Rio looms large for Pentathlon GB hopefuls

He had dropped back to 11 going into the fourth and final shoot but produced a well-timed charge and, roared on by a packed home crowd, snatched seventh place in the home straight.

“It’s the best feeling ever,” Choong said. “Qualification has been my aim for four years now and to have finally done it is just amazing.

“There was definitely a home advantage. I could hear the crowd screaming as I came around the last lap and I thought ‘There’s no way these guys are going past me now’.”

Jan Bartu, Performance Director with Pentathlon GB, was equally delighted with Choong’s performance which makes him the first British male to set the Rio 2016 standard. There are two more chances at next year’s World Cup final and World Championships.

“It’s more than we expected from Joe,” said Bartu. “He had a fantastic day, well balanced, and he showed maturity because in this combined event top athletes are running better than him but he managed tactically to outsmart many of them.

“There is still a long way to go to the Games but I think he’s got maximum potential. Stay healthy and focused and hopefully it is going to work for him.”

Gold went to Ireland’s Arthur Lanigan-O’Keefe, whose outstanding performance across all five disciplines was like a dream – quite literally.

“Running down the home straight with the crowd cheering me on, I have envisioned that all year, right down to the commentary as I crossed the line,” he said.

“I feel like a massive amount of pressure has been lifted off my shoulders and I’m just going to try to replicate that form for Rio.”

Next it is the turn of the women to go for glory, with eight more Rio qualification places to be won.

The last time Samantha Murray competed in a major final on British soil, the home fans roared her on to an emotional silver medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

She will be looking to go one better today but faces a formidable field which includes Germany’s Lena Schoneborn and Lithuania’s Laura Asadauskaite, respectively the reigning world and Olympic champions.

They finished ahead of Murray in Friday’s qualifying round but the 25-year-old, who won the world title in 2014, is not overly concerned.

“Semi-finals are strange events, sometimes you struggle to tap into what you are trying to do,” Murray said.

“But it is good to have that experience and have something to think about for the final, you don’t want it to be easy.”

Murray, from Clitheroe, has already achieved the qualification standard for Rio 2016 thanks a fifth-placed finish at last month’s world championships.

Boosting fellow Britons Kate French, Freyja Prentice and Francesca Summers as they aim to join her is the fact that they are competing at the ultimate home venue.

Pentathlon GB’s national training centre is based at the University of Bath, which this week has been transformed into the most compact modern pentathlon venue ever with fencing, swimming, show-jumping, running and shooting all on site.

Tickets have sold out for finals weekend and Murray said: “It is really cool to have the home crowds here, I really appreciate their support.

“I’ve got my family and friends coming down for the final, it is going to be another special day.”

Summers, at 19-years-old, is the rising star of modern pentathlon having won the world junior championships in Mexico just a fortnight ago.

“There is no pressure on me going into the final – I’m the youngest competitor so I will go out, have fun and see where that gets me,” she said.