‘I’ve seen the inside of most police stations around the world... travelling with a gun is difficult.’ Welcome to the world of the modern pentathlete

Modern pentahlete, Natalaya Coyle, sits down for a Q&A with Brendan O'Brien. 

Q: How does someone become a modern pentathlete?

I started when I was in Pony Club. I could do four of the five sports: running, swimming, shooting and riding. You just need to have a love of lots of different sports. I had won two or three national tetrathlon titles first – running, swimming, shooting and riding – and a few international ones. I was thinking ‘where to next?’ because I had reached an age where you have to stop at Pony Club. That’s when someone introduced me to fencing.

Q: So, why should youngsters out there consider modern pentathlon?

I just love doing lots of different sports. Training is never boring because every day is different. This morning I’ve fenced, I’ve done gym and I’m doing shooting. Tomorrow I’ll go run, swim and I’ll probably go horse riding. For me, for a younger generation, sport is all about having fun and pentathlon is great fun. There are skills involved, but it is a physical event as well.

Q:  It contains all the skills required of a 19th century cavalry officer, apparently?

Yeah, Pierre de Coubertin, the creator of the modern Olympic Games, came up with it to be the ultimate soldier because you could be dropped anywhere in the world and get away, run, shoot or ride your way to safety. There’s a huge military tradition in the sport still, especially with quite a lot of the eastern European countries which are based in the army or police.

Q:  So, would you have been suited to military life?

Maybe training-wise, discipline-wise. We’re up very early some mornings and we train late at night. I’d like to think I’m organised because I have to organise five different sports and all my food and everything. I’m in college in DBS (Dublin Business School) doing business as well and some days I work for Sky Sports ‘Living for Sport’ so it is a busy week.

Q:  Pavel Lednev won gold in Moscow in 1980 aged 37, so how long more have you in the sport?

There is longevity in it. At the London Games I was one of the youngest women to compete. I was 21 there. The peak age is around 25 and up, which I will be in Rio. The lady who finished eighth in London was actually on her fourth Olympic cycle. As long as I enjoy it, I will keep going. It is tough at times and you are away a lot of the year, but it is not a sacrifice for me.

Q:  So, how do you get a pistol and épée (duelling sword) through customs?

Travelling is very difficult. I have probably seen the inside of most police stations around the world. Travelling with a gun, even though they are lasers and you can’t hurt yourself with them, is difficult just because they look like they do. You have to be sure to have all your permits in and that you have packed well. Sometimes your baggage can get caught up in security and left and you end up at a competition without your bag. Slightly stressful, but interesting.

Q:  Anywhere particularly hard in that regard?

China. China was tough. I obviously don’t speak Chinese and they are talking away asking me to sign forms in Chinese and I don’t know what I am doing. I have to say, they were lovely people. Things like that happen. You need to have an open mind and relax.

Q:  What have your recent successes been attributable to?

We’ve had a really good block of training. I was injured for a good bit of 2014 and it just took a while to get a base of training again. We’ve had a good winter. That’s all coming to a head now. I’ve been waiting for this for a while. It’s fallen into place. It’s lovely to have medalled two competitions in a row.

Q:  Will London 2012 stand to you if/when you make Rio in 2016?

I wanted to qualify for London but if I hadn’t, it wouldn’t have been the end of the world. When I did qualify and then did really well it was even better, but it passed in a blur. I can’t remember half of my competition day. Everyone had told me to enjoy it and it is great to have that experience. Rio will obviously be different, but I do have some bearings in my head.

Q:  Pentathlon’s Olympic place was spared after some uncertainty two years ago, wasn’t it?

Modern pentathlon is always trying to improve itself, to make itself more visible and things like that. They changed from using air pistols to lasers after Beijing in 2008 so it is just about getting more young people involved and making it more accessible. A lot of Olympic sports have visibility issues because they are in the spotlight every four years. It’s not like rugby or Gaelic.

Q:  Does that disinterest from people outside of the Olympics rankle with athletes?

For me, anyway, that’s just the way it is. It would be wonderful if we could stop training for the three years and then just train for the Olympic year but it’s the way it goes. There are still competitions every year. We are in 2015 now and I get to talk to you because we won medals, which is a great thing as well. If success comes, you would hope people would be there to support you.