Cairo – My First World Cup Podium Finish
The 2025 World Cup season began for me in Cairo, and I think this competition will stay with me forever. I reached a milestone I had only imagined before: I earned my very first World Cup podium finish.
In the final, I was the only Hungarian male athlete representing our country, as both of my teammates, Richárd Bereczki and József Tamás, were eliminated in the semifinals on Friday. Competing under the colors of Csepel, I faced a truly tough field that day.
Fencing and OCR gave me momentum
My round-robin fencing went especially well — with 24 victories and 11 defeats, I recorded the second-best result of the field. This gave me a strong boost of confidence moving forward. In the direct elimination bouts, I stayed focused: I beat the Italian Michelin, then defeated Egypt’s Mazen Saban in a tight match — though a draw would have been enough due to my higher seeding. Still, it felt great to close it out like that.
In the semifinal, I came up against Mazen’s brother, Mohanad — a former individual World Championship bronze medalist. Unfortunately, the bout didn’t go my way — I lost 5–1, and even slipped badly after a jump. Luckily, I didn’t suffer any injury.
That small setback didn’t break my momentum — on the obstacle course (OCR), I ran flawlessly, finishing in 27.53 seconds, well under half a minute — one of the top times of the day.
The combined event sealed the podium
I didn’t push myself too hard in the swimming, but I still managed to improve on my semifinal time: 2:10.50. At that point, it became clear that I had a realistic shot at the podium — I just had to perform well in the laser run.
And that’s exactly what happened. In the first shooting series, I closed the gap significantly, then gradually caught up to Saban. After the third shoot, I was running in second place, and I managed to hold that position until the finish line.
The result: second place – and a dream come true
As I crossed the finish line, I knew it: this was my very first World Cup podium. Matteo Cicinelli of Italy took the win, and Egypt’s Mohanad Saban finished behind me. It was an incredible feeling to stand on the podium between two Olympic athletes.
My previous best World Cup result was a fifth-place finish in Budapest. But now, I finally stepped onto the podium for real. Right at the start of the season, I received a confirmation that all the work I’ve put in so far is truly paying off.
“This is my first World Cup podium finish, but hopefully not the last. Every athlete has dreams — and one of mine just came true. I’m incredibly proud and happy, and deeply grateful to my coaches and all the experts who support me.
It’s an amazing feeling to achieve this among Olympic-level competitors. I didn’t expect it — I just wanted to test myself at the first event of the season and see where I stand. But the feedback is definitely encouraging,” said Koleszár Mihály to the UIPM, and then added in Hungarian:
“Thank you so much to everyone who supports me — I hope you’re as happy as I am, and I look forward to celebrating many more successes together!”
I’m incredibly grateful to my team, my coaches, and everyone who believes in me. This feels like a new beginning — and I truly hope this podium is just the first of many to come.
Thank you for being with me on this journey!
– Misi 🥈🇭🇺
Source: Nemzeti Sport