Jessica Davis Savner ( ; born January 31, 1992) is an American

modern pentathlete The modern pentathlon is an Olympic multisport that consists of five events: fencing (one-touch épée followed by direct elimination), freestyle swimming, obstacle course racing, laser pistol shooting, and cross country running. The sport wa ...

. She qualified to represent the

United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics The United States of America (USA), represented by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024. U.S. athletes have appeared in every Summer Olympic Games ...

Biography

Davis was born on January 31, 1992, and grew up in

Bethlehem, Connecticut Bethlehem is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,385 at the 2020 census, down from 3,607 at the 2010 census. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The town center is a historic dist ...

. Her father was a

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

and her mother an

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

. She attended

Nonnewaug High School Nonnewaug High School is a public school in Woodbury, Connecticut, United States, which serves the towns of Woodbury and Bethlehem, Connecticut Bethlehem is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,385 at ...

in Woodbury and competed for the

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

team, specializing in the

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a #bar, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

. She graduated in 2010 and then attended

Central Connecticut State University Central Connecticut State University (Central Connecticut, CCSU, Central Connecticut State, or informally Central) is a public university in New Britain, Connecticut. Founded in 1849 as the State Normal School, CCSU is Connecticut's oldest publi ...

, where she continued to compete in track and field. She was a member of the Central Connecticut State team for two seasons and set records in the indoor and outdoor pole vault, both of which still stood as of 2024. In 2012, she helped her team finish fifth at the

Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...

(NEC) outdoor championships, while placing sixth in the individual NEC indoor championships. Davis graduated from Central Connecticut State with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in exercise science. After she graduated, she competed in triathlon events for a time before being introduced by former Olympian Suzanne Paxton to

modern pentathlon The modern pentathlon is an Summer Olympics, Olympic multisport that consists of five events: fencing (one-touch épée followed by direct elimination), freestyle swimming, obstacle course racing, Laser pistol (sport), laser pistol shooting, and ...

– a sport consisting of five parts: running, swimming, equestrian, shooting and fencing. She joined the

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a Gentlemen's club, private social club and athletic club in New York (state), New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Pa ...

and within a year was entered in the Modern Pentathlon World Cup. She competed at the

World Modern Pentathlon Championships The UIPM World Modern Pentathlon Championships (for Seniors) is an annual global international competition in modern pentathlon. It was first held in 1949 under the organization of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, International Mod ...

for the first time in 2016, and by 2023, had participated six times as an individual, three times on the women's team and twice on the mixed team. Davis won a gold medal at the

2019 Pan American Games The 2019 Pan American Games (), officially the XVIII Pan American Games () and commonly known as Lima 2019, were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization held in Lima, Peru from July 26 to August 11, 2019, with preliminar ...

in the women's relay, paired with Samantha Achterberg. She won the U.S. modern pentathlon national championship in 2023 and also won that year's Division 1A U.S.

épée The (, ; ), also rendered as epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains a ...

fencing national championship. She also competed at the

2023 Pan American Games The 2023 Pan American Games (), officially the XIX Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santiago 2023, were an international multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, held in Santiago, Chile from 20 October to 5 Novem ...

, winning a bronze medal in the mixed relay with Brendan Anderson and placing fourth in the individual event: the latter result qualified her for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

as the only American representative in modern pentathlon in Paris.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Jess 1992 births Living people American female modern pentathletes People from Bethlehem, Connecticut Sportspeople from Litchfield County, Connecticut Central Connecticut Blue Devils women's track and field athletes Modern pentathletes at the 2019 Pan American Games Modern pentathletes at the 2023 Pan American Games Olympic modern pentathletes for the United States New York Athletic Club Modern pentathletes at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century American sportswomen Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in modern pentathlon