The UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup in Budapest marked the final stop of the 2026 World Cup circuit, bringing together 237 athletes across the qualification rounds. The field included 135 men and 102 women representing 39 countries, giving Team USA another opportunity to test itself against a deep international field before returning home for U.S. Nationals. Team USA continued its 2026 international season with 11 athletes competing across the men’s and women’s qualification rounds. The women’s team was represented by Madison Gonzalez, Cassandra Steptoe, Kseniya Voronina, Kim Yu Hannah, Rebecca Langrehr, and Ingrid Mayer. On the men’s side, Team USA was represented by Luke Filar, Tristen Bell, Temirkhan Sabdenbek, Matthias Preidl, and Michael Arishita. From a team perspective, Head Coach Vaho Iagorashvili said Budapest showed continued progress for the U.S. athletes across multiple disciplines. “Overall, I’m pleased with the individual performances from our athletes and the way they competed against a strong World Cup field,” Iagorashvili said. “We saw athletes execute well in different sports and gain valuable experience competing at the highest international level.” Coach Thora Meyer-Efland also pointed to the team environment as a positive, noting that the athletes continued to support one another throughout the competition. “The team again supported each other and cheered on the athletes during the competition,” Meyer-Efland said. “Compared to World Cup 2, you could see ascending results at World Cup Budapest.” Langrehr Advances to Semifinals Rebecca Langrehr delivered Team USA’s top women’s result of the qualification rounds, finishing 5th in Women’s Qualification Group C with 1443 points. With the top 12 athletes from each qualification group advancing, Langrehr secured a place in the semifinal round and extended Team USA’s presence in the women’s competition. Her qualification performance was highlighted by a strong fencing result, where she placed 2nd in her group with 26 victories and 268 points. She also added 344 points in the obstacle, 283 points in the swim, and 548 points in the laser run to secure her semifinal position.

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES: June 8, 2026 – Action hero Dolph Lundgren is stepping back into the arena, uniting Hollywood star power with Olympic innovation as he takes on a new role with UIPM. The movie icon is unveiled today as a UIPM Ambassador for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, renewing a long-standing connection with Modern Pentathlon and getting on board with the sport’s exciting transformation. An all-time great action-movie hero who became a household name when he starred in blockbuster classics such as He-Man, Universal Soldier and Rocky IV, Lundgren also headline the film Pentathlon in 1994. Two years later, fiction became reality when he proudly led the United States Olympic Pentathlon team into the Olympic Stadium as Team Leader for the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. The five-discipline multisport has been a cornerstone of the Olympic Games for more than a century and Lundgren returns to champion a sport that has undergone one of the most dramatic innovations in Olympic history. The most significant component of the transformation came into force last year when Ninja-style Obstacle Racing became fully embedded in the sport alongside Fencing, Swimming and Laser Run, rounding out the skills of the most complete athlete of the Games. The Hollywood legend and former world-class athlete met a new generation of UIPM Sports heroes last Friday night during a special Los Angeles launch party held in celebration of the new partnership between TBS, the company that created the Ninja Warrior TV phenomenon, and UIPM. Among the invited guests on Sunset Strip were UIPM 2025 Obstacle World Championships gold medallists Luke Beckstrand and Tiana Webberley, silver medallist Kai Beckstrand and Ninja legend and feature-film stuntwoman Jessie Graff. Also in attendance were Shinya Watanabe, TBS Head of Global Business, Vice President Goshu Segawa and colleagues from various departments across TBS Global Business, and representatives from LA28.

Good luck to all Team USA pentathletes competing this week at the UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Cup Cairo in Egypt! 🇺🇸 Wishing each of you strong performances, personal bests, and the confidence to compete boldly on the world stage. The journey toward 2028 Summer Olympics continues, and we’re cheering for you every step of the way. Go Team USA! 🇺🇸

This past weekend kicked off the first Regional event of the year at the Peachtree Pentathlon in Atlanta, GA, which saw its largest turnout to date with more than 40 athletes competing, including international athletes from Ecuador. The energy was high as athletes across multiple divisions began their season and tested their fitness early in the year. In the Senior Women’s competition, Rebecca Langrehr took the top spot, followed by Cassandra Steptoe in 2nd place and Ingrid Mayer rounding out the podium in 3rd. The Senior Men’s race saw Temirkhan Sabdenbek claim 1st place, with Luke Filar finishing 2nd and Hayden Marrs taking 3rd to complete a strong opening podium for the season. While competition was heating up in the U.S., several American athletes were also competing internationally at the Hungarian Indoor Open in Budapest. Tristen Bell advanced to the Finals after finishing 11th in his qualifying group and posting the 2nd fastest Laser Run of the round. Phaelen French, Mary Zoldak, and Jordan Towns also competed against a strong international field, gaining valuable early-season experience, but did not advance. Congratulations to all of our athletes for kicking off the season with strong performances both at home and abroad. The road to an exciting 2026 season has begun!

Congrats on USAPM Charlotte resident athlete Kian O'Boyle and Coach Kevin Thompson for taking 1st and 2nd overall in the Savage Pro Florida race- a great way to start off the season!