On the final day of the European Modern Pentathlon Championships in Budapest, the mixed relay team of Rita Erdős and Mihály Koleszár clinched a gold medal with a remarkable performance, starting from the last place in the event.
On Sunday morning, nine duos began competing at the BOK Hall. In the fencing round, the Hungarian team finished seventh with 14 victories and 18 defeats—Erdős achieved 5/11, while Koleszár finished 9/7—accruing a thirty-point deficit behind the leading Ukrainian and Czech teams.
The riding segment took place in the early afternoon at the Puskás Arena statue park. The Polish team, initially in ninth place after fencing, withdrew due to Natalia Dominiak’s knee pain, resulting in the Hungarian team being the first to start the riding event. Rita Erdős’s horse balked at the fourth obstacle, but succeeded on the second attempt, followed by Koleszár knocking down the seventh obstacle and incurring a 14-second time penalty, scoring 269 out of a possible 300 points. Earlier, Erdős fell from her horse during the warm-up, sustaining an injury but managing to continue competing.
On the fencing piste beside the equestrian field, the Hungarian pair defeated the Finnish and Swiss teams, then lost to the Lithuanian team, earning an additional four points in the bonus fencing round.
The Hungarian team completed the 2×100 metre swim in the fastest time, 1:58.56 minutes, at the swimming pool next to the Gerevich Aladár National Sports Hall, yet still began the combined event in eighth place. Each relay member had to run 3×600 metres with two shooting segments. They were 33 seconds behind the bronze medal position and 36 seconds behind the leading Italians. Erdős advanced to the 3rd-6th positions, then to 2nd-5th, and was third at the exchange, trailing the Swiss and Italian teams. Koleszár quickly closed the gap, running alongside his Italian and Lithuanian rivals. Emerging first from the final shooting segment, he urged the packed stands to cheer even louder and finished with a significant lead ahead of the Italians and Lithuanians. The Hungarian team won the combined event in 11:56.66 minutes, surpassing the second-best Ukrainians by 36 seconds.
In their post-race statements, both athletes praised the audience,
expressing gratitude for their support.
‘We went through hell and now we’ve reached the peak,’ said Rita Erdős, adding that it was a great way to conclude the season. She believed the turning point in their competition was the bonus fencing. ‘Misi kept my spirits up throughout. I admit, I considered withdrawing, but thanks to the federation’s staff, they did everything to ensure I could continue,’ she said, referring to her injury.
Koleszár reflected on the experience, saying he probably would not often have such a spectacular opportunity to seek the crowd’s support, calling it a ‘fantastic feeling.’
‘It was a tough day, but we tried to keep smiling. We started from eighth place, but it seems the divine will wanted us to win today. We just did our job. For me, this European Championship was a breakthrough into the senior category, with bronze, silver, and now gold—three medals, a great start,’ Koleszár concluded. ‘I told Rita after fencing: thirty seconds to gold? That’s nothing! It was indeed challenging, but we did it, despite Rita’s injury,’ he added.
The mixed relay secured Hungary’s fifth medal at the European Championships.
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