November 19th
Kara Grant Olympic Quest fundraising dinner.

A big thank to all those who contributed to the success of the dinner by attending or donating prizes. The dinner was a success in every aspect as I was able to raise a good portion of my budget for the upcoming year. I think it also safe to say that all those in attendance enjoyed themselves immensely. Special thanks to my parents Danny and Marian, Pat Chan and Windsor White all who played a big part in organizing the evening.

Pan-American Championships

The Pan-American Championships took place on October 26-28 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I won a bronze medal at this year's competition.

World Championships 2002

The 2002 Pentathlon World Championships took place July 14-21 at Harvard University in California, USA. The Canadian team had six competing athletes, it’s largest squad in years. Coach Kim Crawford and Lawlor Brown assisted the athletes throughout the week. The team had a lot of high points and showed a lot of potential for the future.

My competition was very average, which unfortunately was not enough to final in the increasingly competitive world of women’s pentathlon. I finished 24th in my semi-final. Monica Pinette and Lianna Doherty made their World Championship debut with good results. Monica was consistent in her efforts throughout the year and shows great talent considering her first international competition was less than one year ago. Monica finished 25th in her semi- final. Lianna had best performances in several events and a best overall total. Toshiro Ihara and William Pratt also showed their potential in their first Senior World Championship event, finishing 21st and 25th respectively in their semi-final groups.

Monica, Lianna and I competed in the women’s relay and finished 12th. It was a day full of ups and downs and fortunately, lots of fun. We had a decent shoot, a good effort in the fence, and an exciting swim. The ride was a little disappointing as we were unable to get all three horses around the course before the time ran out. However, we were able to make up for it in the run in a close battle with Guatemala who had edged us out of the silver medal at the 2001 Pan American Championships. The victory was ever so sweet. Toshi, Will and teammate Josh Riker-Fox competed in the men’s relay in which they won the riding discipline.

World Cup Final Surprise

Budapest, Hungary was the site of the 2002 World Cup Final. After no small amount of last minute organizing, I boarded a flight to Paris on August 6 and found myself “en route”. The next morning I got off the plane and onto a train destined for Switzerland. After two days of preparation and relaxation I made the final leg of the journey by car with my coach and friend Philipp Waeffler. I can definitely say it was a relief to finally arrive.

I roomed with my good friends Sharon Sander and Anita Allen from the USA and soon met up with Silke Guenther, my travelling partner from Germany. The next morning brought the only nice weather of the weekend, but not the only good times. Shooting was low for everyone, perhaps as a result of the pressure of competing in the first Olympic Qualifier for Athens. My performances in the fencing and swimming were not what I had planned either, but the riding and running moved me up in the standings.

The riding proved to be even more exciting than usual, thanks to my trusty steed- an accomplished jumper and equally accomplished bucker. Needless to say he decided to put me to the test. After one roll in the mud and a second close call which finishing with me sitting on his neck, I was able to perfect my bronc riding and really be ready for the show in the ring. I was fortunate enough to have Philipp there helping me out, otherwise my tale would not have had such a happy ending. My black mount didn’t wait long to make his views known in the show ring and after jump one I’m told there was at least 8 seconds of bucking right in front of the stands. I have to say it felt more like eternity. After that I was able to finish the course with relative ease and only one rail.

Needless to say I earned my 1124 points and have the satisfaction of knowing that there were very few other athletes who could have stayed on for that ride. I started the run in 24th place and was able to overtake one competitor. I had a great run and recorded the 10th fastest time and finished in 23rd position. Not bad for my first World Cup Final.

As a follow up to the competition I will let you all in on a little secret- the Hungarians really know how to throw a party! After the men’s competition there was a fancy dinner on board a river boat and good times were had by all. It’s always a lot of fun to see many of the very serious competitors relaxed and smiling.

National Champion 4th year running

Arriving at the site of the Canadian National Pentathlon Championships is always like coming home in a way. And as usual when I arrive home after hours of travelling, I was relieved and a little tired. However, after settling into my room, with my stinky Swiss cheese which was immediately demoted to a bag in a drawer, I felt much better. And after a shower and dinner I almost felt human again!

