FAYETTEVILLE — Margaux Isaksen had her pre-Olympics training all planned out.
Isaksen had qualified in the modern pentathlon for the London Olympics with a gold medal performance at the Pan American Games in 2011. With a berth in hand, Isaksen had a whole year to fine-tune her conditioning and expertise in the event’s five disciplines so she could improve on her 21st-place finish at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Then Isaksen woke up sick one morning in January with what turned out to be a bad case of mononucleosis. The illness knocked Isaksen out of training for nearly four months.
Isaksen had to cram a year’s worth of training into a couple of months. She’ll find out today if it was enough.
“This is not how I would plan my Olympic year to go,” said Isaksen, a native of Fayetteville who resides in Colorado Springs, Colo. “Mono took every ounce of life out of me. When I came back to train, I was so weak.
“There were points where I didn’t think I would come back in time for the Olympics.”
Isaksen, 20, made it back and is 39th in the Women’s Olympic Rankings by the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM). Lithuania’s Laura Asadauskaite, who finished 15th in Beijing, has the No. 1 ranking, followed by 2008 gold medalist Lena Schoneborn of Germany.
The modern pentathlon consists of a series of epee fencing duels followed by a 200-meter freestyle swim and an equestrian 12-hurdle show jump. After those three events, the field will be time handicapped and sent off on a 3,000-meter cross country run interspersed with three 10-meter shooting stations in which the women have 70 seconds to hit five targets.
The running and shooting disciplines were combined in 2009 to make the event more viewer friendly.
Isaksen was ranked in the top 30 in the world before her bout with mono, which followed a setback when she broke her left wrist - Isaksen is left-handed - in two places when she was bucked by a horse before a competition in Moscow. In modern pentathlon, competitors are assigned a horse shortly before the jumping contest.
“I’m making leaps and bounds,” Isaksen said. “I’ll see where I am. All my conditioning isn’t back. Life gives you lemons. There’s nothing I can do about it now.”
Isaksen began her athletic career as a cross country runner and was considered to be among the best international modern pentathletes before her illness.
“If she can fence well and ride well and start in the top 10, anything is possible as she is one of the quickest runners in the pentathlon,” Matt Pound of the UIPM told Wired magazine. “The majority of girls will say they will not want Margaux chasing them at Greenwich Park.”
Four years ago, Isaksen, 16 at the time, was one of the youngest Olympians in Beijing and competed accordingly. Isaksen struggled in the fencing and swimming competitions before solid performances in the show riding and running events salvaged 21st place.
This time around, Isaksen said she has the mental focus to do her best. It’s just a matter now of what her best is after the bout with mono.
“In 2008, I was rather naive as an athlete,” Isaksen said. “Getting to Beijing was almost a shock. I definitely thought I deserved to be there, but I was amazed to be there.
“I have so much more competitive experience. I am going to feel nervous in different ways.”
Isaksen glance EVENT Modern pentathlon AGE 20 (born Oct. 7, 1991) HOMETOWN Fayetteville RESIDES Colorado Springs, Colo.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Won the gold medal in the modern pentathlon at the 2011 Pan American Games. ... Won the silver medal at the 2010 Pan Am Games. ... Finished 21st in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
... Won gold medals in three divisions (Youth, Junior and Senior) at the U.S.
Championships in 2007. ... Won gold medal at the Champion of Champions meet in 2011. ... 39th in the Women’s Olympic Pentathlon Rankings by the UIPM.
Women’s modern pentathlon WHERE London Olympics WHEN Today AMERICANS ENTERED Margaux Isaksen, Fayetteville; Suzanne Stettinius, Parkton, Md.
EVENT ORDER Fencing (epee), 200-meter swimming, equestrian (show jumping), combined running/shooting (3,000 meters cross country running and pistol shooting)
Sports, Pages 21 on 08/12/2012