Reaching for Olympic Dreams
Drew Silverman, Red Line Editorial July 13, 2010

For any pentathlete, there is a moment at the beginning of their career — a moment that, in retrospect, can be quite comical.

For Margaux Isaksen, it was quite memorable too. It came about five years ago when her fencing coach, Neal Picken, introduced her to modern pentathlon. “I just remember thinking, ‘Wow, that is such a random combination of sports,’ ” Isaksen said. “About a year later, I completely fell in love with the sport. It’s so interesting. It’s five completely different sports that make a very unique combination of events.” Isaksen essentially began competing in all five sports — pistol shooting, epee fencing, swimming, equestrian show jumping, and running — within a six-month span.

She first competed in modern pentathlon in 2006 and now says, “four years later, here I am!” Here she is: An 18-year-old with a résumé that includes national championships on both the junior and senior circuits and a youth world championship. Oh, and by the way, she was a U.S. Olympian in 2008 when she was barely old enough to drive. “I’m competing with people that have been doing this for 15 years,” Isaksen said. “They’re all much older than me. But hopefully with experience, I can continue to improve in all the events.”

The 14th-ranked pentathlete in the world, Isaksen is the second-youngest woman in the top 50 of the world rankings. The average age of the 13 women ranked ahead of her is 26. But Isaksen doesn’t view it as a matter of rookie vs. veterans. “I don’t know if (it’s about) overcoming my lack of experience,” she said. “My coach always tells me, ‘You’re so young. You’re gaining experience.’ And that’s what I tell myself every competition. At the same time, I’ve never really taken into consideration the fact that I’m younger than these people. I don’t care how old they are. I want to be the best at what I’m doing.” Even for the best athletes, though, modern pentathlon remains a low-profile sport.

As a result, there isn’t a lot of money in it for the competitors. Isaksen relies on the support of the U.S. Olympic Committee to be able to compete in the sport she loves. “The pentathlon as a whole is probably struggling more than most sports right now,” Isaksen said. “Because it’s small, it doesn’t get a lot of funding, and it’s not big in the U.S., it’s definitely struggling.” Isaksen currently receives a monthly stipend from the USOC, in addition to having her housing and meals paid for at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. “As an 18-year-old, I’m financially secure,” she acknowledged. But while the USOC gives her enough to compete — through the stipend and other expenses that are covered at the Olympic Training Center — she is hardly making a living.

“When you see the way that athletes get paid around the world — pentathletes in particular — it’s quite frustrating knowing that ultimately if I was trying to support my family or support myself outside of living at the OTC and having food, I don’t think it would be possible,’’ Isaksen said. “(The stipend) is fine, but results-based, I should be getting much more than I am.” When it comes to results, Isaksen’s promising career is off to a flying start. Her nearest compatriot in the world rankings is McKenzie West, ranked 128th.

Not bad for an athlete who was introduced to the sport less than five years ago. But while Isaksen has certainly come a long way since her days as a novice teenager in Arkansas, she admitted that 2010 has not been the best year for her. “This season for me has been quite rough,” she said. “I had a couple of competitions where I really questioned why I was doing this. Of course I’ve gotten over it and learned to push myself to become even stronger, but I’ve had to overcome that and pull myself back up.”

Despite grueling training sessions that often include four or five sports in one day, Isaksen never wanted to quit. “Ultimately, what I get to do on a daily basis is a privilege,” she said. “I push myself incredibly, incredibly hard, but I also have the opportunity to travel the world and meet new people and do what I love doing on a daily basis, which is something that not everyone gets to experience.” In the end, Isaksen credits her family for helping her to get to this point and her coach, Janusz Peciak, for fueling her improvement and, just as importantly, maintaining her motivation.

“The biggest obstacle for me was learning how to push myself, learning how to hurt. Because without that, you’re never going to be any good,” said Isaksen, who considers running and swimming her two strongest sports. “Learning to push yourself when you don’t want to go to practice at 6 o’clock in the morning is really what makes a champion.”

Of course, Isaksen can’t think about pentathlon every second of every day. In her spare time, she enjoys being in nature, grabbing coffee with friends and sometimes just sitting down with a good book by herself. Keep in mind, she is still a teenager — albeit one with Olympic dreams. “Anybody who says they don’t get burned out is lying, unless they’re Superman,” she said. “But you just have to overcome it and ultimately know that the goals you’re fighting towards are so very worth it.”

Margaux Isaksen heads to Cheng Du
2010 UIPM Senior World Championships
September 1-7

Incredible venues in the amazing country of China Visit the Official Website for more information

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