Double medal haul for Alex as the pentathlon GB stars shine in Spain

Dacorum's Alex Bousfield earned a mixed relay bronze medal and was part of the girls' British team which won a silver medal at the under-19 European Cup in Spain at the weekend.

Bousfield, a member of Dacoum Modern Pentathlon Club which trains at Hemel Hempstead Sports Centre, won a mixed relay bronze with her doubles partner Toby Price, of Yorkshire, on the final day of the competition in Sant Boi de Llobregat.

Bousfield also helped lead the girls’ team to a team silver after finishing sixth in individual competition.

Bousfield won the silver alongside team-mates Sarah Wilson and Emma Whitaker on Saturday.

The podium finishes highlighted an encouraging competition for Bousfield and the Pentathlon GB youth squad, which had six athletes recording individual top-20 finishes, headed by Bousfield’s superb sixth in a world-class under-19s field.

The girls’ competition began the previous Friday, March 23, where the girls started with a 200m swim.

Bousfield produced a performance close to her best before the competition moved to the fencing hall where she was in for a long slog with 52 girls taking part.

There was more positive news with Bousfield recording a magnificent 35 victories to 16 defeats.

It meant the Brits were well-placed before returning refreshed for the second day of the competition on Saturday, March 24.

They were greeted by miserable conditions in Catalonia but all four girls knuckled down to the task at hand, with Bousfield stayed towards the top end of the field throughout the laser run, crossing the line in sixth place at the competition’s conclusion.

The Brits’ grit and determination was rewarded with a silver medal for the team event.

The mixed relay started in the fencing hall where the British performances set the tone for the day. Bousfield continued her fine form in the discipline, helping her and Price to 25 victories and 17 defeats from their 42 bouts,.

All the British athletes continued their fine form in the pool as all four pairs finished inside the top 10 of the discipline standings.

It meant Bousfield and Price were the leading pentathlon GB pair, in sixth, after the opening two disciplines.

An exciting laser run followed with many of the leading teams evenly matched in the run-shoot discipline.

There was to be drama at the line, though, with three teams battling it out for silver in the home straight and Price being clearly impeded as he made his challenge for a medal.

Having consequently crossed the line in fourth, Bousfield and Price were upgraded to bronze when the offending nation were eliminated at the competition’s conclusion.

The next big youth international event of the season for Bousfield and the British team will be the under-19s World Championships, which takes place in Portugal from this Sunday until Saturday, April 14.

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