Aleksander Leonidovich Lesun (russian: Александр Леонидович Лесун; born 1 July 1988) is a Belarusian-born naturalized Russian
modern pentathlete. He is a multiple-time medalist at the World and European Championships, and was a top-ranked male modern pentathlete in the world by the
Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).
Career
Lesun started out his sporting career as a swimmer, before switching to 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.
Lesun returned to the international scene in early 2010, and was formally admitted to the national team. He competed at the World Championships in
Chengdu, China
Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese province ...
, where he won two medals, one for the individual and one for the team relay. He also added his first ever gold medal at the 2010 World Cup in
Budapest, Hungary
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population of ...
.
In 2012, Lesun emerged as Russia's best medal prospect, and a top favorite to win gold at his first Olympics. He had broken his streak of silver medal finishes in his 2011 breakthrough season and also beat the former world and defending Olympic champion Moiseev to win his first individual gold medal at the
2012 World Modern Pentathlon Championships The 2012 World Modern Penthathlon Championship was held in Rome, Italy from May 7 to May 13, 2012. The event included pistol shooting, fencing, 200m swimming, show jumping and a 3 km run.
Medal summary Men's events
Women's events
Mixed eve ...
in
Rome, Italy
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...
.
Following his triumph, Lesun qualified for the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
in
London, along with Moiseev, to compete in the
men's event, which included a first-ever combined running and shooting segment.
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.
In 2016, he won the gold medal at the
Rio Olympics with a total of 1479 points, which was an Olympic record at the time.
At the
2017 World Modern Pentathlon Championships The 2017 World Modern Pentathlon Championships were held in Cairo, Egypt from 21 to 29 August 2017. The events include pistol shooting, fencing, 200m swimming, show jumping and a 3 km run.
Medal summary Men
Women
Mixed
Medal table
Refe ...
in
Cairo,
Egypt, Lesun suffered a back injury in the fencing segment, leaving him without a medal in the individual competition. However, he won bronze with his team.
He resigned from the Russian team following the
invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, opting to return to Belarus.
Awards
*
Order of Friendship (2016)
References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesun, Aleksander
Belarusian male modern pentathletes
Russian male modern pentathletes
1988 births
Living people
Olympic modern pentathletes of Russia
Modern pentathletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Sportspeople from Minsk
World Modern Pentathlon Championships medalists
Belarusian emigrants to Russia
Russian people of Belarusian descent
Naturalised citizens of Russia
Modern pentathletes at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for Russia
Olympic medalists in modern pentathlon
Russian activists against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine