- The final was a surprise, with five-time champion Zilleken Olympic-15.
Annika Zillekens missed out on a medal in her unexpected Modern Pentathlon Olympic final. The 34-year-old Berliner finished 15th at the Versailles castle park, bringing her Olympic career to a close in a similar fashion. After riding, fencing, and swimming, she couldn't catch up to the medal positions in the final laser-run. Hungarian Michelle Gulyas won the gold, ahead of France's Elodie Clouvel and South Korea's Seong Seungmin.
Zillekens qualified for the final of the top 18 after the withdrawal of Tokyo gold medalist Kate French of Britain. Initially, the Berliner had narrowly missed the final.
Riding Disappointment in the Semifinals
Three years after the scandal in Tokyo, Zillekens experienced another riding disappointment on Saturday. She nearly fell with her allocated horse, Arezzo de Riverland, in the semifinals, and the horse refused a jump, leading to point deductions that initially prevented her from qualifying for the final.
In 2021 in Tokyo, Zillekens' horse, then named Schleu, completely refused to cooperate - the scenes of her desperately striking the horse with her crop went viral and caused great outrage.
Despite the riding disappointment in the semifinals, Annika Zillekens managed to qualify for the final via the Other qualified athlete spot due to the withdrawals. Regardless of her strong performances in fencing, swimming, and laser-run, she couldn't overcome the challenges she faced in the equestrian event, ultimately finishing in the Other positions.
