Waiting for another year to compete in the Tokyo Olympics didn’t impress Edward Fernon, Australia’s male competitor in the modern day Pentathlon.
To raise awareness of bush depression and raise money for the Black Dog Institute, Fernon once rode a horse 1,100 km from Braidwood to Melbourne and back in 2012 – the same journey Archer legend has made when he won the first Melbourne Cup in the Year 1861.
Another time, in 2017, Fernon took part and won the Mongol Derby, the longest horse race in the world, in which participants ride local horses on the same mailman route that Genghis Khan laid out in the 13th century.
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Fernon was a quirky sport that included fencing, swimming, show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross-country skiing. He took them in for one purpose only.
A jack-of-all-trades with a special love for riding, he always wanted to become an Olympic champion, and when he first got into the modern Pentathlon, he liked what he heard.
« I was told not to waste my time unless I wanted to go to the Olympics, » he said.
Because it is an Olympic sport, Australia has a national federation but not a network of clubs scattered across the country or a lot of sponsorship money, even after Chloe Esposito’s historic gold medal success in Rio de Janeiro.
For anyone looking to compete in the modern Pentathlon, reality usually means signing up for five different sports and finding the time to master each one.
« It’s still a small sport in Australia so there is very little support and structure so you have to find your own way, » said Fernon.
« It’s almost like an entrepreneurial endeavor, trying to find a new way of working with different coaches in each sport. »
Fernon’s tenacity paid off when he was selected to represent Australia at the London 2012 Olympics. He finished 27th on a hot field but faced an uncertain future in the sport.
He had fulfilled his ambition to become an Olympic gold medalist, but his focus on qualifying for London had prevented him from devoting enough time to getting started, despite having completed a business degree from the University of Sydney.
He married in 2015 and wanted to start a family. When he missed the selection for Rio, he decided it was time to back off.
« The only problem was that I really missed competing and putting myself in awkward situations, so I’ve decided to take on a new challenge every year, » said Fernon.
« So I climbed Aconcagua (the highest mountain in the southern hemisphere) in 2016 and did the Mongolian derby in 2017. Then one day my trainer Dean Gleeson called me and asked if I was interested in a comeback.
« The Olympics were only three months away so I was petrified of the idea because I knew how much work I had to do.
« But when a goal bothers me and scares me at the same time, it’s usually a sign that it’s worth pursuing, so I spoke to my wife and she said ‘why not, you have nothing to lose’. »
Fernon won the New Zealand Open in September 2019 but had to win the title in Oceania to get a spot at the Tokyo Olympics. The qualifying tournament took place in Wuhan – a month before the first cases of COVID-19 were discovered.
Fernon’s makeshift planning almost got stuck before the race even started when he discovered that the laser pistol he had loaned for the competition was too light and therefore out of regulation.
Quickly improvising, he bought 30 drill bits that he taped to his pistol to add weight.
Chinese officials approved the use of the weapon and he duly won the Oceania qualifying event only to have his trip to Tokyo delayed by the global pandemic.
« It’s not a bad thing for me because I can use this extra year to train because I know I’ve already qualified, » he said.
« I think everyone knows it won’t be a normal Olympics, but it will still be a great opportunity for the world to come together.
« For me personally, it will be very special because I will better understand what the Olympics mean and how they affect the people around you.
« The first time I went there I was literally broke and just focused on training to be an athlete while I’m now 33, with two young children, running a business and a very different perspective.
« It’s incredibly satisfying for so many reasons, not just because of the unknown whether I could make it and have to overcome all of these fears and doubts. It’s a fond memory for everyone. »
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Related title :
– Tokyo Olympics 2021: Edward Fernon shares his incredible Pentathlon journey
– The wild story of Australian athlete &’s journey to Tokyo
Ref: https://www.qt.com.au
