Jessica Savner: Modern Pentathlon

From Women’s Magazine: 6 Elite Athletes Share The Hurdles They Overcame On The Path To The Paris Olympics And Paralympics

If you think one sport is hard, consider modern pentathlon: a five-sport wonder that includes equestrian show jumping, fencing, swimming, running, and shooting. Jess Savner was the perfect candidate, as a former track and field athlete who also had experience in triathlon and horseback riding. She jumped in headfirst. “My third pentathlon ever was a World Cup,” she says. “So when I say I jumped in, I jumped in.” More than a decade later, she’s the reigning U.S. champion. She shares how she manages the unpredictability of five events, and how her experience carries her.

“I used to be an anxious athlete. I was that person at the start line at my high school track and field meets looking at everybody around me and judging them—like, ‘Oh my god, she looks like she’s going to be fast.’ I was spending so much time internally losing that I wasn’t allowing myself to actually win.

I started speaking to myself in a more positive way: ‘You are just as good. You can do this.’ Now, I spend a lot of time in my head visualizing the results I want over and over again, so when I’m there, my body knows that I can do it.

In modern pentathlon, seniority is an advantage. We know how to handle the stress, how to move from sport to sport, how to feel comfortable at the starting line. Those are things you have to learn after years of putting in the work. It doesn’t happen overnight. 

At the 2023 Pan American Games, where I qualified for the Olympics, I wasn’t having the day of my life. I had a rough fence. The swim was whatever. I wasn’t in the place I wanted to be, but I knew I had a leg up on the people I was trying to beat because I’d been there.

I was comfortable. I’m able to compartmentalize each event. If you let one bad performance take you down, then the rest of the event will also take you down.

This is my last season as a modern pentathlete—I’m retiring after Paris. After this, the sport will change. They’re removing equestrian and adding obstacle course racing. It makes this Olympics special; it’s our last dance. This sport goes out in the country where it was created.

For now, though, I’m super laser-focused. I have not had the best competition of my life yet. I truly believe I will be able to do that at the Olympics. 

My strength is looking at the whole picture and being proud of what I’ve accomplished. It’s not about the wins, but about enjoying the process. Once I get there, I’m going to be fired up, but most important, I’ll be there with my teammates, coaches, and family, knowing I gave this crazy sport everything I had.”