Monica Pinette (born February 5, 1977) 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, and the only indigenous athlete of (

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

) 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 ...

. Her 13th-place finish overall at the 2004 Summer Olympics was Canada's best recorded performance in the modern pentathlon to date.

Early life and career

Pinette was born in the city of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

and grew up in Langley, British Columbia. Pinette began her sporting career as a member of the Pony Club in Vancouver. She took up the pentathlon at age 21. She has participated in modern pentathlon at different local clubs for swimming, shooting, fencing, and horse-riding. Pinette provides a unique challenge for her opponents as she is left handed, a rarity in the sport of fencing. Pinette graduated from the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...

with a Bachelor of Arts degree in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, and earned a diploma in Journalism and Photojournalism from the Western Academy of Photography. She was coached by her husband Philipp Waeffler, 1996 Olympic modern pentathlete from Switzerland. Pinette describes the dynamic of having her husband and coach be the same person as having "Two Philipps" and admits that she has to separate her husband from coach in order to avoid getting frustrated. In 2009, Monica Pinette received the British Columbia Premier's Award. She received a National Aboriginal Achievement Award, now known as the

Indspire Awards The Indspire Awards, until 2012 the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, are annual awards presented by Indspire in Canada. The awards are intended to celebrate and encourage excellence in the Aboriginal community. About The awards were fir ...

in the sport category in 2010. Pinette admits she was surprised to win the award, as pentathlon is a small sport, and usually lacks media coverage or attention.

Awards

She made her international debut at the 2002 and 2003 World Championships and eventually competed at the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

, where she finished seventh. Following this Pinette qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, along with her compatriot

Kara Grant Kara Grant (born January 9, 1979) is a two-time Olympic modern pentathlete from Canada. She is one of the first female Canadian modern pentathletes, along with Monica Pinette, to compete at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Born and ra ...

. They made their national debut in the women's event. With her strongest performance in the fencing segment, Pinette finished successfully in thirteenth place, the highest position achieved by a modern Canadian pentathlete, male or female, in Olympic history. Pinette continued to earn a fourth-place finish for the team relay 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 also, her first medal by winning gold at the Pan American Championships in the same year. She also added her silver medal 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 ...

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 ...

, automatically receiving a qualifying berth for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

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 ...

. At the Olympics, Pinette finished in twenty-seventh place, following a poor performance in the last three sporting segments.

Personal life

Currently, Monica Pinette is a retired pentathlete and is working towards raising awareness for aboriginal athletes in Canada as well as giving advice on how to live a healthy lifestyle, specifically as an aboriginal person. She contributed to the creation of a booklet titled ''Growing Up Healthy'' that encourages First Nations parents in British Columbia to live a healthy lifestyle. Pinette has a son named Bruno.

References

External links

*
archived page from Pentathlon.org

Canadian Olympic Team Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinette, Monica 1977 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 silver medalists for Canada Sportspeople from Vancouver Indspire Awards Métis sportspeople Pan American Games medalists in modern pentathlon Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games 20th-century Canadian women 21st-century Canadian women