Modern pentathlon: Phelps wide of target

Britain's Richard Phelps attempts to defend his title at Sheffield today in theWorld Modern Pentathlon championships, writes Michael Coleman. In Friday's qualifying he finished last but one of his 24-strong group in the shooting competition. But Phelps fought back doggedly on the fencing pistes and kept his brakes on in the running to help pace Greg Whyte, a colleague, into today's 32- strong finale. The women's team event was marred by controversy after a dead heat between Poland and Italy. The Italians refused to share the gold medals and cited rules which, they claimed, showed they were the rightful winners. After many hours of discussion , officials retired to an hotel to discuss the matter further.