Modern pentathlon mixed relay: Bronze medallist's golden moment melts hearts

WUHAN (CHN) - Egypt won the gold but it was bronze medallist WANG Wei (CHN) who stole fans' hearts at the modern pentathlon mixed relay at Wuhan Business University on Saturday.

Shortly after the medal ceremony, WANG’s boyfriend - and fellow modern pentathlete for China - WU Hepeng proposed to her on the stage in front of a cheering throng of fans, volunteers, officials and competitors. She said yes and the cheering went to another level.

In the competition itself, 13 pairs [one man and one woman in each] battled it out across fencing, swimming, riding and the laser-run finale and it was Egypt's Eslam HAMAD and 19-year-old Salma ABDELMAKSOUD who proved the most consistent to capture the gold with 1,464 points ahead of silver medallists Hungary (Blanka GUZI/Adam MAROSI, 1,455 points), with China’s WANG/ZHANG Linbin taking bronze on 1,438 points.

“It is my first time in the Military World Games and I’m very happy that I accomplished this at a very young age. I competed with Eslam at the world championships and we also got gold. We are the winning team,” ABDELMAKSOUD said.

WANG/ZHANG were sixth after the first two disciplines (fencing and swimming), and fourth after the equestrian. Spurred on by a raucous local crowd, the pair clawed their way onto the podium with a fourth place in the laser-run.

Little did fans know the best was yet to come, as the loudspeakers burst into life with a hit song popular at many weddings, Love is Simple by David Zee TAO, which set the scene for WU’s grand romantic gesture.

(Source: Xinhua Info)