Egyptian duo secure Rio 2016 places by taking gold at African Championships

Egyptian pair both sealed places at Rio 2016 by winning gold at the African Championships ©UIPM/Facebook

Egyptian pair Eslam Hamad and Haydy Morsy became the latest athletes to secure a spot at next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro as they both won gold at the Modern Pentathlon African Championships on home soil in Cairo.

In the men’s competition at the event, which doubled as an Olympic qualifier, Hamad topped the standings with a total of 1,434 points to edge teammate Amro El Geziry, with Omar El Geziry sealing a clean sweep for the home country by finishing third.

The women’s event also saw Egypt monopolise the podium as Morsy’s total of 1,194 was enough to beat compatriot Aya Medany by 20 points.

Reem Yakout came through to take bronze with 1154 to complete another dominant performance from the home nation.

The results gave both Hamad and Morsy an all-important Rio 2016 berth and added to the 16 Olympic qualification places that were handed out at the Modern Pentathlon European Championships at the University of Bath in England.

Eight men and eight women were able to claim a spot at next year’s event in the Brazilian city, including 2013 mixed relay world champion Élodie Clouvel of France and Germany’s Lena Schoneborn, gold medallist at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, and Janine Kohlmann.

Beijing 2008 Olympic gold medallist Lena Schoneborn of Germany also booked her place at Rio 2016 at the recent Modern Pentathlon European Championships in England ©Getty Images

Britain’s Kate French clinched a Rio 2016 place with an eighth-place finish at the European Championships and she was joined by Russia’s Gulnaz Gubaydullina, Oktawia Nowacka of Poland, Ukrainian Anastasiya Spas and Alice Sotero of Italy in booking an Olympic spot.

Ireland's Arthur Lanigan-O'Keeffe sealed his Olympic place by virtue of winning the men’s individual event in Bath, while reigning Olympic champion David Svoboda of the Czech Republic will have the chance to defend his title when the Games come to Rio de Janeiro next year.

The other men’s qualification berths went to Frenchman Valentin Prades, Britain’s Joseph Choong, Jan Kuf of the Czech Republic, Hungarian Robert Kasza, Egor Puchkarevskiy of Russia and Valentin Belaud of France, who was part of the French team which won relay gold at the 2014 World Championships in Warsaw, Poland.