Dominic Mahony presented with his MBE

Dominic Mahony, Olympic bronze medallist and Britain’s modern pentathlon team manager at the last four Olympic Games, said he was proud and honoured to receive his MBE at Buckingham Palace today.

Mahony was made a Member of the British Empire for services to modern pentathlon in the New Year’s Honours List and was presented with the medal by the Princess Royal.

It is a fitting reward for a man who has been involved with the sport for more than 30 years and a double celebration coming just five days after his 50th birthday.

“I was proud, honoured and delighted today,” said Mahony, who is a Vice Chair of the board of Pentathlon GB, the national governing body for the Olympic sport of modern pentathlon.

Mahony competed at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and Barcelona Games in 1992. He was a member of the British team that won team bronze in Seoul along with Ric Phelps and Graham Brookhouse.

He retired from the competing in modern pentathlon in 1994 but maintained his interest in the sport and in 1997 he was made chairman of the International Federation of Modern Pentathlon’s Athletes Committee.

He was team manager of the British modern pentathlon team at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, when Stephanie Cook won gold and Kate Allenby bronze. He performed the same role at the Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games, with British pentathletes winning medals on each occasion.

And he hasn’t lost his hunger for sport – he is currently training for the Henley Classic 2.1km endurance swim at the end of June.  

Mahony lives in Watlington, Oxfordshire with his wife Katie, a former pentathlete, and their three children. He is a consultant and director at the human performance consultancy Lane4.