a bad way to end the season. The Frenchman tasted the highs and lows of sport in 2016. After winning the UIPM World Championships in Moscow, Russia in May, Belaud was considered one of the favourites for Olympic gold. But it turned out to be a disaster for the 24-year-old in Rio, where he finished 20th.
After picking up silver yesterday, Belaud chose to look at the positives. “I finished 20th at the Olympics. But before that, I won the 2016 UIPM World Championships in May. I am just 24, so I have a long way to go. This season I finished on the podium four times so I am very very happy,” the Frenchman explained.
On his performance yesterday he said: “It was a good day for me. It was my last competition in the Olympic year, so I am pleased to finish on a good note. I was leading in the competition but I am happy with silver medal. This my second time in Doha, I was here two years ago and finished 7th. So this time to get a silver medal is a good achievement.”
The season-ending UIPM event, which saw all disciplines contested in a single day, only offered invitations to the top 18 men and women in the world rankings, so an impressive field was guaranteed. The athletes began the day with a 200 metres freestyle swimming competition. A round robin of epee fencing then took place before the fencing bonus round, with show jumping following on a course with 12 obstacles. Champion was crowned after a combined 3,200m run and shooting using a laser pistol, which tested the endurance of the athletes.