Trinity at the Olympics Former Trinity student athlete Natalya Coyle competes in her third Olympic Games in Tokyo T okyo 2020 marks Modern Pentathlete Natalya Coyle’s third Olympic Games this summer. Coyle confirmed her spot at the European Championships in Bath in 2019, and has demonstrated top form in recent months, finishing 5th in the UIPM Pentathlon World Cup Final in Hungary in May 2021. The competition in Tokyo was one of the final events on the schedule, and the women’s event ran from 5 – 6 August 2021. Natalya, a native and resident of Tara in Meath, finished 9th at London 2012 and 6th at Rio 2016. She is a two-time World Cup silver medallist and two-time World Cup Final winner in the mixed relay alongside her team-mate and fiancé Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe. A former member of Meath Hunt Pony Club, she started competing in international modern pentathlon aged 16, having taken up horse riding before being introduced to the other disciplines. The Modern Pentathlon is one of the oldest events on the programme, a sport invented by the founder of the Modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin. It is based on a variation of the military aspect of the ancient pentathlon and focuses on the skills required by soldiers in the late 19th century. Athletes compete in swimming, show jumping (on an unknown horse), fencing, and laser run (combined running and shooting). In Tokyo the competition took place in two different venues, Musashino Forest Sport Plaza for the fencing and Tokyo Stadium for the remainder of the competition. Speaking ahead of Tokyo 2020, Team Ireland Modern Pentathlon Performance Director, Martina McCarthy said, Despite incredibly challenging circumstances this year Natalya remained steadfast in her singular focus of preparing to compete in what will be her third Olympic Games. Natalya always works tirelessly with her support team to ensure that she is in a position to deliver on the performance goals she has set for herself. Natalya had a great start in Tokyo, performing excellently in her first event, fencing. At the end of the first day she was in 3rd place and then followed this with a good performance in swimming. She was well-positioned to challenge for a medal heading into the showjumping phase, but disaster struck when Natalya was paired with an uncooperative horse which proved extremely tough to handle. This round effectively ruined any chance of a medal and following the final event - the laser run - Natalya finished in 25th position. Her Olympic adventure ended on a better note as she was given the honour of being Ireland's flag bearer during the closing ceremony, a fitting recognition for the fantastic career she has had in the Modern Pentathlon.
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