Monica Pinette
Monica Pinette, Yane Marques and Michelle Kelly at the 2007 Pan American Games | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Canadian | |||||||||||
| Born | February 5, 1977 | |||||||||||
| Home town | Langley, British Columbia | |||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||
| Weight | 59 kg (130 lb) | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Sport | Modern pentathlon | |||||||||||
| Club | Fraser Valley Modern Pentathlon Association | |||||||||||
| Coached by | Philipp Waeffler | |||||||||||
Medal record
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Monica Pinette (born February 5, 1977) is a two-time Olympic modern pentathlete from Canada.[1] She was among the early group of Canadian women to compete internationally in modern pentathlon and was the only Métis athlete to compete in the modern pentathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.[2] Her 13th-place finish overall at the 2004 Summer Olympics was Canada's best recorded performance in the modern pentathlon to date.[3]
Early life and career
Pinette was born in the city of Vancouver and grew up in Langley, British Columbia.[3] Pinette began her sporting career as a member of the Pony Club in Vancouver.[4] She took up the pentathlon at age 21.[5] She trained in modern pentathlon through local clubs specializing in swimming, shooting, fencing, and horse riding. Pinette is left-handed, a relatively uncommon trait in competitive fencing.[4]
Pinette graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, and earned a diploma in Journalism and Photojournalism from the Western Academy of Photography. She was coached by her husband Philipp Waeffler, 1996 Olympic modern pentathlete from Switzerland.
Pinette has stated that working with her husband as her coach required maintaining a clear distinction between their personal and professional roles.[6] In 2009, Monica Pinette received the British Columbia Premier's Award.[7] She received a National Aboriginal Achievement Award, now known as the Indspire Awards in the sport category in 2010. She stated that the award was unexpected, noting the limited media coverage typically given to modern pentathlon.[8][9]
Competitive career
She made her international debut at the 2002 and 2003 World Championships and eventually competed at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where she finished seventh.[4] Following this Pinette qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, along with her compatriot Kara Grant. They made their national debut in the women's event. Following a strong fencing segment, Pinette finished thirteenth overall, the highest position achieved by a modern Canadian pentathlete, male or female, in Olympic history.[2]
Pinette continued to earn a fourth-place finish for the team relay at the 2006 World Modern Pentathlon Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and also, her first medal by winning gold at the Pan American Championships in the same year.[4] She also added her silver medal at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which qualified her for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. At the Olympics, Pinette finished in twenty-seventh place, following a poor performance in the last three sporting segments.[2]
Personal life
Following her retirement, Pinette has been involved in initiatives related to Indigenous athlete representation and health education in Canada. She contributed to the creation of a booklet titled Growing Up Healthy that encourages First Nations parents in British Columbia to live a healthy lifestyle. Pinette is married, has two sons and is living with her family near Cologne in Germany.[10]
References
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Monica Pinette". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
- ^ a b c O'Neal, Morgan (September 18, 2008). "Aboriginal Pentathlete Monica Pinette". First Nations Drum. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
- ^ a b "Monica Pinette". CBC Sports. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Profiles: Following Canadian Women Athletes to Beijing". www.caaws-womenatthegames.ca. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
- ^ "Politics unravels aboriginal athlete's plan to wear traditional garb". theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^ "Olympian Monica Pinette leaves Beijing with lasting memories | Windspeaker - AMMSA". ammsa.com. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
- ^ Barkwell, Lawrence. "Monica Pinette" (PDF). The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture.
- ^ "Monica Pinette: Athlete in Obscure Sport to Receive National Aboriginal Achievement Award". www.firstnationsdrum.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
- ^ Indspire, Laureate, Monica Pinette [1]. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
- ^ Growing Up Healthy (PDF). British Columbia, Canada: The National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health. 2013.