The 2025 European U15 & U19 Modern Pentathlon Championships began with high energy and fierce competition on Sunday, July 27 in Kaunas, Lithuania, as the first qualifying rounds unfolded under sunny skies and intense focus.
In the U15 Women’s Qualification, athletes competed in four disciplines: Obstacle Discipline, Swimming, and Laser Run, spread across two qualification groups. The top 18 from each group secured a spot in the final.
Group A was led by Greta Kertai (HUN) with 1133 points, followed closely by Aylin Yilmaz (TUR) and Mira Gyarmati (HUN). Lithuania’s own Saule Skurvydaite and Zivile Malinauskaite also impressed, finishing 8th and 10th respectively to reach the final in front of their home crowd.
In Group B, Nora Kosa (HUN) topped the standings with 1158 points, displaying the day’s best obstacle performance. Italy’s Giorgia Gennaro and Great Britain’s Kiki Fletcher followed with strong, balanced efforts. A total of six different nations were represented among the top 10 finishers in both groups, underlining the growing depth of youth talent across Europe.
Meanwhile, the U19 Men completed a demanding five-discipline day, which included the Fencing Ranking Round, Obstacle Discipline, Swimming, and Laser Run. In Group A, Oleg Rybak (UKR) led the pack with 1553 points, while Marcell Hugo Gyurka (HUN) and Maksym Kovalchuk (UKR) secured top-three finishes. In Group B, Oleksandr Chernyshev (UKR) took first with 1546 points, narrowly ahead of Oleksandr Klymenko (UKR) and Liutauras Valeika (LTU), the latter thrilling local supporters with a strong third-place finish.
Only the top 18 athletes in each U19 men’s group qualified for Tuesday’s final, setting the stage for what promises to be a highly competitive championship race.