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December 3, 2003
This Saturday I depart for Switzerland where I will meet up with my team mate Monica Pinette and coach Philipp Waeffler. We will spend a few days working together and resting up before heading to Athens on Thursday, December 11. The World Cup Final will take place on Saturday the 13th. This is to be the test event for the Olympic Games so we will have the opportunity to compete at the same sites that will be used next year. The top competitors in the world will be present and it promises to be an exciting competition and a very good Games simulation.
The last couple of weeks of training have been very intense. I've been doing some very good work on the track and am feeling fast. Swimming is always a bit of a struggle, but it is improving. Swimming nationals took place at the University of Laval last weekend and I watched quite a few events to try and gain some insight and inspiration. There were some very impressive swims in the 200m freestyle (my event), including a new national record for the men. My technical events (shooting, fencing and riding) are also going well and I look forward to testing myself in a real competition.
I've finally achieved a good balance in my training and while I'm working hard, I don't feel too tired to maintain the quality required. The first competition after a long break is sometimes mentally difficult and I've been trying to mentally prepare for what is to come. I have only a few more days of intense training before I begun to rest up for the competition. I'm feeling very positive at the moment and I think this will be the first of several excellent competitions in the coming year.
Look out Athens... here I come!!
Kara Grant Olympic Quest Fundraising Dinner
-- A Success!
Thank you to everyone who came out and supported me at Myron's
restaurant on
Monday, November 10. The evening was a compete success in every way.
Special
thanks must be given to my parents Marian and Danny, who put so much
work into
making this evening the success that it was. It would be fair to say
that a
go
od time was had by all 140 people who came out to show their support
of my
Olympic quest. While I will still need to raise another $20,000, I was
able to
raise a good portion of the money that will be needed in order to
attend
important competitions and training camps in the coming year.
As I told everyone on Monday, my training is going very well at the
moment, my
state of mind is positive, and I am taking all the right steps to
prepare
myself for a great year. The experiences of 2003 proved that I am
indeed
capable and that I have moved up to the next level. I continue to build
on
these experiences as I prepare for the World Cup Final in Athens on
December
13. This will be an important competition as it is the test event for
the
Olympics.
Many thanks to the people of Stratford, Charlottetown, and Prince
Edward
Island who continue to support me and believe in my abilities.
November 1, 2003
I recently attended a great training camp in Colorado Springs with the US national pentathlon team. It was really worth the trip as we fenced twice a day for most of the week and I was able to train with very serious group of women pentathletes and fencers. I'm so motivated to continue training!! I put this energy to good use during the past week by getting back into a good training routine at home doing some preparations for my Olympic Quest Fundraising Dinner which will take place at Myron's Restaurant in Charlottetown, PEI on November 10.
This is a very big year for me as I plan to qualify for and compete at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece next August. In order to be properly prepared for this I will need to attend a number of training camps and qu
ite a few competitions around the world. As much as I look forward to competing and seeing new places, this can become very expensive. My family has been very supportive, especially my parents, Danny and Marian, and of course a number of other people who have been instrumental in organising this key fundraising function.
I'm really looking forward to this dinner for a number of reasons. Obviously there are financial benefits, but it is also a wonderful opportunity for people to learn a little more about me and my sport. There was a lot of interest last year and everyone really enjoyed themselves. It is very humbling and gratifying to have such support. There are so many people that have helped me to reach my present level and this dinner allows me to meet with many of you and thank you in person.
The dinner will be held at Myron's restaurant, reception to start at 6:30 dinner at 7:00. There will be a slide show, a silent auction, door prizes and of course a small talk by yours truly. At this time I will fully apprise everyone of the exciting events which have taken place over the past year and my plans for Olympic qualification in the coming months.
Tickets are $100 which includes the evening at Myron's as well as a green fee coupon for Dundarave golf course. If you are interested in attending my dinner, please contact my father, Danny Grant at 902-569-4600.
Hope to see you there!
