Kerenza Bryson was unable to add to Great Britain’s medal haul at Paris 2024 as she was eliminated from the women’s modern pentathlon at the Olympic Games.
The 25-year-old junior doctor – who was the only representative of the British team in the final after defending champion Kate French withdrew before Sunday’s climax – was in the lead after the semi-finals on the night of the finals but finished ninth.
“I have mixed feelings,” Bryson said.
“The fact that I didn’t win a medal here makes me hungry for more Olympic Games.”
Bryson slipped to fifth place after the opening competition – which will be cancelled for Los Angeles 2028 due to the horse boxing controversy in Tokyo – and fell to sixth place when she quickly lost to Italy’s Elena Micheli in the fencing.
Swimming is considered the Brit’s weakest discipline and since she needed a fast 200-meter freestyle to catch up, she lagged behind the rest of the field in her heat.
This put Bryson in seventh place before the final discipline of the Laser Run – a 3,000-meter run divided into five laps of 600 meters each and four trips to the shooting range.
To make it onto the podium, she had to make up a 30-second deficit in the time trial, but that never seemed likely.
Hungarian Michelle Gulyas won gold with a new world record of 1,461 points, just ahead of French veteran Elodie Clouvel, who finished with 1,452 points.
South Korean Seung-min Seong took the bronze medal with 1,441, while Bryson finished with 1,404.
Bryson, who is also an army reservist, received huge applause from British fans when she jogged around the track a few minutes later with a Union Jack.
“I’m really disappointed with my performance. I came here to win a medal and I thought I could win one,” said Bryson, who has been out of medicine for a year and starts a job with the NHS in Bath next month.
“But I also try to be really positive and remember that I am an Olympian.
“I am also a doctor and an army officer and sometimes you have to remember that there is more to life than sports and medals.”
