Joe Choong completed a magical 2019 with World Championship silver, and now has one target in mind as he heads for a winter break – the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The 24-year-old has not finished outside the top five in any event this year and secured a modern pentathlon quota place for Team GB by winning the World Cup Final in June.
And in Budapest he added another medal to his growing collection with a superb display, finishing just behind France’s Valentin Belaud and ahead of South Korea’s Woongtae Jun. It was one of two medals for Choong, with he and teammates Jamie Cooke and Tom Toolis securing team bronze.
“I’ve had an absolutely amazing season. I wouldn’t have believed anyone, least of all me, would have had a season like this so getting a world silver is a great way to finish it off,” he said.
“I had a few problems at the Europeans, not feeling right, but in the last couple of weeks I’ve recharged and refocussed and felt really fit heading into this week so it’s great to see that pay off.
“I wanted to make sure I ended my season on a high and after starting off really well in the pool, it all came to fruition today with the silver.”
Belaud was the class of the field and finished comfortably clear of the pack, while behind there was an almighty scrap.
Choong looked set for silver until a poor shooting display saw him drop to fourth. But he battled back to reclaim second and win Great Britain’s fourth World Championship medal in the last two years.
Defending champion Jamie Cooke finishing strongly to take tenth.
Sportsbeat 2019