PLYMOUTH pentathlete Myles Pillage recorded his best individual finish at a major junior championships on Sunday in the Czech Republic.

Pillage came 20th in Junior World Championship on a punishingly hot and humid day in Kladno.

It had looked like things could be even better for the young Brit for much of the day with top 10 performances in the swim, fence and ride disciplines, but as is so often the case in modern pentathlon, the concluding laser-run turned the standings upside-down.

Pillage is known as one of the best pentathletes in the swim and he got his day off to the perfect start as topped the timing sheets with a time of 1:58.81. He was one of just two athletes to break the two-minute barrier.

He kept himself in contention for a strong finish with an excellent display in fencing hall.

The 20-year-old was in positive numbers and towards the top of the discipline standings throughout, eventually finishing with 22 victories and 13 defeats from his 35 bouts – one victory more than he managed in the Junior European final earlier this season.

The University of Bath student than added victories over Belarus’ Yauheni Arol and Russia’s Serge Baranov in the fencing bonus round, leaving himself in third place after the opening two disciplines.

Pillage’s allocated horse, Vining Good, turned out to be a good draw for GB athlete with a controlled round ensuring he was clear over all of the fences, just picking up five time penalties for his ride.

That meant the Plymouth athlete scored 295 points in the third discipline, moving him up to second in the overall standings.

With narrow gaps between most of the field, the shooting element of the laser-run was going to be critical. Therefore, after a 21.7 second first shoot, Pillage was always going to be up against it, particularly with some of the quickest runners in the field in close pursuit.

However, the Brit ensured he gave it his all throughout the 3,200m course, crossing the line 20th to add to his fifth place in the men’s relay with Bradley Sutton on Wednesday.

Egypt’s Ahmed Elgendy stormed through the field in the laser-run to become the new junior world champion, with Austria’s Gustav Gustenau taking silver and Khamatsou recovering for bronze.