Huge Team GB gold medal hope pulls out of Olympics 2024 event just minutes before start and left ‘devastated’
Team GB'S reigning modern pentathlon Olympic champion Kate French will not defend her title in Paris due to illness.
The 33-year-old was hoping to add to reclaim the crown she won in Tokyo but she has been forced to pull out not long before the 10am start time.
French had qualified in fifth during Saturday’s semi-final and would have been among the favourites for a medal.
Team-mate Kerenza Bryson, who set an Olympic record in winning her semi-final, remains a contender for the gold medal on Sunday.
Team GB have already suffered disappointment in the event in Paris after Joe Choong, who won gold in the men's modern pentathlon in Tokyo 2020, finished ninth.
French has been replaced in the final by reserve athlete Annika Zillekens of Germany.
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Heather Bell, who won silver in the same event at Beijing, told the BBC: "Devastating and that is heart-breaking for Kate French.
"The Olympics is a rollercoaster. She had an incredible comeback in her fencing and she was in a position to defend her title."
Modern Pentathlon comprises the five disciplines of fencing, swimming, show jumping, shooting and running.
After winning gold three years ago with a then Olympic record of 1,385 points, French took a break from the sport in 2023 and only returned to training last August.
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