The man ranked 17th in the world began well in the fencing, taking 25 wins from his 35 bouts to elevate him to second position before the swimming, where he dropped back after a 22nd place finish.

However, the 20-year-old from Cannes, took full advantage of Russian Ilia Frolov's mistake in the riding to ensure he was in the driving seat going into the shooting.

And he held his nerve in the combined, pulling off a remarkable display to clinch gold and truly announce himself as one of the up-and-coming stars of modern pentathlon.

"I am just so happy, no words can describe how I feel," said Prades following his victory.

"I hope that this is the start of something special for me in my career.

World number two Adam Marosi did well to come from way back in the field to take bronze

"My teammates and I are all young and hungry, we really believe that we are going to bring a new era of success to our country."

Lithuanian Justinas Kinderis was also on point in the combined, coming from sixth to sneak a silver medal from under his opponent's noses, finishing ahead of world number two Adam Marosi of Hungary, who rose through the ranks to take bronze from 16th place going into the last event after he failed to live up to expectation in the fencing, finishing 31st.

Frolov finished just outside the medals on home turf in fourth, with Hungarian Peter Tibolya coming in fifth and British pair Jamie Cooke and Joe Evans following in sixth and seventh respectively.

There were disappointing displays from world number one Aleksandr Lesun, who could only muster a 20th placed finish, and reigning Olympic champion David Svoboda, who continues to struggle to recapture the form he showed at London 2012 as he finished back in 24th.

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