Me and My Kit: Graham Brookhouse, Member of Britain's Olympic modern pentathlon team
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Your support makes all the difference.IT'S A long list, huge. Because we compete in five events we need a vast amount of stuff. It must weigh about 50 kilograms. Obviously, with so much kit one of the biggest problems is remembering to pack everything. It's very easy to leave stuff behind so you have to be very methodical, making a list of everything you need, picking a sport and going through it article by article.
The list goes something like this: Fencing: five swords, jacket, breeches, mask, electrical wires, socks, shoes and gloves. Riding: hat, shirt, tie, jacket, breeches, glove, boots, spurs, stirrups, reins (plus a spare set), whip, and a saddle. Swimming: trunks, goggles, towel, robe and flip-flops. Cross-country: spikes, racing flats, training shoes, running shorts, vest, tracksuit. Shooting: gun, ammunition, glasses, hat, eye patch.
The cost of it all is a sore point at the moment. We have just had to buy new blades for this fencing competition because the ones we have been using have been banned. That's just blown pounds 1,000, and although the squad is sponsored by Racal Telecom we are over budget because of it. The gun, too, costs around pounds 1,000 so all in all by the time you are arriving at the airport you've got something like pounds 5,000 worth of stuff in your bag.
(Photograph omitted)
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