Mary Beth Iagorashvili (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Larsen, born July 28, 1974) is a retired 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 is also the first U.S. female modern pentathlete and one of the twenty-four athletes to participate in the first-ever women's event at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Larsen was a 1994 graduate of the

New Mexico Military Institute New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) is a public military junior college and high school in Roswell, New Mexico. Founded in 1891, NMMI operates under the auspices of the State of New Mexico, under a dedicated Board of Regents that reports t ...

(NMMI). In 1999, she married Georgian-born modern pentathlete

Vakhtang Iagorashvili Vakhtang "Vaho" Iagorashvili (born April 5, 1964 in Tbilisi, Georgia) is a Soviet modern pentathlete, who has been a member of three different Olympic teams during his sporting career. Iagorashvili emerged as the top favorite to win the men's in ...

, who won an individual bronze medal at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. Iagorashvili emerged as one of the top favorites to win the women's modern pentathlon in the early 2000s. She won the gold medal at the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games () or the 13th Pan American Games and commonly known as Winnipeg 1999, were a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Ma ...

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and bronze at the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games, officially the XIV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santo Domingo 2003, were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the Games was made in the mid-1990 ...

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, which both obtained her qualifying places for the Olympic games. With her husband being ineligible to compete because of citizenship issues, Iagorashvili competed in Sydney for the Olympic Games, and finished fourth in the women's event with a score of 5,129 points. Following her fourth-place finish, Iagorashvili continued to build her success in modern pentathlon, as she became the national champion in 2002. She later competed with her husband 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 ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, after winning medals at the Pan American Games. She finished fifteenth in the women's event with a score of 5,052 points. After the Olympics, Iagorashvili retired from her sport, and after graduating from

Logan College of Chiropractic Logan University is a private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, ...

in December 2001, began her practice in Texas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

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* * * * * 1974 births Living people American female modern pentathletes Olympic modern pentathletes for the United States Modern pentathletes at the 2000 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 2004 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in modern pentathlon Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in modern pentathlon Modern pentathletes at the 1999 Pan American Games Modern pentathletes at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games American chiropractors Logan University alumni Sportspeople from Waukesha, Wisconsin 20th-century American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen {{US-modern-pentathlon-bio-stub