Margaux Isaksen (born October 7, 1991) is a

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 the United States who competed at 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 Nat ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, and the

2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

Rio de Janeiro 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 ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. She placed 4th at the London Olympics after coming from behind but missed a medal. Isaksen competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics at age 16. She finished in 21st place in the women's modern pentathlon event. She finished first overall in the women's modern pentathlon event at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

. This qualified her for the modern pentathlon event at the 2012 Summer Olympics where she placed fourth, despite having had

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...

only a few weeks before. Isaksen went on to win the 2013 Rio World Cup, shortly thereafter.

Early life

Isaksen was born in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville () is the second-largest city in Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the biggest city in Northwest Arkansas. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington unt ...

. She lived in Fayetteville for most of her early life, and grew up riding horses. She has one sibling, Isabella Isaksen, who is also at the

Olympic Training Center The United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Centers (OPTCs) are two campuses created by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) as training facilities for its Olympic and Paralympic athletes. They are located in Colorado Sprin ...

in Colorado Springs, competing internationally in modern pentathlon. Isaksen's father was the captain of a cruise ship. He died of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowe ...

when his daughters were 2 and 6 months old, respectively. Isaksen was raised by her mother, Kathleen West, until she moved in at the Olympic Training center in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

, sometime during her early teenage years. On June 1, 2008, at the age of 16, Isaksen qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics when she received an official Olympic invitation from the

Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne The ''Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne'' ( en, International Modern Pentathlon Union), commonly known by the acronym UIPM, has been the international governing body of modern pentathlon since its foundation in London in 1948. Its head ...

due to her ranking on the pentathlon world ranking list for the Olympic qualifying period.

References

External links

USA Pentathlon profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaksen, Margaux 1991 births Living people American female modern pentathletes Modern pentathletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 2011 Pan American Games Modern pentathletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic modern pentathletes for the United States Sportspeople from Fayetteville, Arkansas World Modern Pentathlon Championships medalists Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in modern pentathlon Modern pentathletes at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games 21st-century American women 21st-century American people