Modern Pentathlon World Cup Kicks Off Today at AUC

The Modern Pentathlon World Cup kicked off today at The American University in Cairo’s (AUC) New Cairo campus and will continue through March 27, 2022. Today, the University hosts a press conference on the Modern Pentathlon World Cup opening. Speakers include Ashraf Sobhi, minister of youth and sports; Klaus Schormann, president of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM); Ahmad Dallal, AUC president; Hesham Hatab, president of the Egyptian Olympic Committee; Mahmoud Hussein, head of youth and sports committee at the Egyptian Parliament and Sharif El Erian, president of Egyptian Modern Pentathlon Federation and senior director of athletes at AUC.

“AUC is honored for being chosen by the Egyptian Modern Pentathlon Federation and the International Modern Pentathlon Federation as Egypt’s best venue to host the UIPM World Cup 2022. We have committed ourselves, with all parties involved, to produce the best sporting conditions for this world cup,” said AUC President Ahmad Dallal.

Three hundred athletes from around 40 countries representing almost all continents are participating in the World Cup, including 24 athletes representing Egypt. AUC student and Olympic champion Haydy Morsy, the team captain of the women’s national team, is competing in this year’s World Cup. “As an Olympian, AUCian and an Egyptian female athlete, I feel so proud and grateful to compete not only in my country but also competing in my University for the first time,” said Morsy. “I want to highlight that I really appreciate all the University’s efforts in hosting this important event. I would also like to thank every single person who’s supporting and helping me during this week, where we have midterms and exams, and to be honest, they are extremely flexible and helpful.”

Hosting the Pentathlon World Cup for the first time, the University prepared its facilities to accommodate the World Cup, which comprises five different events: fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian show running, and a final combined event with pistol shooting and cross country running, known as the laser run.

According to Sharif El Erian, president of Egyptian Modern Pentathlon Federation and senior director of athletes at AUC, the University’s practice fields will host the equestrian show jumping and the laser run, while the ARTOC Sports Court will host the fencing event and the Paul B. Hannon Swimming Pool will hold the freestyle event. “Preparations also include setting up mobile horse stables in the University’s vast spaces for the equestrian show,” he added.

Islam Hamed, an athlete in the Egyptian national team who is participating in this year’s competitions, said: “The facilities are amazing at AUC. We hope to show the world that we have many other facilities besides the Cairo International Stadium and the different ones where we usually host the competitions. So hopefully, this World Cup will provide a new experience for everyone coming from all around the world,” he said.

Over 120 volunteers from AUC Students, undergraduates, and graduates from different majors volunteered to help out in the event. Their roles include dope management, access and crowd control, logistics, and marketing.