Aleksander Lesun

Aleksander Lesun
Personal information
Full name Aleksander Leonidovich Lesun
Nationality  Belarus (until 2009)
 Russia (since 2009)
Born (1988-07-01) 1 July 1988
Barysaw, Belarus SSR, Soviet Union
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 12 in)
Weight 75 kg (165 lb)
Sport
Sport Modern pentathlon
Coached by Alexei Khaplanov

Aleksander Leonidovich Lesun (Russian: Александр Леонидович Лесун; born 1 July 1988) is a Russian modern pentathlete.[1] He is a multiple-time medalist at the World and European Championships, and is currently a top-ranked male modern pentathlete in the world by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).[2][3]

Career

Lesun started out his sporting career as a swimmer, until he began with modern pentathlon at the very young age. He first competed at the European and World Junior Championships in 2008, and had achieved five top-ten finishes. In late 2009, Lesun moved to Russia from Belarus, and obtained a dual citizenship and a Russian passport.[4]

After having missed the 2009 breakthrough season in modern pentathlon because of citizenship issues, Lesun returned from the international scene in early 2010, and was formally admitted to the national team, by competing at the World Championships in Chengdu, China, where he won two medals for the individual and relay teams. He also added his first ever gold medal at the 2010 World Cup in Budapest, Hungary. He also led a strong Russian team, including former champion Ilia Frolov and two-time Olympic champion Andrey Moiseev to win the gold medal at the World Championships in Moscow, in addition to his silver in the individual event.[5]

In 2012, Lesun emerged as Russia's best medal prospect, and a top favorite to dominate the nation's victory streak at his first Olympics. He broke his silver streak in his 2011 breakthrough season and also, surpassed the former world and defending Olympic champion Moiseev to win his first individual gold medal at the 2012 World Modern Pentathlon Championships in Rome, Italy.[6]

Following his triumph, Lesun qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, along with Moiseev, to compete in the men's event, which included a first-ever combined running and shooting segment.[4] During the competition, Lesun made a strong showing in the fencing segment, tying in second place with China's Cao Zhongrong for a score of twenty-five victories, but struggled to maintain his position in the entire event, with disappointing scores in freestyle swimming and horse riding. At the combined running and shooting discipline, Lesun progressed into the event in third place, until he was surpassed by Hungary's Ádám Marosi to win the bronze medal, dropping him out of the podium to a fourth-place finish, with a score of 5,764 points.[7]

References

  1. "Aleksander Lesun". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  2. "Russia's Alexander Lesun tops world pentathlon charts". The Voice of Russia. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  3. "Asadauskaite and Lesun maintain the world #1 rankings". UIPM. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Aleksander Lesun". London 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  5. "Belarusian emerges as Russia's best bet for London pentathlon gold". RT. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  6. "Aleksander Lesun rallies to win men's title at modern pentathlon World Championships". NBC Olympics. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  7. "Czech Svoboda wins men's modern pentathlon". Fox News. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.

External links

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