Jun Woong-tae on June 25 celebrates after reaching the finish line first in the men's finals of the World Cup of the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) in Ankara, Turkey. (UIPM's Flickr account)

By Jung Joo-ri and Lee Jihae

Jun Woong-tae (Gwangju City Hall) has won the men's season title in this year's World Cup of the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM).

Jun on June 25 in Ankara, Turkey, won the gold medal with a combined score of 1,508 in fencing, swimming, horseback riding and laser runs (a combination of shooting and athletics) at the UIPM World Cup final.

Seo Chang-wan (Jeollanam-do Office) won the silver with 1,498 points.

Against 16 competitors in the final, Jun scored 245 points in his main event fencing (23 wins, second place), 305 in swimming (2:02.72, first), 300 in horseback riding (second) and 658 in the laser run (third) to finish first overall. 

This was Jun's fourth individual UIPM title. His first came in May 2018 in Kecskemet, Hungary, second in April last year in Sofia, Bulgaria, and third in May this year in Albena, Bulgaria.

His latest win allowed Jun to reclaim the world's top ranking, which he had lost to Joseph Choong of the U.K., the gold medalist in the 2020 Tokyo summer Olympics.

Last year, Jun became the first Korean to win the men's individual bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.

"I've always done my best to come on top of the World Cup," he said. "I'm glad that Seo Chang-wan and I achieved this positive result thanks to the coaching staff and teammates."

"Korean pentathlon continues to grow," he added. "I'm grateful to everyone who gave their support and encouragement."

etoilejr@korea.kr