Joe Choong


Joseph "Joe" Choong is a British modern pentathlete. He came tenth in the event at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Personal life

Choong was born in Orpington and attended Whitgift School. He is studying for a degree in mathematics at the University of Bath, where he also trains at the Pentathlon GB High Performance Centre located at the University. His younger brother Henry is also a modern pentathlete and competed for Great Britain at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics.

Modern pentathlon

In 2010 Choong became the first British athlete to win the European under-16 modern pentathlon title. He was also part of the British team that won a bronze medal in the relay event.
Choong won the GB Open title and the British Junior Championships in 2013. In 2014 he successfully defended both titles with a score of 1484 points to finish ahead of Team Bath teammates Joe Evans and Tom Toolis, who scored 1468 points and 1446 points respectively. Choong, Evans and Toolis combined to win the team gold medal.
At the 2014 World Modern Pentathlon Championships held in Warsaw, Poland he finished 16th. He qualified for the modern pentathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics by finishing seventh at the 2015 European Championships held in Bath. Choong was placed fourth after the first three events but dropped out of the top eight during the first laps of the combined run and shooting event before moving back up during the final lap.
In March 2016 at the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne world cup event in Rio, which served as a test event for the Olympics, Choong was the highest placed British athlete, finishing thirteenth. In April 2016 Choong achieved a career best finish in a world cup event as he finished fourth in Rome, five seconds behind the Czech Republic's Jan Kuf who took the bronze medal.