• Home
• Athletes
• News
• About Gregory Distribution
• Competition
• Gallery
• Contact

Olympic Modern Pentathlon Silver Medallist

Age: 28
Born: 3 March 1983, Plymouth
Lives: Tavistock
Event: Modern Pentathlon

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, in Beijing, Heather won the silver medal in the women's individual event, behind Lena Schoneborn of Germany. In the first discipline, the air pistol shooting, she scored 185 out of a possible 200, this corresponded to 1156 points and 6th place. Results of 880 points in the fencing (épée), 1328 points in the freestyle swimming, and 1144 points in the show jumping followed, leaving her in 2nd position, with a 19 second deficit on the leader, heading into the 3000m run. Heather completed the run in 10 minutes 19.24 seconds, a time worth 1244 points, giving her a final total of 5752 points. Despite closing the gap on Schoneborn by 9 seconds she was unable to catch her and take victory.

It's been a hard and determined slog for Heather who nearly gave up the sport because of injury followed by a cut in funding. Like all Team Gregory members, she is a very focused athlete and she continued training with three part-time jobs as a swimming coach, a barmaid and a physiotherapist. Her funding was not restored until she qualified for the Olympics.

Heather won gold and bronze medals on the World Cup circuit in 2008 and finished 4th in the World Championships in Budapest recording a string of personal best times along the way and did get a team silver at the event.

Heather had a good workout at the Modern Pentathlon World Cup round at Medway, Kent in April 2010 finishing 13th which followed her silver medal in the European Championships last year, both since the introduction of the new climax to the Modern Pentathlon - the combined run/shoot - at the start of last season.

Heather said:

"To be part of a hand picked group of athletes who represent not just the South West but Great Britain all over the world is incredibly flattering. The support Team Gregory is giving us provides us all with an amazing opportunity to be able to reach our full potential and really put the Westcountry on the map! I am honoured to be part of this team and think we have an exciting future."

What is the Modern Pentathlon?

Invented by Baron Pierre de Courbetin, the founder of the modern Olympics, the Modern Pentathlon is modeled on the skills of a 19th century cavalry officer who had to be adept at riding, swimming, running and with the ability to fight with pistol and sword. The description 'modern, was used to distinguish today's sport from that of Ancient Greece when the soldierly skills that made up the pentathlon (Gr. Five contests) were running, wrestling, long jump, javelin and discus.

Visit Heather's official site.