Kate French announces retirement from modern pentathlon after stellar journey from student-athlete to Olympic gold-medallist

21 January 2025

The University of Bath congratulates Olympic gold-medallist Kate French, who has today announced her retirement from modern pentathlon, on an outstanding sporting career.

French, who competed at three Olympics and famously won the women’s title in record-breaking fashion at the rescheduled Tokyo Games in 2021, has been a valued member of the high-performance sport environment at Team Bath for the past 15 years, as both a student and Pentathlon GB athlete.

Stephen Baddeley, Director of Sport at the University of Bath, said: “Congratulations to Kate on a magnificent career. It has been a joy and privilege to witness at close quarters her development from a student-athlete with plenty of promise to an Olympic Champion and multiple global medallist.

“Behind Kate’s humble and understated demeanour is a driven, determined and hard-working approach to training and competition that enabled her to fulfil her potential and reach the pinnacle of her sport.

“Kate has been a wonderful ambassador for both modern pentathlon and the University of Bath. She has always been very supportive of Team Bath and gave an excellent speech on behalf of the athletes who train here during a homecoming celebration following the Tokyo Olympic Games.

A picture of Kate French punching the air as she crosses the finish line in second place when the University of Bath hosted the 2019 Modern Pentathlon European Championships
Kate French punches the air after winning silver when the University of Bath hosted the 2019 Modern Pentathlon European Championships

“We are immensely proud to have played a part in Kate’s sporting and academic achievements and wish her all the best with her next challenge.”

French, from Kent, joined Pentathlon GB’s National Training Centre, based at the Team Bath Sports Training Village, in 2010 and spent the first four years combining her training and competition with studying Sports Performance.

Following her graduation, French enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2015 when she won her first World Cup medal in the United States before securing Olympic qualification with an eighth-place finish on home soil when the University hosted the European Championships.

A fantastic fifth place at Rio 2016 provided the springboard for an excellent Tokyo Olympiad which saw French win World Cup Final gold, World Championships bronze, and successive European Championship silver medals in 2018 and 2019 – the latter again coming at the University of Bath.

The high point of her career came in August 2021 when French won gold for Team GB in Tokyo, setting a new Olympic points record in the process.

After taking an extended break from the sport, French decided to go for a third Olympic Games and successfully qualified for Paris 2024. However, after excelling in the semi-finals, she was forced to miss the women’s final through illness.

French, a co-founder of the Nest in Bath property management company, has recently started a new role as athlete mentor for The True Athlete Project.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kate French (@katefrench3)

Sponsors
Partners and Suppliers