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

modern pentathlete The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anci ...

from Canada. She is one of the first female Canadian modern pentathletes, along with

Monica Pinette Monica Pinette (born February 5, 1977) is a two-time Olympic modern pentathlete from Canada. She is one of the first female Canadian modern pentathletes, and the only indigenous athlete of (Métis) to compete at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athen ...

, to compete at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. Born and raised in

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

, 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 (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, 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

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. 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 in

Guatemala City, Guatemala Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

, 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, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...

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

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

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

Canadian Olympic Team Profile
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 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 {{Canada-modern-pentathlon-bio-stub