Singleton pentathlete Genevieve van Rensburg made her Olympic debut in Paris, taking to the gruelilng multi-discipline sport with confidence at both the North Paris Arena and Chateau de Versailles.
Genevieve started the competition strongly in the women’s Individual by finishing 13th in the fencing ranking round. A series of impressive wins against higher ranked opponents landed her 215 points and a solid ranking heading into the semi-final stage.
In the semi-finals, the 20-year-old handled the Olympic pressure with great maturity, riding well in the show jumping phase before further showing her fencing prowess by earning four points by landing two hits in the bonus round.
In the 200m freestyle swim, she won her heat and had the third-fastest time in the semi-final with a time of 2:11.61.
Chasing a top-nine position in the semi to progress to the final, she started the final event, the laser run, in eighth position with plenty of experienced challengers not far behind.
Genevieve demonstrated her stamina and precision with an improved laser run performance. Ultimately she dropped down the rankings to finish 13th in her semi and just outside the qualifying spots for the final.
