Murray finishes fifth in Los Angeles

The 2014 World Champion, making her first World Cup appearance of the season, produced an incredibly consistent day, being placed inside the top five throughout the competition for her first top five finish at a major international since a gold medal on the opposite side of the States three years ago.

As is traditionally the case, the women’s final began in the pool with the 200m swim, as Murray recording the fifth quickest time of 2:13.94.

She then moved to the fencing hall where she performed well, to secure some great hits and both sit inside the top 10 of the discipline standings.

The 28-year-old Murray claimed 23 victories and 12 defeats, and the London 2012 silver medallist then added another two points to her overall tally courtesy of a pair of victories in the fencing bonus round. That meant she topped the leaderboard after the opening two disciplines.

In the showjumping arena, Murray rolled three poles during her round, resulting in a score of 279 points for her third discipline. That meant the former Ribble Valley MPC pentathlete sat fifth ahead of the concluding laser run.

With small margins at the top of the field, it promised be a thrilling conclusion to the second World Cup of the year and the run-shoot finale didn’t disappoint with a particularly tight battle for the medals.

Behind the top three, Murray maintained her position in fifth with some strong running on what was an encouraging day for the British athlete, with the season still young and a busy summer schedule ahead.

Reigning World Champion Gulnaz Gubaydullina took victory with Italy’s Alice Sotero claiming silver and Hungary’s Tamara Alekszejev bronze, adding to her second-place finish at the opening World Cup in Cairo last month.