Katherine Elizabeth French (born 11 February 1991) is a British former

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 ...

who won the gold medal at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in Tokyo, Japan.

Personal life

French was born on 11 February 1991 in

Meopham Meopham is a large linear village and civil parish in the Gravesham, Borough of Gravesham in north-west Kent, England, lying to the south of Gravesend. The parish covers , and comprises two villages and two smaller settlements; it had a popula ...

, near

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

, Kent. She was privately educated at the independent

Cobham Hall School Cobham Hall School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day and boarding school in the English parish of Cobham, Kent, for girls only in Years 7 to 11 and co-educational in the Sixth Form . It is a Round Square (educational organis ...

. She completed a degree in sports performance at the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

, where she also trains at the Pentathlon GB High Performance Centre. French is married and lives in Chapmanslade, Wiltshire.

Modern pentathlon

In 2013 French finished in tenth place in the individual event at both the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

in held in

Kaoshiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

and at the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

held in

Drzonków Drzonków is a district of the city of Zielona Góra, in western Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the s ...

, Poland. At the European Championships she also won gold medals in the women's team event, competing alongside Mhairi Spence and

Samantha Murray Samantha Murray (born 25 September 1989) is an English modern pentathlon, modern pentathlete. She won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the bronze medal at the 2012 World Modern Pentathlon Championships, 2012 World Championships ...

, and in the women's relay event, with Murray and

Katy Burke Katy or KATY may refer to: People and Characters * Katy, a short form of the name Katherine * Katy (given name) * Katy (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a fictional character * Katy Perry * Katie Perry, Australian fashion designer * Katy Perry (pr ...

. At the World Championships French, Murray and Spence also won the gold medal in the team event. At the

2014 World Modern Pentathlon Championships The 2014 World Modern Pentathlon Championships was held in Warsaw, Poland from September 1 to September 7, 2014. The event included pistol shooting, fencing, 200m swimming, show jumping and a 3 km run. Medal summary Men's events Women's even ...

held in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Poland, French won two silver medals. Competing with

Freyja Prentice In Norse mythology, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...

and Samantha Murray she was part of the women's team that finished second behind China and in the mixed relay event; French and Joe Evans finished second behind

Justinas Kinderis Justinas Kinderis (born 24 May 1987, Panevėžys) is a male Lithuanian modern pentathlete who won a bronze medal at 2010 World Modern Pentathlon Championships. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Modern pentathlon The modern pent ...

and

Laura Asadauskaitė Laura Asadauskaitė-Zadneprovskienė (born 28 February 1984) is a Lithuanian modern pentathlete. She is a two-time Olympic medallist, having won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London with an Olympic record score, as well as winn ...

of Lithuania. She qualified for the

modern pentathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics The modern pentathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 19 to 20 August 2016 at Deodoro Aquatics Centre, Deodoro Stadium, and Youth Arena. Thirty-six athletes competed each in the men's and women's events. Initi ...

by finishing eighth at the 2015 European Championships held in Bath. French was placed fifteenth after the first three events but missed only a single target during the combined run and shooting event to secure the top eight finish needed for Olympic qualification. At the same event she won a gold medal in the team event, competing alongside Samantha Murray and Freyja Prentice, who finished tenth and thirteenth in the individual event. In 2016 she placed 5th at the Olympic games after a consistent performance throughout all events, including winning the riding event with a perfect clear round. 2017 saw her most successful season with a silver medal at World Cup 1 in Los Angeles and a gold medal at World Cup 2 in Cairo. Due to this success she achieved a world ranking high of number 2. In 2018 French won the silver medal in the individual event at the

held in

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...

, Hungary. The following year, she repeated her silver medal-winning performance in the individual event and also won gold in the team event at the

held in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, England. In 2021 she won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the first British competitor to win since

Steph Cook Stephanie Jayne Cook, MBE (born 7 February 1972) is a British retired modern pentathlete. She was the Olympic champion at this event in 2000. Cook was born in Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. She was educated at Bedford High School; The ...

took gold at the Sydney games in 2000. She also broke the Olympic record for overall points in the event. French was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to modern pentathlon. French took the 2023 season off. She returned to competition in 2024 and on 26 June, she was announced as part of the Great Britain team for the Paris Olympics to be held later that year. She qualified for the final at the Games with a fifth place finish in her semi-final but withdrew due to illness on the morning of the competition. French announced her retirement from modern pentathlon on 21 January 2025.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:French, Kate Living people British female modern pentathletes 1991 births Alumni of the University of Bath People from Meopham Modern pentathletes at the 2016 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic modern pentathletes for Great Britain People educated at Cobham Hall School Sportspeople from Gravesend, Kent Team Bath pentathletes Olympic medalists in modern pentathlon English Olympic competitors Members of the Order of the British Empire Modern pentathletes at the 2024 Summer Olympics