Jun Woong-tae was in a medal position going into the final event of the men's modern pentathlon final at the Paris Olympics on Saturday. In a venue by the historic Chateau de Versailles in Versailles, west of Paris, Jun was in third place at the start of the laser run, which combines running and laser pistol shooting. He had accumulated enough points from equestrian show jumping, fencing and swimming to put himself in position to win his second straight medal, after the bronze medal from three years ago in Tokyo. But Jun's dream turned into a nightmare quickly at his first shooting stop of the laser run. At each stop, athletes must hit five targets before resuming their running. Jun, who began the race 17 seconds after the leader, Ahmed Elgendy of Egypt, as part of the staggered starts, spent 25.8 seconds hitting his five targets. All told, Jun needed 1:06.28 to complete his shooting in the laser run, the second-worst mark among the 18 finalists. South Korea's biggest modern pentathlon medal hope finished in sixth place. "I tried to live up to people's expectations, but I ended up trying to do too much," Jun said, choking back on tears. "I kept being off target in shooting, and I started rushing myself. I didn't get the job done in the laser run." In Tokyo, Jun made history by becoming the first South Korean to win an Olympic medal in modern pentathlon. He didn't come close to reaching the podium again this time. "There are good days and bad days, and this was one of those bad days," he said. "As an athlete, I am supposed to overcome that kind of adversity. I just made too many mistakes. "But I am going to continue to compete in modern pentathlon," Jun, 29, added. "I will try to be a better athlete." Jun's teammate, Seo Chang-wan, finished in seventh place in his Olympic debut. He said he had seen up close how much pressure Jun had been under and that he was proud of his veteran teammate. Seo, 27, said he was "honored" to have competed in front of a huge crowd at his first Olympics. "I've always been co nfident in running, but I struggled a bit there today," Seo said. "But I gave it my best. I won't have any regrets from this." Source: Yonhap News Agency