Genevieve Janse van Rensburg

Growing up in Singleton, 200km north of Sydney, Genevieve Janse van Rensburg exhibited an early passion for various sports including horse riding, netball, swimming and sailing.

Her journey into modern pentathlon began in 2017 when Rio 2016 Olympic modern pentathlon gold medallist Chloe Esposito visited her school in Maitland. Inspired by Chloe's achievements, Genevieve started training in fencing and soon integrated the other modern pentathlon disciplines into her training routine.

In 2018 Genevieve won silver in the U15 women’s epee at the Australian National Championships. Later that year, she made her international debut at the Asia/Oceania U19 Championships in Thailand, finishing 17th overall. A remarkable achievement for a sport she had only picked up a year prior.

In 2019, she took first place in the Oceania division at the Asia Junior Oceania Championships, finishing 11th overall. That same year, she competed in the UIPM Laser Run World Championships in Budapest, finishing second in the qualification phase and 10th overall in the final.

Genevieve won her first national championship in 2020, securing gold in the women's epee at the Australian National Juniors Championship. Her success continued in 2021 with victories on the Australian Fencing Circuit and the National Cadets Championship. She also won bronze at the Australian Fencing National Championship and silver in the second round of the Australian Fencing Circuit.

2022 saw Genevieve's success extend both nationally and internationally. She won gold medals at the Australian Modern Pentathlon National Championships, the Junior National Championship and the Australian Fencing Circuit. She also won bronze at the UIPM Laser Run World Championship in Portugal and made her senior debut at the International German Championships in Berlin.

In 2023, Genevieve won the national junior title for the third straight year and repeated her bronze medal performance in the open women's category.

Internationally, she triumphed at the UIPM Laser Run World Championships in Bath, UK, and secured second place overall (first in Oceania) in the senior women's epee at the African and Oceania Championships in Cairo. Her achievements earned her a Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics Genevieve started 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.