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Four Pentathletes Compete at Cup Final
By Cecil Bleiker // U.S. Olympic Committee // September 14, 2007
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Four USA Pentathlon athletes will vie for gold and an Olympic qualification slot this weekend (September 15-16) at the 2007 Modern Pentathlon World Cup Final in Beijing, China. This final event of the modern pentathlon World Cup season is also the test event for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Organizing Committee in advance of next year’s Olympic Games. The gold medal winners of the World Cup Final will receive an automatic qualification berth to the 2008 Olympic Games.
Athletes had to qualify for an invitation to the World Cup Final based on points earned through the 2007 World Cup season.
The event will begin on Saturday, September15 with the men’s competition. Dennis Bowsher (Dallas, Texas/Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) will be the lone representative for the United States on the men’s side.
The women’s competition will be contested on Sunday, September 16. Three women will represent the U.S. in the World Cup Final, Michelle ”Mickey” Kelly (Chatham, N.Y./Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army), Emily Shertzer (Hershey, Penn./Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Sheila Taormina (Livonia, Mich./Colorado Springs, Colo.). Kelly has already secured her Olympic slot with her bronze medal performance at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in July. Taormina and Shertzer will both be gunning for the first place podium to try to join Kelly with an Olympic qualification slot.
Taormina is attempting to make sports history by becoming the first woman to qualify for the Olympic Games in three different sports. She has already competed in the Olympic Games in the sports of swimming and triathlon. She won a gold medal in swimming at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga., swimming the third leg of the 800m freestyle relay. She finished sixth and 23rd, respectively, in the triathlon at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia and the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Taormina’s top modern pentathlon World Cup performance came in March 2007 when she won the silver medal at World Cup #2 in Cairo, Egypt.
The USA Pentathlon Team is coached by Janusz Peciak (Colorado Springs, Colo.). The riding coach for the team is Michael Cintas (Rancho Mirage, Calif.).
As was the case with the 2007 Pan American Games and the 2007 World Modern Pentathlon Championships, the 2007 World Cup Final is an Olympic qualifying event by name. Athletes must finish in first place to automatically earn an Olympic berth at the World Cup Final. Including this World Cup Final, athletes have three more opportunities to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The top three finishers at the 2008 World Championships next May will also qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games by name. The remaining seven Olympic slots will be determined by the World Cup ranking from the Olympic qualifying season, June 2007 through June 1, 2008.
Representing the United States of America at the 2007 Modern Pentathlon World Cup Final in Beijing, China are:
Women:
Michelle ”Mickey” Kelly (Chatham, N.Y./Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army)
Emily Shertzer (Hershey, Penn./Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Sheila Taormina (Livonia, Mich./Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Men:
Dennis Bowsher (Dallas, Texas/Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army)
Head Coach: Janusz Peciak (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Riding Coach: Michael Cintas (Rancho Mirage, Calif.)
For more information, please contact Cecil Bleiker, United States Olympic Committee NGB Services Manager at 719-866-4608. This press release is also available on the USOC’s media specific website at www.usocpressbox.org.
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