December 13, 2011 - Former CCAA cross-country runner Melanie McCann is on her way to the 2012 Olympic Summer Games in London.

A former member of the SAIT Trojans cross-country running team, McCann has qualified to compete in the women’s modern pentathlon. An Olympic event since 1912, modern penthalon encompasses a quintet of disciplines — pistol shooting, epee fencing, freestyle swimming, show jumping, and cross-country running.

“I’ve heard it said that you don’t pick modern pentathlon, modern pentathlon picks you. And that was definitely true in my case,” says McCann, 22. “I was a mediocre swimmer and a decent runner [in high school in Exeter, Ont.] when a teacher scouted me and asked me if I wanted to try shooting and fencing. I was already involved in so many sports, including basketball, volleyball and track. So to pick up another two sports wasn’t really a big deal.”

McCann represented both the SAIT Trojans and Alberta’s ACAC all-conference team at the 2009 CCAA Cross-Country Running National Championship at the University of Alberta - Augustana. She graduated with a diploma in civil engineering technology in 2010.

“I was involved with a lot of clubs that had sport-specific athletes who were extremely dedicated to their sport,” says McCann of her time in Calgary. “It was a great place for me to start my Olympic journey.”

Since then she’s earned a personal best of 15th overall at two World Cup events, and qualified for the 2011 World Cup final in London.

“That’s a prestigious event, because it means you’re one of the top 36 athletes on the World Cup circuit,” she says. “I was able to test out the Olympic facilities in London, which is a big advantage.”

McCann was the first Canadian modern pentathlete to qualify for London, thanks to her fourth-place finish in the women’s event at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. She’ll be warming up for the 2012 Olympics with a World Cup tour that includes stops in America, Brazil, Russia, Hungary and China.

Modern pentathlon was conceived as a way of simulating the experience of a 19th-century cavalry officer behind enemy lines. Although it’s one of the more obscure Olympic sports, McCann is sold lock, stock, and barrel.

“It’s a military-based sport. Historically, the soldier was to deliver a message by any means necessary. That would mean taking any horse off the line, running, swimming through canals, defending yourself with a sword and a gun. It really does have a cool history.”


Todd Kimberley
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