October 16, 2003
It's been a fantastic fall in every way for me. The Indian summer we've
experienced here in Quebec City has made training outside a great pleasure.
I've been keeping very busy and taking advantage of the great weather by doing
a lot of running and riding outdoors. I'm presently half-leasing a horse named
Triomphe (the horse) and I'm really enjoying the extra time in the saddle.
There is a super group running cross country with the University of Laval this
year and I'm really enjoying training with them on the Plains of Abraham.
Having run with the team at UNB for several years I have a soft place in my
heart for cross country. The home race was last Saturday, October 11 and I
decided to take part. It was just as painful and just as exhilarating as I
remember! I started out with a good pace and even managed to lead the pack for
awhile before feeling the effects of my lack of hill training. Yes, there were
some very big hills on this course. In the end I finished a respectable 8th
place with a time of 15:31.
The rest of my training is also going very well and I?m taking advantage of an
invitation to attend a US National team pentathlon training camp in Colorado Springs from October 18-26. This will have a fencing focus and we will be doing
twice daily sessi
ons in the fencing hall.
September 25, 2003
Several wonderful weeks flew by between my national Championships in August and
a return to full time training. I took full advantage of my much needed rest
and spent some quality time with my friends and family at home in Prince Edward
Island. Home for a rest would not be complete without a stop in Fredericton to
visit the many friends, family members, and coaches who were and still are such
a big part of my life. Go UNB!!
It?s great to be back in Quebec City!! I?m so glad to be back to training. The
first week was all about getting organized and planning the coming year with my
many coaches. The good news is that we have developed a plan to get me to the
2004 Olympics in Athens and now it is a simple matter of implementing it.
Easier said than done of course, but the plan is the first important step
towards that coveted goal.
Of course, it?s not officially back to training until I?ve made it to my first
fall fencing tournament. I didn?t have to wait long! The women?s epee event of
the first national circuit fencing event of the season took place in
Sherbrooke, Quebec Friday September 19th. The day started slowly, but I
advanced easily to the top 16 pools and was able to get some great experience
fencing against some of Canada?s best women?s eppeists. I fi
nished 10th, my
best result in national fencing circuit. The Club Estoc, with whom I fence, had
a lot of great performances (not to mention 5 medals!) and I?m again reminded
and inspired by the commitment, dedication and quality of the athletes with
whom I train. Three of these athletes will soon be competing in Havana, Cuba at
the World Fencing Championships and I wish them all the best-
Bonne chance Marie-Eve, Charles et Tony!!
Pan American Games, August 11
Every four years one of the biggest major games in the world takes place. Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic was the site of the 2003 Pan American Games. Over
7000 athletes from all over the Americas took part, including 400+ Canadian
athletes. This was an especially important competition for me because it
represented my best chance to qualify early for the 2004 Olympics.
I had a fantastic season leading up to the Games including a best ever
performance at World Championships 3 weeks prior. However, I was not able to
retain this level of performance for another competition. The shooting event
started very poorly as I was really feeling the intense pressure of the moment.
I did manage to turn it around and finished very strongly, but this still left
me with a result slightly below my average. A strong performance in the fence
would have made up for this t
hough and I would have still had a run at the
gold. I started strong in the fencing event, but I was not able to maintain my
momentum and it ended with my most disappointing fencing result of the year. I
struggled with optimism at this point and fortunately I was able to keep myself
together and swim close to my personal record. I followed this up with the only
perfect ride of the day and the second fastest run time. In the end, I crossed
the finish line in 5th place.
This was definitely not what I had had in mind for this competition, but the
reality is that there were high and low points to the day. Although this result
puts off my Olympic qualification, it by no means ends my chances of competing
in Athens. I'm presently ranked 17th in the world and I plan to improve upon
that during the next year. There will be 32 women taking part in the modern
pentathlon event at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and I intend to be one of
them!!
