There are many people who dream of Olympic success, but there are few who have the determination to chase them. Yet Jess Varley, at only the age of 14 is already well on her way to making these dreams a reality. Jess competes in Modern Pentathlon, a competition which tests both her physical and mental attributes. Just as the Pentathlon in the ancient Olympic Games where the events were modelled after the skills of a soldier of the time, the Modern Pentathlon tests the skills needed to be a 19th Century cavalry soldier, in which one must ride an unfamiliar horse, fight with pistol and sword, swim, and run. This gives us the five events of running, swimming, shooting, fencing and horse riding, all of which Jess trains for and competes in.

After some outstanding performances in both Modern Pentathlon and the individual events, including coming equal third at the National Triathlon Championships (run, swim, shoot), Jess has been selected to take part in the “World Class Talent Programme” which recognises future talent and invited Jess to take part in four two-day camps at Hartpury College, Gloucestershire. After impressing further at these camps, Jess became one of ten athletes to be put on the W.C.T.P. giving her access to world class coaching to help in her bid to compete inter-nationally.

As she moves into the Modern Pentathlon season, Jess has her sights set on the National Modern Pentathlon Championships as well as the National Pony Club Tetrathlon Championships in which she hopes to come away with two Gold medals. Meanwhile she is pushing for a spot on the Great Britain Modern Pentathlon team, to join others pentathletes who are up to two years older than her and are due to go to the European Championships in Portugal later this year.

Jess has had great success with her Pentathlon, but the struggle to achieve this has not been easy. At present Jess trains over nine times a week across the disciplines, as well as riding her horses throughout the week. This gruelling training schedule not only consists of four hours of swimming but also two training sessions at her club, Peterborough A.C. with further runs in between. After this exhausting training; Jess tops it off by honing her shooting skills three times a week while fencing for an extra two hours every other week. In total Jess spends over twelve hours each week with her training before she’s even started with her riding or her school work. Yet this training load is set to increase, as Jess progresses with her Modern Pentathlon and as she strives for that place on team GB.