Joe Choong

Joseph "Joe" Choong (born 23 May 1995) is a British modern pentathlete who has qualified to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[1]

Personal life

Choong was born in Orpington and attended Whitgift School.[2][3] He is studying for a degree in maths at the University of Bath, where he also trains at the Pentathlon GB High Performance Centre located at the University.[4] His younger brother Henry Choong is also a modern pentathlete and competed for Great Britain at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China.[5]

Modern pentathlon

In 2010 Choong became the first British athlete to win the European under-16 modern pentathlon title. He was also part of the British team that won a bronze medal in the relay event.[3]

Choong won the GB Open title and the British Junior Championships in 2013. In 2014 he successfully defended both titles with a score of 1484 points to finish ahead of Team Bath teammates Joe Evans and Tom Toolis, who scored 1468 points and 1446 points respectively. Choong, Evans and Toolis combined to win the team gold medal.[6]

At the 2014 World Modern Pentathlon Championships held in Warsaw, Poland he finished 16th.[7] He qualified for the modern pentathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics by finishing seventh at the 2015 European Championships held in Bath.[1] Choong was placed fourth after the first three events but dropped out of the top eight during the first laps of the combined run and shooting event before moving back up during the final lap.[8]

In March 2016 at the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) world cup event in Rio, which served as a test event for the Olympics, Choong was the highest placed British athlete, finishing thirteenth.[9] In April 2016 Choong achieved a career best finish in a world cup event as he finished fourth in Rome, five seconds behind the Czech Republic's Jan Kuf who took the bronze medal.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 Hope, Nick (22 August 2015). "Joe Choong: Olympic spot for Briton with Euros seventh place". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  2. ↑ "Double Olympian Nick Woodbridge returns for European Championships". Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Joseph Choong becomes first Brit to win the European U16 Modern Pentathlon". Croydon Advertiser. 24 September 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Joe Choong". University of Bath. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "Whitgift Sixth Former selected for Modern Pentathlon Youth Olympic Games". Whitgift School. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  6. ↑ Ballinger, Steve (30 June 2014). "Samantha Murray and Joe Choong retain GB Open Modern Pentathlon Championships titles". Bath Chronicle. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  7. ↑ Hope, Nick (6 September 2014). "Modern pentathlon: 'Sky the limit' for Joe Choong". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  8. ↑ Ashton, Tim (24 August 2015). "Athletics: Former Whitgift School pupil is Rio bound". Sutton Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  9. ↑ "Joe Choong and Freyja Prentice are highest Pentathlon GB finishers during challenging Rio 2016 test event". University of Bath. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "Career-best finish for student Joe Choong at Modern Pentathlon World Cup in Rome". University of Bath. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
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