Kate French said there’s plenty more to come as she added to her European silver with World Championships bronze and another superb modern pentathlon display.
The 28-year-old Olympian was in fine form once again in Budapest as she also led Great Britain to team silver alongside Joanna Muir (9th) and Francesca Summers (15th).
The double medal haul continued Pentathlon GB’s stunning 2019 season, with British athletes winning medals at all eight major championships across U17, U19, junior and senior level.
It was a first individual World Championships medal of her career for French as she underlined her status as one of the world’s leading modern pentathletes.
“I’m so happy with the bronze medal today,” she said. “I had a solid day across all disciplines and the sand wasn’t easy in the laser run but I gave it my all.
“I could have picked up a few more points here and there so it wasn’t a perfect day and I know there’s still more to come.
“It’s been a long season so on the last lap I was just concentrating on finishing the season on a high and pushing all the way to the line.”
The women’s final started in the fencing hall, Kent’s French immediately vaulting herself into contention with an excellent start to the ranking round, eventually finishing with 24 victories and 11 defeats from her 35 bouts.
It was Dumfries’ Muir who led the way in the pool, clocking a 2:12.62 for her 200m swim. Former North Kent duo French and Summers recorded times of 2:14.90 and 2:17.98 respectively.
The British trio all rolled two poles in the ride, but on a twisty, technical course, there were many athletes who ran into difficulties meaning all three moved up the overall standings.
After losing ground at the first shoot, French closed on the athletes ahead of her and moved into bronze medal position at the third visit to the range.
With Belarus’ Volha Silkina way out in front and a gap to those behind, French’s battle was for silver and bronze with Elena Micheli.
After trading places back and forth on the final lap it was the Italian who snatched silver in a sprint finish with, French claiming a fantastic bronze to add to her gold from World Cup 4 and European silver in 2019.
Behind her, Muir was making significant progress through the field with superb shooting and strong running seeing the Pentathlon GB athlete crossing the line 9th.
Summers battled and crossed the line 15th as all three British athletes recorded their best ever World Championships finishes.
Sportsbeat 2019