Record-breaker Asadauskaite wins final Olympics gold in pentathlon

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Laura Asadauskaite of Lithuania was crowned Olympic women’s modern pentathlon champion on Sunday, the last of the 302 gold medals to be awarded at London 2012, with a new Olympic record.
Great Britain’s Samantha Murray took the silver medal with Brazil’s Yane Marques coming in third.
Asadauskaite, the 28-year-old world number one, proved too strong for fellow leader Marques in the combined running and shooting climax, taking gold with a record total of 5408 points.
Murray, who had set off eight seconds adrift in fourth, put in a gritty effort in front of a near 23,000-capacity crowd at Greenwich Park, but had no answer to the winner.
The 22-year-old local girl took silver with a points haul of 5356.
Brazilian military officer Marques (5340 points) had set off at the same time as Asadauskaite but like Murray was unable to cope with the winner’s strength in the three 1000m lap finale.
Asadauskaite, married to two-times Olympic medallist Andrejus Zadneprovskis, missed all of 2010 following the birth of her first child, but regained top spot in May.
The world record for the five-pronged event of 5600 points is held by Germany’s Lena Schoneburn, the defending champion from Beijing who had to settle for 15th place.