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Choong needs to be more than 'one-day wonder' to defend Olympic title
Joe Choong's sport has undergone a radical change since he won gold in Tokyo
By Tom Harle, Sportsbeat
Olympic gold medallist Joe Choong knows he’ll need to be more than a ‘one-day wonder’ to defend his title in Paris.
Choong’s sport - modern pentathlon, consisting of swimming, fencing, horse riding, shooting and running - has undergone a radical change since he won the Olympic title in Tokyo.
In order to increase the sport’s appeal, organisers have crunched the semi-finals and final down to 90 minutes. Even the order of disciplines has changed - meaning Choong’s game has totally changed.
“I wouldn’t say the change favours me, if I’m perfectly honest,” said the 28-year-old. “I’m more of a powerful, explosive athlete but spreading out over more days, you need to be better at endurance.
“That’s been a big shift for me and I’ve had to make a lot of changes to training to build the capacity to keep going day after day, I’ve had to really improve my conditioning.
“I can’t be a one-day wonder anymore! Hopefully I’ll be a better version of myself than in Tokyo.”
When asked what would constitute a successful Olympics, Choong gives a one-word answer: “gold.”
Choong’s hyper-competitive nature originates from a fierce sibling rivalry with brother Henry, who is also a modern pentathlete.
Henry went to the University of Cambridge to study mathematics and Joe could well have studied at Oxbridge had he not focused solely on sport. The polymath pair are always competing, particularly in intense family board game evenings.
The brothers Choong once dreamt of representing Team GB together is Paris, but Henry has now switched allegiance to Slovakia in a bid to qualify for the Games.
The next best thing is the fact that Choong is likely to be joined on the British team by girlfriend of four years Olivia Green, ranked No.8 on the women’s side and a European Games bronze medallist.
“It would mean a huge amount to go together, we’ve shared so much of this journey,” said Choong. “I’ve seen her come through as a junior athlete and progress to winning medals on the world stage. I’m really proud of her and it’s amazing how we’ve managed to both achieve what we have under our own steam.”
With further sweeping changes planned for modern pentathlon post-Paris, Choong has made no secret of the fact he expects to retire after this summer’s Games.
“Every competition could be my last,” said Choong. “The further I go through the season, I get closer to potentially my last ever pentathlon.
“It is likely I will retire but I haven’t decided for sure, but it’s about making the most of it and enjoying it - that’s why we get into sport at the end of the day, because you love it.
“I’m trying to enjoy all of the cool places I get to go and competing against the best athletes in the world. It makes each event more intense, more to relish, because you know it might be the last time and there’s nothing to lose.”
Official Sleep Partner, Dreams, is supporting Team GB with investment in sleep for athletes in Paris.
