Kara Grant (born January 9, 1979) is a two-time Olympic

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 ...

from Canada. She is one of the first female Canadian modern pentathletes, along with Monica Pinette, to compete at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

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. Born and raised in

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, Grant started out her sporting career in modern pentathlon at the age of sixteen. Although she joined in a local fencing club, Grant was intrigued by the challenge and variety of five different sporting disciplines (shooting, fencing, swimming, horse-riding, and running), which ultimately made her decision to try and accomplish the sport. In 1999, Grant received a qualifying berth for the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, where she took home the bronze medal for her national team. Following her well-accomplished result, she spent five years of training and competition before was able to break through into the international scene in 2002, when she added her first individual bronze medal at the Pan American Championships in

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. She also graduated from the

University of Prince Edward Island The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is a public university in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the only university in the province. Founded in 1969, the enabling legislation is the ''University Act, R.S.P.E.I 2000.'' H ...

with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2002 Grant qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, as one of the first female Canadian modern-pentathletes, and competed in the women's event, where she finished only in twenty-second place. She also produced her first top-ten finish at the

2006 World Modern Pentathlon Championships The 2006 World Modern Pentathlon Championships were held in Guatemala City, Guatemala from November 18 to November 20. Medal summary Men's events Women's events See also *Modern Pentathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics Modern pentathlon co ...

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, and nearly missed out the medal podium at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...

in Rio de Janeiro, finishing abruptly in fourth place. Following her highest achievements in the international scene, Grant competed at her second Olympics in

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in 2008, and finished thirty-first in the women's event. Shortly after the Olympics, Grant retired from her sporting career, and worked as a motivational and public speaker.

References

External links

* *
archived page from Pentathlon.org
* * * 1979 births Living people Canadian female modern pentathletes Olympic modern pentathletes for Canada Modern pentathletes at the 2007 Pan American Games Modern pentathletes at the 2004 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada Sportspeople from Charlottetown Pan American Games bronze medalists in modern pentathlon Modern pentathletes at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games UPEI Panthers players Laval Rouge et Or athletes 20th-century Canadian sportswomen 21st-century Canadian sportswomen {{Canada-modern-pentathlon-bio-stub