10th

American Modern Pentathlete Hale Baugh was born on this day in 1924  in Omaha, Nebraska. He attended the US Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1946 and later flew bombers in the Korean War as well as obtaining both an engineering degree and a PhD in law at the University of Florida. He was admitted to the Florida bar in 1960 and practiced law in Cocoa, Florida for many years. Despite his appearance in the 1948 Olympics, where he was placed in 13th position, he was best known, however, as the father of Laura Baugh, the golfer who won the 1971 US Women’s Amateur golf championship at only 16-years-old, at the time the youngest ever winner of the event. She was also known for her good-looks, was voted Golf Digest’s Most Beautiful Golfer in 1972, and spent many years modelling in addition to playing golf on the LPGA Tour. Another of Baugh’s children, Beau, also played professional golf for a time. Hale himself died aged 87 on 16th November 2011 in Cocoa, Florida.

 

11th

Two ex-competitors were born on this day in 1963 and 1984.  Firstly, Canadian Lawrence Edgar Keyte, who was born in Boston, Massachusetts but after a move to Canada became affiliated to the Ottawa Valley club. He competed at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul where he was placed 33rd, he was also the Canadian modern pentathlon champion in 1986 and 1991.  After the Olympics he turned to teaching after graduating from Queens College with a degree in science and education, but lost he teaching license after he admitted to engaging in an inappropriate email relationship with a female student. Lawrence then went on to study for a master’s degree in sustainability studies at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. Stefan Köllner born in Potsdam, Germany in 1984  and competed at the 2012 Olympics, where is was 26th in the final placings.  He competed for the OSC Potsdam club, where his coach was Jurgen Hofner. Stefan served in the army and studied Sports Studies in University.

 

12th

As I couldn’t track down any Modern Penthaletes who were born today I’ll got for British fencer Gerald Ames who was born on this day in 1880 in Lewisham. Although he was one of the leading lights of British fencing in the early years of the 20th century and competed in individual epee event at the Stockholm Games of 1912, Ames was better known as an actor, both on stage and as one of the earliest stars of British cinema. He appeared in over sixty silent movies and directed himself in a number of them.  He was affiliated to the Actors’ Sword Club of London. A strong proponent of duelling, he was once quoted as saying If you take a lady out to supper and some cad of a man takes it in his head to annoy her with insolent staring, she has no redress and you have no method of punishing him. If duelling were recognized and practiced in England today, that kind of thing could be stopped, and a lady could walk out without fearing the insolent advances and attentions of the cads who infest our streets today!  Gerald died of a heart attack after falling down the steps at a London Underground station on 2nd July 1933 aged 52.

 

13th

Irish athlete Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe was born today in 1991 and competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. He was able to compete at the Modern Pentathlon event at London 2012 after Polish competitor Lukaz Klekot tested positive for banned substance Methylhexaneamine. Arthur, who at the time attended Univerity College Dublin on an elite sports scholarship, joined Ireland’s Natalya Coyle in the multi-discipline event. Ireland’s modern pentathlon manager Lindsey Weedon commented: “Arthur has done exceptionally well and just failed to gain his Olympic berth directly.

“With the withdrawal of the Polish competitor, Arthur’s Olympic dream has come true.” Klekot’s positive test came at the 2012 national championships and he was withdrawn from Poland’s Olympic squad by the national Olympic committee. He was crowned European champion in 2015 and at the 2016 Olympics he finished in 8th place running 11.12.23 for the final 3200m  running and shooting segment. This time places him in the top 300 of Irish runners in 2016 in the 2 mile rankings.

14th

Romanian born-Guatemalan Modern Pentathlete athlete Andrei Gheorghe was born today in 1987 in Bucharest and moved to Guatemala when he was about 7.  A civil engineering student, he took up the sport as a hobby and fell in love with it. Coached by his father Gheorghe Marian Viorel he competed at the 2012 Olympics in London where he finished 31st. He also competed at the Pan-American Games in 2011. His father, who took part in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, finishing in a very respectable 7th place.

15th

Jorma Olavi Hotanen, born in Merikarvia, Finland in 1936, was a modern pentathlete and swordsman. He represented Finland in two Olympics. In Tokyo 1964 he was ranked 22nd in the individual competition and seventh in team competition. At the Mexican Olympics in 1968 he was 34th in the individual event and fifth in the team competition. In various World Championships over the years, he was 16th in 1963, 30th in 1965, 16th in 1966 and 14th in 1969, and in team competition 11th in 1963 and sixth in 1969.Jorma also won the Finnish championship in 1963, 1968 and 1970 and reached the quarter finals in 1966. He died of a heart attack on 20th February 2018 aged 81 in Espoo, Finland.

16th

just like to say –  Happy Birthday to my lovely Mum

Argentinian-born Jeffrey MacDougall was born today in 1911 in Buenos Aires and came to England when he was eight years of age, just after the end of World War I. In 1932 he was commissioned into The Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry and headed put for the 1932 Games in Los Angeles where he finished in 15th position. In September 1936, just five weeks after going to the Berlin Olympics as the reigning British modern pentathlon champion, he was seconded to the Royal Air Force (RAF) with a temporary commission as a flying officer. In 1939 MacDougall joined an Army co-operation squadron in the Middle East and the following year became a captain in the Army and flight lieutenant in the RAF. He was promoted to squadron leader and later that year won the DFC for gallantry. He completed 22 operational missions before he was killed in action on 11th December 1942 aged 31.