The next day, August 20th, was the women's competition. I struggled a little early on in the day, but I had a great swim, I beautiful ride and an even better run. I started the run two minutes behind the leader, a visitor from the USA, and 40 seconds behind my team mate and good friend Monica Pinette. The rolling hills and firm ground felt great under my feet and I flew around the course, across the finish line, and onto the podium to collefct my fourth consecutive gold medal at Canadian National Pentathlon Championships.

Canadian nationals is not truly finished until all have competed and the banquet is over. The next day there were some new faces on the podium in the men’s divisions and more great performances were recorded. Later that evening the banquet was held and as always, it takes a moment to recognize all the pentathletes in their evening wear. The medals were awarded and at the end of the night the athletes recognized Steven McLay as the athlete most deserving of the John Norton Award. Toshiro Ihara and myself were awarded the Denise Fekete Memorial Award in memory of a great woman who did so much for Canadian pentathlon and who recently passed away.

Kara Grant - 15th on the Pentathlon World Ranking list

The world Ranking as of May 31st, 2002 places Kara Grant at 15th in the world. This is her highest ranking yet and it is a result of her Gold medal performance at the Pan American Championships in Mexico City October 2001, 5th place in the Paris Meeting in March, 2002 and her recent 2nd place finish in Switzerland.

2002 European Tour

The highlight of my six weeks in Europe was definitely a second place finish in Spiez, Switzerland at the Women's World Championship Qualifier. I started the tour in Hungary where I participated in a World Cup event only five days after writing the last final exam of my Bachelor of Science. This proved to be a little rushed and the competition was not one of my best. However the three weeks of training in Budapest afterwards were very good for my fencing.

I traveled to Switzerland on the 15th of May and made my way north on the train to Schaffhaussen, the town which I would call home for the next three weeks. There I met my teammates Monica Pinette, Bonnie Burlton and Alicia Lynnes. We were very fortunate to be taken in by the Waeffler family, particularly Philipp who was to be our coach and mentor for the next three weeks and beyond. That Friday we traveled to Spiez where we were to compete the following day. I had a great competition finishing 2nd, while Monica finished 5th and Bonnie 18th. We had the highest team score.

I spent the next two weeks training in Schaffhaussen and the neighboring Swiss cities. Unfortunately I was not able to compete as planned in the World Cup in Poland due to some problems with my passport. However on the bright side I competed in a small competition in Bern where I was able to test my skills once again. I had a great day in Bern and I'm confident that had I been in Poland, I would have also had a great day there.

During the next 5 weeks my time will be split between Fredericton and Quebec City in preparation for World Championships which will take place in San Francisco, California, July 16-21.

March 2002 - Paris Pentathlon

I just got back from a pentathlon competition in Paris, France where I had a best ever result. I came fifth in a strong European competition with a 1072 shoot, 936 fence, 996 swim, 1116 ride and 1200 run for a total score of 5320- only 20 points out of a medal!

This is very exciting for me. As many of you know I've been training hard in the sport of modern pentathlon for several years now and it's very satisfying to get some good results- especially so early in the season!!

I'm currently living and training in Charlottetown, PEI where I will finish my Bachelor of Science, major in Biology this April before re-locating to train full time for modern pentathlon leading up to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

January, 2002

2002 Canadian Winter National Pentathlon Champion

I've just returned from Chilliwack, BC site of the 2002 Canadian Winter National Pentathlon Championships where I re-captured the gold medal. We had a great turnout of athletes which is very encouraging.

The day began as usual with the shooting where I shot 174. The run was not typical for a modern pentathlon event in that there was snow on the ground, a rare occurrence in Chilliwack. As a result the run times were not quick for anyone. The fence was next and it too took a very long time as there were over 40 fencers. I had some ups and downs in the fence but I ended with a competitive score just under 1000 points. The swim was last and a pleasant surprise for me with a best time of 2:37.7, just under my time for winter nationals last year.

I'm now living and training in Stratford, PEI while attending UPEI where I'll be finishing up my BSc. in April. I'm keeping busy with a full course load at UPEI as well as my regular training activities and my responsibilities as athlete representative for modern pentathlon in Canada.

Mexico City is my next International destination where I'll compete in the world cup this coming March.