Olympic modern penthathon: Svoboda wins gold for Czechs

David Svoboda of the Czech Republic took gold on Saturday in the men's modern pentathlon at Olympics in London.

David Svoboda of the Czech Republic took gold on Saturday in the men's modern pentathlon at Olympics in London.

HT Image

Svoboda entered the final combined run and shoot with a one-second advantage over Cao Zhongrong of China and held it for gold to total 5,928 points over five events.

Cao, who took silver with 5,904 points, demonstrated better shooting but Svoboda's higher endurance saw him cross the line at Greenwich Park first.

Hungary's Adam Marosi won the bronze with a strong fence and ride pushing him to 5,826 points.

Svoboda had stormed into the lead in the first event of fencing by winning 26 of his 35 fencing bouts, equaling the Olympic record.

Russia's two-time Olympic champion Andrei Moiseev finished seventh.