2016 Champion of Champions, German pentathlete Annika Schleu (centre), silver medallist Samantha Murray of Great Britain (left) and bronze medallist Sehee Kim of South Korea pose for a picture on the podium following the awards ceremony at Al Shaqab Aren
German pentathlete Annika Schleu yesterday overcame stiff resistance from British star Samantha Murray to win the women's Champion of Champions title at Al Shaqab Arena.
It was the second successive win in Doha for the 26-year-old athlete who started the running competition from 8th spot before beating Samantha Murray - who went in the wrong direction in the final competition - to the gold medal.
The experienced German maintained her form through the Combined Event to win individual gold.
Annika's overall tally was 1300 points while Samatha secured second place with a score of 1293 points.
Korea's Sehee Kim (1289 points) surprised fans with a third-placed finish. Natsumi Tomonaga (Japan, 1282) and Anastasiya Prokopenko (Belarus, 1273) completed the top five.
"I feel really good because I won here last year. Maybe this is a good venue for me," champion Annika said.
"I really enjoyed my competition today. I started in 8th place but I knew I had good combined results. I wasn't sure about my fitness but then I wasn't sure about other athletes as well," Annika said.
"But it feels good that I won. I am really surprised myself because I thought I should finish among the top 8 athletes. That was my goal. When I started in 8th spot, I ran but I never attacked for the podium. Then I was like "wow, I am almost there". My strength was the last competition - the combined segment. This was the best season of my life. I am in the 4th rank," Annika said.
Samantha rued the fact that she misread the direction during her first lap.
"I went the wrong way in the running course," Samantha said.
"The course marshal maybe didn't know that I was coming and I was coming out of the exit. It wasn't well sign-posted. I turned right and I saw that I was heading towards an ambulance parked over there. I was like "oh no". I sprinted back and I was 9 seconds late. I was confused and it threw me off a bit," she added.
"My shooting was okay and I finished on the podium. As you can see anything can happen in pentathlon," the Briton said with a smile.
"I am just happy to be on the podium in such a strong competition. Annika is a strong girl and I knew I wasn't going to be able to neat her," she said.
Action continues today with men's competitions at Al Shaqab Arena.
The men's field includes world No.2 and 2016 World Cup Final winner Great Britain's Jamie Cooke and Charles Fernandez, who recently became Junior World Champion.
Dr Klaus Schormann, President of UIPM, said: "This will be the final highlight of a very exciting and successful Olympic Modern Pentathlon season."
He added: "For UIPM, Doha is a special pillar of our movement and a destination that honours the Qatari tradition of organising Olympic sporting events and promoting them as a vehicle for integration, education and peace."
Mohammed Al Naimi, the Event Director, said: "It is a privilege to host this event in Qatar giving us the opportunity to encourage the community to be involved in different types of sports as well as supporting the Qatar National Vision 2030, specifically regarding health and sports.
