Heather Fell
DOB: 3/3/1983 Event: Modern Pentathlon Medals: 1 silver Flag: GBR
Last Updated: 01/11/11 10:18am
Heather Fell will be looking to go one better than in Beijing 2008 where she picked up the silver medal.
The former world junior champion received a huge boost to her confidence by reaching the podium and believes she has what it takes to bring home a gold medal on her own patch for the Great Britain team.
Fell was ranked 12 in the world at the start of 2011 and Great Britain had seven women in the top-40 in the world at the start of the year. Only two athletes per gender per nation can compete so Fell faces a tough challenge to get to London 2012.
If she does, she will have to overcome her Beijing conqueror, Germany's Lena Schoneborn, currently rated the best in the world.
Modern Pentathlon is one of Great Britain's most successful Olympic sports having won 66 per cent of the medals available to us since the women's sport was added to the Olympic programme.
Born in Plymouth, Devon, the home of another Olympian in Tom Daley, Fell was taught to shoot and ride by the parents of 2000 pentathlon bronze medallist Kate Allenby when growing up in Tavistock.
Fell almost gave up the sport when shin splints led her to miss several events and result in her funding being cut by UK Sport - as she was forced to leave her training base at Bath University and return to live at home.
Using money from three part-time jobs, as a physiotherapist, swimming teacher and barmaid, Fell got back on her game and only got her funding restored once she qualified for Beijing.
