My interest in running and swimming developed early on, largely due to my parent’s influence and encouragement. At the same time, and what would eventually be reflected upon as a life-changing moment, a close friend and neighbour lent a pony to our family so that I could learn to ride. As I developed my skills as an equestrian athlete and concurrently in the pool, I became increasingly involved in an incredible new sport that I had just been introduced to – Modern Pentathlon.[1]
The sport of pentathlon consists of five events: running, swimming, shooting, fencing, and equestrian jumping. Pentathlon has been an Olympic sport since 1912, and was created by the same individual who instituted the modern Olympic Games - Baron de Coubertin of France. The sport of pentathlon is based upon an event that the Greeks staged during the original Olympics in the third century B.C. At that time, the pentathlon events were long jump, javelin, discus, running, and wrestling. As with the Greek Pentathlon, which demonstrated the skills of a warrior, the modern version represents the skill-set of the contemporary soldier facing battle. In both instances, the sport’s objective was/is to determine the most “complete” athletes.
At 13, I tried my first full pentathlon event. Initially, the simple pleasure of sport activity piqued my interest. Over time, emotions stemming from a developing self-esteem, an increasing pride in my work ethic, and improving performances propagated a deeper desire to fully commit myself to high- performance sport and to represent
From a young age, I held the Olympic Games in the highest regard. I understood that the Games often portrayed human nature in its most beautiful form. The 1988 Olympic Games in
It has been a near-storybook struggle up to this point in pursuing The Dream. I have received very little federal government funding ($6,000 in 2008, and nothing before or after – Appendix A), so I have relied largely on sponsors, my parents, and personal income. Regardless of these detracting factors, I have made the decision to devote everything I can to become the strongest athlete possible and give myself the best opportunity to succeed. Thus far, I have developed on schedule. Without funding, I conquered an obstacle that had not been achieved in 16 years - it was not since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics that
I now look forward to the next step. It is likely that without future financial support, I will not be able to progress beyond my first Olympic appearance and perform in
Looking over the next four years, it is critical that I am exposed to numerous high performance competitions such as the World Cup Circuit, World Championships, Pan American Games and other world class events. In particular, the significance of the World Cups is critical to personal development and gauging progress. Beyond just World Cup participation, I incur major expenses with regard to access to training in
A partnership with you/your firm offers the opportunity to assist in defraying significant costs of my attending World Cup events throughout the world. The broader scope of this relationship lies in the ability to foster the long term progress of an
I believe that I am a strong contributor to
[1] Full details of the sport of Modern Pentathlon can
be found at www.albertapentathlon.com.
