CAIRO — Farida Khalil won the modern pentathlon World Championships in August 2025 at age 14, completing an unprecedented clean sweep of all major world titles in the sport that year. She secured victories in three youth grades and the women's senior championship during the same season, a feat the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) described as 'unprecedented' and dubbed the 'Farida Slam.'
The 2025 World Championships, held in Lithuania, featured the revamped version of modern pentathlon that replaced show jumping with an obstacle race ending in a dive to stop a timer. Show jumping had been retained for the Paris 2024 Olympics but was replaced for the 2025 World Championships following a November 2021 UIPM decision prompted by an incident at the Tokyo Olympics.
Khalil trains up to 14 hours a day at the El Shams Sporting Club in Cairo under the supervision of her father, Mohamed Abu Hashem, who serves as her head coach. Her daily routine begins at 5 a.m. and includes breaks for lunch and tutoring, as she does not attend school every day due to her training schedule.
"Raising a champion in your home, a world champion, is not easy at all," Abu Hashem said. "It's not about luck. It is persistence, years of effort, endurance and big sacrifices." He added, "The schedule for Farida is very strong. We are building a big dream, so every minute has to count. This spirit is what [makes] Farida different from others all over the world." He also said, "We found we were winning with very competitive scores. I started calculating the world records and found that Farida can break them very easily."
Khalil, who is ranked number one in the UIPM women's world rankings, expressed enthusiasm for the sport’s evolution. "I love the idea that our sport is evolving and becoming more appealing to young athletes like me," she told Olympics.com. She also told BBC Arabic, "I love that difference, that I'm not going to stay fixed [on one discipline]." She said in a podcast interview, "My friends at school are always proud that they are walking around with a world champion - walking with the youngest girl to become world number one." She added, "I am very happy when I see someone who wants to do what I did. Of course I help them. I help everyone who needs advice."
She and her father are targeting a gold medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Cairo will host the modern pentathlon World Championships that same year, which will also serve as an Olympic qualifier. Sherif El Erian, president of the Egyptian Modern Pentathlon Federation and a vice president of UIPM, said, "Egypt has become a powerhouse in this sport."