GW GRADUATE COMPETES IN PENTATHLON AT 2004 OLYMPICS

An Army infantry officer and a GW graduate, Chad Senior is competing in his second Olympics. Senior has had an interesting and slightly rocky pentathlon career.

He graduated from GW in 1997 with a degree in exercise science. After graduation, he joined the Army. Now stationed in Fort Carson, Colo., he is part of the Army’s World Class Athlete’s Program (WCAP), designed for aspiring Olympic athletes.

In March 2000, Senior beat a deep field at a World Cup event in Mexico City to qualify for the Summer Olympics in Sydney. A month later, he further established himself as a Sydney medal threat by placing third at the Seoul World Cup.

At the 2000 Olympics, Senior led by 39 point after three events. He finished second in fencing, usually his worst event, and second in swimming. With only two events to go, he was considered a shoo-in for the medal ceremony. But in the equestrian event, he finished a disastrous eighteenth when his horse balked at two jumps and clipped two others. Suddenly seventh overall, Senior managed to move up only one place by the end of the competition. Bitterly disappointed, he quit the sport and entered Officer Candidate School.

While training as an infantry officer, Senior had time to mull over his Sydney experience. He decided to give the pentathlon another try and returned to the sport in 2002. Even so, it was the following year before he could he talk about Sydney without getting upset. He says swimming and shooting came back to him quickly; the fencing, running, and riding took awhile.

Senior placed second at the 2002 and 2003 Nationals. His best international result since his return has been a second place behind teammate Vaho Iagorashvili at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domino. He placed tenth at the Mexico City World Cup in March 2004.