GUIYANG, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Mathilde Derval stretched between training sessions in the humid Guizhou air, reflecting on a journey that had taken the 21-year-old from Brittany, France, halfway around the world to China for her first senior Modern Pentathlon World Championships.
The championships closed Sunday evening in China's southwest Guizhou province. Derval, who has trained in the sport for six years, had arrived a week earlier with the French team hoping to reach the women's final.
On Saturday she finished ninth in her semifinal group and advanced. On Sunday she competed for medals against the world's best but had to settle for the 17th overall.
France sent three women and four men, underscoring the country's investment in the event. For Derval, the trip offered more than competition.
"It's a long journey, absolutely. That is great because we had a chance to come here, to see and to visit China, and it's very beautiful, it's very different from landscape in France," she told Xinhua.
Derval praised the Guiyang venues, designed so multiple disciplines can run simultaneously under the eyes of enthusiastic crowds.
"On this arena, If you do your best, try again and again, it will be OK and no regrets. You can speak to people from all over the world, and you can learn different languages. And this is a very good and precious experience for me."
Modern pentathlon demands excellence across fencing, an obstacle course, freestyle swimming and the laser run - a combination of running and laser shooting. The physical and mental load is relentless.
Derval says fencing is her weakest event. She watches competitors closely, particularly the tactical positioning of Russian athletes, and hopes French athletes can eventually match that level.
Her goal for these championships was clear from the start: reach the final, enjoy the moment and keep dreaming of gold.
"I think it's stressful because we are in competition, and you never know if you are going to be in the final. There are so many factors."
Off the field, she found inspiration in another group of competitors - mothers still competing at the elite level, sometimes traveling with their young children.
"In Pentathlon now we have mothers. I think they are stronger to continue Pentathlon and to be mother. They have to be proud of themselves. These girls who came with a baby, it's just like beautiful to see them together. And when the little baby tries obstacles, this is so cute. It's the sporting spirit passing through generations." ■
