Kate French

Kate French, born on February 11, 1991, in Meopham, England, began her professional career in modern pentathlon, eventually training at the Pentathlon GB High Performance Centre at the University of Bath. Early career accomplishments include achieving gold medals in the team and team relay events at the 2013 European Championships held in Drzonków, Poland. In the same year, she also secured a team gold at the World Championships in Kaoshiung, Taiwan. These initial successes established her as a prominent figure in the sport.

French continued her progression with two silver medals at the 2014 World Modern Pentathlon Championships in Warsaw, Poland, one in the women’s team event and another in the mixed relay. Her Olympic debut at Rio 2016 saw her finish fifth, a significant achievement demonstrating her competitive standing. In 2017, she reached a career-high world ranking of number two, following gold at a World Cup event. The pinnacle of her career arrived at Tokyo 2020, where she secured an Olympic gold medal in the individual women’s modern pentathlon, also setting a new Olympic record for overall points. This achievement marked her as the first British woman to win Olympic modern pentathlon gold since 2000.

Following her Olympic success, French was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for her contributions to modern pentathlon. After an 18-month break from the sport, she returned to competition with aspirations for Paris 2024. Despite qualifying for the final, illness led to her withdrawal, resulting in a 19th-place finish. She announced her retirement from modern pentathlon on January 21, 2025, concluding a distinguished career characterized by multiple international medals and an Olympic gold.