OLYMPIC REVIEW61OLYMPIC SOLIDARITYHow did you get started in modern pentathlon?I first started horse riding with the Pony Club when Iwas very young and then moved up the ranks and didtetrathlons [a combination of riding, running, swimmingand shooting]. I was on the international teams andeventually I just picked up the fencing. Then two yearsago, when our coach Lindsey Weedon came over, shereally got us into it. Up until last year I hadn't actuallydone a World Cup, so she really got us going and set up the standards.How does your Olympic Solidarity scholarship help you?Without it, I wouldn't be able to compete. It's an expensive sport, but fortunately because of the scholarship I've been able to go to all the World Cups,which helped me qualify for the World Cup Final, andhopefully I'll be able to qualify for London 2012. Withoutit I really wouldn't have been able to go anywhere.What does it take to be good at modern pentathlon?A lot of time and dedication. Five sports takes a lot oftime - many people think we're just average at each ofthe sports, but when you pull them all together it doestake a lot of time and effort. To try and work it all in withcollege as well is really difficult - I don't think I'd be ableto do it without Lindsey, who arranges our schedules.What are the challenges of training for five different disciplines?Injury would be a big one because you're crossing overso much. It's also very tiring as you're trying to fit inabout four training sessions a day. When you'rerunning hard in the morning, swimming hard in theevening and trying to fit fencing in between you're justexhausted. I like to sleep a lot!Is there one discipline that you prefer over the others?I've always ridden horses - I started when I was youngand I've done that a lot, so that really would be myfavourite one and fortunately I don't have to work onthat as much as the others. I only just picked upfencing a couple of years ago so I have to work reallyhard at that compared to the others.Do you have any sporting heroes, either in modernpentathlon or in other sports?In modern pentathlon I'd definitely say GeorginaHarland. She was the bronze medallist in Athens in2004 and she came over and gave us a speechwhen we were just picking up the first highperformance standards. She really inspired us.Outside modern pentathlon, I suppose athletes likeCarolina Kluft who do multiple events and stillmanage to perform at their best.What would it be like for you to compete in theLondon Olympic Games and who would be yourmain rivals?Well, hopefully first of all I make it, and then I can thinkabout rivals and places. There are so many top-classathletes, especially among the British team - they haveso many athletes going for just two places. It's thesame with Germany, Italy and China. So just gettingthere is the first step.What would you look forward to most about London 2012?Just the whole experience. Who wouldn't say thatgoing to the Olympic Games is a dream? To representmy country and my sport and hopefully make it morewell-known around the world.What do you like to do in your spare time?I like just hanging out with my friends, like anyone else,and I like sleeping! I go to college as well - just normal things that everyone else does.You finished 20th at the World Cup Final in London inJuly - how much of a boost was that for you as you target Olympic qualification?It's fantastic to have placed so high, it really gives me a confidence boost for the rest of the season. I'm reallystarting to believe in myself, and when you do thatanything's possible. London [2012] is so far away butthis is a step in the right direction for me. It's going tobe a long road, but it really would be phenomenal to be on the start list for the Olympic Games and I'mgoing to do all I can do to get there.INTERVIEWNATALYA COYLEAFTER BECOMING THE FIRST IRISH MODERN PENTATHLETE TO QUALIFY FOR THE WORLD CUP FINAL, NATALYA COYLE IS TARGETING NEXTYEAR'S OLYMPIC GAMES IN LONDON THANKS TO THE SUPPORT OF HEROLYMPIC SOLIDARITY SCHOLARSHIP

62OLYMPIC REVIEWKNOWLEDGE TRANSFERSUPPORTNETWORKSUSANNA CLARKELOOKS AT THE INTERNATIONALOLYMPIC COMMITTEE'S PLATFORM OF KNOWLEDGETRANSFER, WHICH CARRIES LESSONS LEARNT FROMONE ORGANISING COMMITTEE TO OTHERSThe day a city decides to bid for the OlympicGames marks the first day of a very steep learning curve. Most members of the bid and then Organising Committees and their public partners will be embarking on this journey for the first time. Moreover, the many different sports, together with the cultural and educationalprogrammes, the Olympic torch relay, the ceremoniesand many other exciting activities taking place across the city, make the Olympic Games perhaps the most complex undertaking that a host city will ever face. This is where help from the International OlympicCommittee (IOC), through its Knowledge Transferprogramme, proves invaluable. The IOC is the linkbetween past, present and future OrganisingCommittees of the Olympic Games (OCOGs). It selectshost cities, monitors the project, and assists theorganisers in their Herculean task. But one of its mostimportant roles is also one of the least visible: tocapture all the valuable experiences from OlympicGames host cities and present them in a way thatbest helps those who need to learn from them. This is the IOC platform of knowledge services and itsupports the entire organisation of the Games. "Managing knowledge is at the core of ourmission," explains Gilbert Felli, the IOC ExecutiveDirector for the Olympic Games. "Carefullydocumenting what Games organisers do, sharing bestpractices and making available everything we'velearnt from the recent past has become an invaluablesupport to the OCOGs and their partners. SuccessfulAboveThe IOC'splatform ofknowledgeservices allowsGames OrganisingCommittees tolearn from theexperience offormer organisers