Samantha Murray in GB modern pentathlon team for Rio Olympics
By Press Association
Last Updated: 08/06/16 12:28pm
London 2012 silver medallist Samantha Murray has been named among Team GB's four-person modern pentathlon squad for this summer's Olympics.
Kate French, Joe Choong and James Cooke, who will all be making their Games debuts, make up the travelling party to Rio de Janeiro.
Murray's second-place finish four years ago was Britain's seventh medal in the event, which was introduced into the modern Games 100 years earlier.
Five of those medals have been secured since the women's individual event began at Sydney in 2000, where Stephanie Cook won gold.
Modern pentathlon is made up of five disciplines: swimming, horse-riding, fencing, shooting and running. The latter two events are combined in the final event of a competition.
Murray was the first to book her passage to Rio with her performance at the 2015 World Championships, where the 26-year-old from Clitheroe was fifth.
French, 25, and 21-year-old Choong, who are both from Kent, earned their ticket at the 2015 European Championships in Bath, where all four British athletes are based.
Cooke, who narrowly missed out on a place at London 2012, made the cut with a top-10 finish at the 2016 World Championships in Moscow, following two World Cup victories earlier in the year.
Murray said: "The Olympic Games mean everything to me. Having competed at London, I now know what it's all about, I know what it's like to compete at the Games, and I feel like I know what it takes to get on the podium again.
"That has been my goal now for four years, to become the first British female pentathlete to win medals at two Olympic Games.
"We have won a medal at every Games since Sydney, so we have consistently shown people that we are a really strong nation at pentathlon. I don't think this year will be an exception."
