Tokyo Olympics: Half-Malaysian Joseph Choong wins gold for Great Britain

Great Britain's Joseph Choong won the men's modern pentathlon event at the 2020 Olympic Games on Saturday, setting an Olympic record of 1462 total points in the process.

The London-born modern pentathlete, whose father was from Malaysia, overtook Egyptian Ahmed Elgendy in the final moments of the decisive laser run to take home the top honour in Tokyo, while South Korea's Jun Woong-tae finished third.

The 26-year-old was also the best finisher in Thursday's fencing with 25 victories and 10 defeats, and was third in the swimming discipline.

Choong's victory gave the Great Britain a sweep of the gold medals as fellow compatriot Kate French was victorious in the women's event.

It was his second Olympic appearance after making his debut in Rio de Janeiro five years ago, when he finished 10th in the same event.

He previously won at the 2019 European Modern Pentathlon Championships and finished as runner-up at the World Modern Pentathlon Championships in 2018.

Choong was the second athlete with Malaysian heritage to win an Olympic gold medal in recent years, after Singaporean swimmer Joseph Schooling, whose mother was Malaysian, emerged victorious in the 2016 edition.

It’s #gold for Joseph Choong of #GBR in the men’s modern pentathlon! Congrats to @TeamGB on the great win. ?#StrongerTogether | #Tokyo2020 | @WorldPentathlon | #ModernPentathlon pic.twitter.com/JxosMMcuZy

— Olympics (@Olympics) August 7, 2021