Canadian National Pentathlon Championships- August 24, 2003
The Canadian nationals took place in Chilliwack, BC on August 24-25th. As the
returning four-time national champion I had fully planned to retain that title
for another year, but it was not to be. The shooting event was moderate and I
won the fencing event by over 200 points. It was looking very good for me at
this poin
t as my swimming has been improving and traditionally I am a very
strong rider and runner. Unfortunately, the quality of the horses supplied for
this event was extremely poor and my mount had plans that did not include
jumping obstacles. The boys were lucky enough not to have to cope with this
animal the following day, but it did nothing for me. After losing 550 points of
a possible 1200, my chances of winning the gold were none.
The positive side to this particular bit of fate is the fact that this did not
happen to me at an important international competition. For that I am very
thankful. I also have the benefit of many more good years left in my pentathlon
career during which I will have the opportunity to win back the national title-
as well as many other yet unachieved titles!!
Next stop- a well deserved rest in Prince Edward Island during my favourite
time of year!
World Championships- 22nd!!!
I competed in the Modern Pentathlon World Championshisp final in
Pesaro, Italy on July 19th where I finished 22nd. I had a great result on
the 17th which allowed me to advance to the final two days later. The day of
the final was a little disappointing as my shooting was not up to par, but the
other four events were quite good. I have had some excellent results this
year and I have a very good chance to q
ualify for Athens next year.
Bronze Medal finish at the Colorado Open
A strong performance at the World Cup in Poland was soon followed by a flight back to Quebec City and less than a week later, a second flight to Colorado Springs, the sight of the Colorado Open Modern Pentathlon competition.
The day began with a bit of a scare as I had some problems adjusting my air pistol before the shooting event, but fortunately I was able to keep a cool head and managed to overcome the problem and shoot reasonably well. The fencing event also went well and after 2 events I was leading the competition. The swimming has always been my week event and I dropped to 6th after swimming. The scores, however, were all very close and with a good ride and a strong running performance I still had a chance to win. Unfortunately this was not be the case as the horse I drew was not the most capable and although he did not hesitate at jumping the obstacles, neither did he hesitate to knock down rails. At the end of the round 6 rails had fallen and a gold medal was well out of reach.
Such is the nature of the modern pentathlon competition and there was nothing left to do, but to do my best and to run into a medal position. I did just that, crossing the finish line in third position. It was a solid performance despite the disappointment of the ride, and the competition also served as a very good preparation for the Pan American Games which will boast many of
the same competitors.
Strong World Cup Performance in Warsaw
June 1 2003 was the women's final in Warsaw, Poland. I had a very solid day
with 181 shoot, 832 fence, 1008 swim, 1172 ride and 1164 run for a total score
of 5284 and 13th place in the strongest World Cup of the year. With 62
competitors vying for the 32 spots in the final even the preliminary, two days
earlier, was very competitive. There is always room for improvement, but I'm
really pleased with the progress I've made in the last year. It is evident that
I'm on track for Athens.
Gold medal performances at Eastern Canadian Fencing Championships!
The fencers, and family and friends of the fencers from the Estoc fencing club,
in Ste-foy, Quebec are in the process of recovering from a big weekend. The
club hosted the Eastern Canadian Fencing Championships in fine style with lots
of smiles and a great snack bar. The efforts of the fencers did not go un-
noticed or rewarded either as Hugues Boisvert-Simard and Kara Grant (me!) both
captured the title of Eastern Canadian Champion in their respective Epee
divisions. This was a first time win for both fencers at tournament of this
level (but not the last!).
I was really happy with my performance as well as the final result and I fully
expect that the experience will h
elp me transfer this feeling to my fencing
performances in modern pentathlon. Watch out world - Here I come!!
Spring Pentathlon Results
April brought about the beginning of the European circuit for 2003 which I
began with a training camp and competition in Portugal. It was great to be able
to do some focused training with fellow Canadian team-mates and I was able to
profit from this experience. I had a solid competition, if not spectacular, and
finished 12th in Portugal.
