The 31-year-old began his career in 2000 and soon delivered on his potential by claiming bronze at the 2002 International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) European Junior Championships in Hungary.

A long injury lay-off meant that Weale missed out on qualification for Athens 2004 but in his first Olympic appearance in Beijing four years later, he finished in an impressive 10th place, the highest finish by a British male since Graham Brookhouse clinched the eighth spot at Barcelona 1992.

In 2008, he secured a World Cup bronze at Millfield in his home county of Somerset and just missed out on a medal at the World Championships in London a year later as he and partner Nick Woodbridge finished fourth in the team relay event.

However, in 2010, Weale, who completed a degree in Sports Technology at the University of Bath in 2005, etched his name into the history books after returning to the scene of his first major international triumph in Hungary in 2002.

He became the first British male pentathlete to win an individual medal at a European Championships as he took home the silver medal from Debrecen, which led to him being named the British Olympic Association (BOA) modern pentathlon Olympic Athlete of the Year for 2010.

In 2012, he finished in 13th place at the Olympic competition in London.

Sam Weale became the highest placed British male modern pentathlete at an Olympic Games since Graham Brookhouse at Barcelona 1992 ©Getty Images