Murray and Evans take European mixed relay silver

Olympic silver medallist Samantha Murray teamed up with Joe Evans to take Britain’s first medal of the 2014 Modern Pentathlon European Championships as they finished second in the mixed relay in Hungary.

Murray, who won individual women’s silver at London 2012, and Evans were leading the field after the fencing, swim and riding events.

The latter saw them put in a near faultless display, dropping just one point from the maximum 300 to give them a 22-second lead heading into the run/shoot finale.

But despite putting in a spirited display, they were overhauled in the closing stages in Székesfehérvár by reigning Olympic champion and world number one Laura Asadauskaite and reigning world champion Justinas Kinderis of Lithuania.

Missing out on top spot by three seconds, the pair had to settle for silver with Poland and Ukraine sharing bronze.

Evans, who competed in the mixed relay the day after contesting the men’s individual final said:  “It was a brilliant day and it was nice for us both to finish on a high note here.

“I’m pretty shattered now. It was tough to do two days in a row, but we’ve been training well and I was prepared for it.

“We had a good fence, we won the swim and we both pulled together on the ride. We couldn’t quite hold it on the combined event, but we’re both really pleased with the medal.”

Tuesday sees the final day of action with Sam Curry and Tom Toolis contesting the men’s relay and Alice Fitton and Jo Muir in the women’s competition.

© Sportsbeat 2014