Pentathlon: GB quartet reach final in Rome

All four British athletes made it through to Saturday’s women’s final at the Modern Pentathlon World Championships in Rome yesterday.

Their performances at the weekend are expected to play a major role in deciding which two of the quartet will be able to lay claim to the places available at the London Olympics this summer, and all made sure that they stayed in the hunt with top-12 finishes in their respective semi-finals.

In semi-final B, Olympic silver medallist Heather Fell, from Plymouth, overcame some tricky moments in the final combined run-and-shoot to cross the line eighth, four places behind team-mate Mhairi Spence.

British No 1 Spence, from Inverness, was slightly below par in both the fencing and swimming but posted the third quickest combined in hot conditions in the Italian capital.

In semi-final C, 21-year-old Scot Freyja Prentice put recent poor form behind her to finish fifth, while Preston’s Samantha Murray, who has pushed her way firmly into Olympic contention with a string of superb performances this year, was also comfortable in ninth.

Nick Woodbridge, Jamie Cooke and Sam Weale compete for Britain in the men’s semi-finals today.