NATALYA COYLE GOT her 2019 season off to a brilliant start on Saturday night after securing a silver medal at the UIPM Pentathlon World Cup in Egypt.

Her second-place finish in Cairo saw Coyle pick up her second Pentathlon World Cup silver, picking off most of her opposition in the laser run while enjoying strong performances in all events.

The 28-year-old finished behind Russia’s Uliana Batashova and ahead of Sarolta Kovacs of Hungary, who took bronze.

“It feels fantastic, I’m absolutely delighted to come away with silver,” the Tokyo 2020 hopeful said. “It’s my second major individual medal so what a way to start the season.

“I thought it was a good day. I was a second slower in the pool, but my fencing was good and I rode a clear round.

“I think everybody had a bit of a nightmare on the shooting range so I was absolutely delighted to come away with second.

“It’s great to see that a good winter training has paid off and my major focus is the European Championships, where I’m aiming to get a qualifying position for Tokyo.”

Coyle, who represented Ireland at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2018.

She collected silver in Sofia at last year’s Pentathlon World Cup and narrowly placed just out of the medals in the World Cup Final in Astana, finishing in fourth place.

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