The 2026 women’s pentathlon in Tallinn couldn’t be more different to the 2025 iteration, where the future European and World Indoor champion Saga Vanninen dominated the competition. This occasion brings half a dozen women who could contend for victory, reflecting a range of strengths across five events.
Top of the list is Paulina Ligarska of Poland, a world class athlete in her own right but often overshadowed by her teammate Adrianna Sulek-Schubert. Ligarska’s best pentathlon is over 4600 points, and she has no weak events. She has performed consistently well at this meeting but has never quite made the podium: fifth in 2022, fifth in 2024, and fourth in 2025.
The home favourite is Pippi Lotta Enok, who is picking up Estonian heptathlon where Grit Sadeiko and Marie Klaup left off when they retired. Her pentathlon score is now approaching 4600, achieved on the NCAA college circuit. Enok is now transitioning to post-college life, and training with Vanninen under Erki Nool.
Szabina Szucs, one half of the Hungarian duo in Estonia this weekend, scored over 4500 in 2024, and was consistent around that mark all season. Curiously, her pentathlon score is still relatively better than her equivalent heptathlon score, with more improvements to come outdoors. Italy’s Sveva Gerevini also broke through 4500 in 2024, and she had a good indoor season in 2025, winning X-Athletics in Clermont-Ferrand. Yulia Loban of Ukraine won this meet in 2024 with her first score over 4500 (4537), ahead of Bianca Salming of Sweden, who scored 4533.
While Szucs and Gerevini lean on their hurdles speed and strong jumps, Loban and Salming bring powerful throws, although Salming also combines that with a stand-out high jump (1.92m).
If we look a little further down the entry list, there’s an unremarkable score attached to a remarkable athlete. Anastasia Ntragkomirova of Greece competed at this meeting in 2023, with raw talent and strength, but the three years in between have seen her mature as a combined eventer. Her heptathlon score is over 6100, but her pentathlon best dates from her U20 national record – she’s now 23 – of 4081. Many of Ntragkomirova’s individual personal bests are much better now, so expect a significant improvement from the Greek over five events.
Erin Marsh is making her debut in Tallinn, and since 2021 the US athlete has scored over 4300 points every year.
Julia Słocka of Poland and Mariana Bento of Portugal both had big improvements in 2025. Słocka won Multistars in Italy in April, scored over 6000 points in heptathlon and over 4300 in pentathlon for the first time. Similarly, Bento went from 4052 to 4290 in pentathlon last year, and from 5651 to 6020 in heptathlon.
Anna McCaulay is in top form, setting a PB (first time over 4200) when winning the open competition at the England Athletics Championships just a few weeks ago. She was close to her best in the hurdles and high jump while doing so, and had PBs in the long jump and 800m, and was only down on her shot. There’s more to come if she’s still in that great form. Great Britain’s Ellen Barber brings a PB of 4169 with her from 2021. She hasn’t completed a pentathlon since then, and a much higher score would better reflect her talents. Myke van de Wiel of the Netherlands is also back in action, with her PB of 4127 from 2024.
Written by Gabby Pieraccini