The next day I travelled to Switzerland for a training camp with coach Philipp
Waeffler and team-mates Monica Pinette and Toshiro Ihara. Again the training
was excellent and I felt really good going into the World Cup in Hungary. The
semi-final took place last Thursday, April 24. Despite my excellent preparation
I was unable to perform to my expectations in the shooting and fencing. I had a
good swim and an excellent run, but this was not enough to make the final on
Saturday at this very strong world cup competition. However, I?m not
discouraged because the training is going well and it is still early in the
season.
My next competition will take place in Switzerland on May 18th followed by a
World Cup in Poland 10 days later. These competitions will help me prepare for
the World Championships and Pan American Games later this summer
where I will
be peaked and ready for the ultimate performance.
In fencing news: I?ve been busy on the Quebec circuit this year with my most
recent competition being the Quebec Championships which took place in
Sherbrooke March 30. My fencing club had great results there with Gabrielle
Lavoie winning her first senior medal and Vincent Pelletier winning yet another
tournament in the senior men?s division. Also to his credit are wins at the
Ottawa Shield and the Governor General.
This weekend Estoc will be hosting the Eastern Canadian Fencing Championships
where several club members will have a chance to defend titles and I will be
hoping to challenge!
Best ever World Cup finish!!
The first World Cup of 2003 took place this past weekend in Hermosillo, Mexico.
I had a very good competition finishing 10th overall. The day began well with a
181 shoot, enough for 5th place. The fencing was not as good as I had hoped but
still solid with 832 points. After 2 events I was in 4th place. The swimming
event is my weakest and I dropped to 17th place after swimming, however on the
bright side I swam a best time. I had a good ride with only 2 rails down and
moved up to 13th position going into the final event, the run. I ran really
well and moved up 3 places to finish in 10th position.
This
is a very promising start to the 2003 competitive season and I look
forward to my next competition in Lisbon, Portugal on April 13th.
Happy New Year Everyone!
The past year has been really exciting for me and I look forward to more good times in 2003. I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to my family, friends, sponsors, and everyone else who has followed my progress in the world of modern pentathlon. Your faith in me has been constant and so important to me.
It's still early in the 2003 season, but the last three weeks have been very busy. I had an excellent Christmas vacation with my family and friends in Prince Edward Island followed by and equally good New Year's in Fredericton. January 1st brought about lots of resolutions and of course back to serious training. I had a very productive training camp in Fredericton with shooting coach Bob Kierstead and riding coach Ally Sillars. This was only the beginning.
There comes a time in many people's lives when they feel the need for change and growth. I had been considering a new environment for some time. For me mid-January was "The Big Move". I left everything familiar to me back in the Maritimes, including the language. Yes, I can now be found in Quebec City. As always, my permanent residence will continue to be my red 1992 Toyota Tercel. However I now have a bed in Quebec as well as in Fredericton and Stratford, my home town in Prince Edward Island.
Quebec City has many marvels to offer, besides the beautiful architecture and colourful history for which it is known. Excellent athletic facilities are available to me at the University of Laval and I have been given a warm welcome by the coaches, athletes, and people of the region. Club Estoc (www.estoc.ca), the local fencing club, is the other venue where I spend a great deal of time training. Fencing with the best can often be a source of frustration as I get beaten quite regularly, but then the victories are all the more sweet and the improvements come all the more rapidly.
One would think that with all the travelling and moving I've been doing that I would now take some time to settle into life in Quebec City, but of course that is not my way and when the opportunity presented itself to sign up for my first North American Circuit fencing tournament I jumped at the chance. Having purchased my ticket before Christmas I needed only to board the plane at 6:30am on January 16th, click my heels and think "California here I come". No doubt San Diego will never be the same. There were a few stressful moments preceding the competition, but in general I'm very pleased with my performance. At the end of the day I finished 29th out of 99 competitors and was the top Canadian woman. Estoc had good results in the men's division as well with Vincent Pelletier finishing 16th and Hugues Boisvert-Simard finishing 33rd.
The month of January is almost over, but the year has just begun. I look forward to an exciting year of learning (in french!) in Quebec City and of course training and competing in modern pentathlon.
Sincerely,
Kara
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