Weale claims shock silver at European Championships

SAM Weale became the first British man to win an individual medal at the Modern Pentathlon European Championships with a shock silver in Debrecen.

SUCCESS: Sam Weale finished just behind David Svoboda to win the silver medal at the Modern Pentathlon European Championships in Hungary (Getty Images)

Weale, who is ranked 25th in the world and finished tenth at the Beijing Olympics, finished just behind the Czech Republic's David Svoboda but ahead of Germany's Stefan Kollner, whose podium place helped his country win the team title.

"It felt pretty good to cross the line in second. I felt a foot taller and there was a real spring in my step when I crossed the line," said Weale.

 "I felt good and quite strong after the semi-final on Friday, but my combined event hadn't gone so well, so I was a little nervous. 

 "But I thought the final would be a good opportunity to put it right. I thought I was in with a chance after the fencing, but I was a little annoyed with the ride because I had two fences down.

"Going into the combined event I thought potentially I was in the running for a medal. I felt quite confident, but it was a bit of surprise and a relief. It's my first European or World Championship medal. Hopefully there will be many more medals to come."

Britain has a solid record of Modern Pentathlon success in recent years with Stephanie Cooke, Kate Allenby, Georgina Harland and Heather Fell all winning Olympic medals in the last ten years.

But the men have failed to reach the same standards, with Weale's success the first since Richard Phelps won the world title in 1993.

"This was a fantastic performance. It's what we've been working towards for the last 11 years," said PentathlonGB performance director Jan Bartu.

"It's been a tough journey, but I knew we had the potential to get there. This is going to be a big morale boost for all of the athletes in the programme."