Naval athletes start competition at CISM naval pentathlon championship

Naval athletes from nine countries engaged in their first day of competitions for the 54th International Military Sports Council (CISM) World Military Naval Pentathlon Championship on Monday in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province.

Monday morning saw the athletes compete in the life-saving swimming event in an indoor swimming pool.

The 25-meter-long pool required athletes to first swim 15 meters underwater, then cover 35 meters by any stroke, before diving to rescue a dummy and carry it to the finish line completing a total distance of 75 meters.

Male athletes additionally must also remove their competition suits during the underwater dummy rescue, simulating real-life emergencies where shedding clothing reduces drag and prevents the person being saved from grabbing the rescuer.

Following the intense competition, Team Russia secured the first place in both the men's and women's categories, while the Chinese team achieved fifth in the men's and fourth in the women's.

"I'm very happy to have completed the race with my best performance, though I certainly wish I could have been faster. The event organization has been excellent and delightful," said Elizaveta, a member of the Russian team.

The competition awards six gold medals. After the five individual events conclude, the overall men's and women's individual champions and team champions will be determined based on combined scores from all five events. The obstacle relay will be scored separately to decide the men's and women's relay champions.

Naval delegations from South Africa, Brazil, Cambodia, Spain, Iran, Italy, Pakistan, and Russia, as well as China will compete in five events over the four-day championship: namely, obstacle crossing, life-saving swimming, utility swimming, seamanship and amphibious cross-country.

The naval pentathlon stands as one of the flagship events on the CISM calendar, a unique blend of strength, skill and service-specific tasks. The current competition standards replicate real operational scenarios including amphibious landings, shipboard operations and open-sea rescue, putting core naval proficiencies to the test.

Li Hongzhong, vice chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, met with the European Parliament's delegation for relations with China led by chair Engin Eroglu in Beijing on Wednesday.

Li, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that China is willing to work with the European Union (EU) to strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, deepen cooperation, and pursue mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

He said China stands ready to join hands with the EU to address global challenges, promote exchanges and cooperation among legislative bodies, effectively utilize communication mechanisms, and advance the sound and stable development of China-EU relations.

Eroglu said the EU stands ready to work with China to contribute to the development of EU-China relations.