JAMIE COOKE’S modern pentathlon medal hopes in Rio appear to be in tatters after the opening fencing round of the five disciplines.

University of Bath student Cooke, whose family home is in Shipton Oliffe, could finish only 28th out of 36 in the fencing competition, after just 14 victories and 21 defeats leaving him on a score of 184 points.

Russia’s Alexander Lesun set an Olympic record of 268 points in the first event to prove the runaway leader.

Meanwhile, Cooke’s GB team-mate Joe Choong does still harbour medal dreams having surpassed expectations to hold eighth place in the standings after the fencing.

Cooke will expect to make up ground tomorrow (Saturday) which begins with the swimming, the discipline in which he is arguably the best pentathlete in the world.

But he may already be too far off the pace to feature among the medallists.

Cooke had been enjoying a stellar year with two World Cup successes in Hungary and the US.