Sara Jane Cox-Conklin (born 23 April 1964) is a former British modern pentathlete and professional triathlete. She is known for her achievements across a wide variety of sports including Triathlon World Amateur Age Group Champion (1994), and winner of the British Championships in Modern Pentathlon (1990).
Early life and education Cox-Conklin was born on 23 April 1964, in Bridgwater, Somerset, England to Ann & David Cox. She grew up in the adjacent town of Burnham-on-Sea and swam for Burnham Swimming Club,Burnham & Highbridge Gazette, June 1990 winning her first medal in 1976. She attended Rossholme SchoolBurnham & Highbridge Weekly News, June 1985 King Alfred School 6th Form & Bridgwater College,Burnham & Highbridge Gazette, Tues 16 April 1985 pursuing her education in various fields. She completed O Levels in multiple subjects (1982) and obtained A levels in Law (Grade A) & Economics (1984) and an Advanced Secretarial Diploma (First Class). In 1992, she received Higher National Diploma in Business & Finance with Distinction at North East Worcester College,Burnham & Highbridge Gazette, November 1991 followed by an MA in General Psychology specialising in Clinical & Experimental Psychology . Later in 1998, he graduated with honour from the California Institute for Human Science.Triathlete Magazine July 1998Triathlete Magazine July 1998, Full-time training and racing comeback for Cox
Corporate career and business During the start of 2000s, Cox-Conklin worked at Microsoft Inc. as an associate program manager and executive assistant. In 2008, Cox-Conklin founded the Burnham-on-Sea Swim & Sports Academy.Athlete returns to rescue pool, midsomernews May 2008
Career in sports Cox-Conklin has participated in several competitions, including World Championships in locations such as Bensheim (1987),23 July 1987, Karswell, Philip, Page 26, Pegasus Girls Flying High, Western Daily Press. Warsaw (1988),The Times 1988 August Vienna (1989),The Times 1989 August 7th Linköping (1990),22 August 1990, page 29, Modern Pentathlon, The Daily Telegraph Sydney (1991),24 September 1991, Mike Harris & Martin Roberts, City Trio Waiting, The Gloucester Citizen. Budapest (1992), Cancun (1995), Hawaii (1999), McCall (2008), Monaco (2009), and Falun (2010).
Modern pentathlon Cox-Conklin was a member of the National Squad for eight years (1986–1993),Burnham & Highridge weekly news 22 May 1986 representing Great Britain inModern Pentathlon, Daily Telegraph, 27 May 1993 (European Champs) European World Championship World Cup Events.July 1989, Super 5 Frankfurt, Pentathlon Moderne ET Biathlon NewsCorby warmth earns more sporting Kudos, Evening Telegraph, 3 April 199022 August 1990, page 29, Modern Pentathlon, The Daily Telegraph. She was the British champion and international champion in 1990 (Wantage)28 May 1990, Modern Pentathlon. Cox Controls Horse and Scores Double, The Times Newspaper.30 October 1991, Page 37, The Daily Telegraph. and was the runner-up in the British Championships in 1986. In addition, she won the Portuguese Open in 1987Evening Echo May 1988The Times May 1988 and placed third in the Vienna International. In the same year and was a member of the 1st-place team. As a member of Team GB, she placed fifth in the San Antonio International Cup in TexasModern Pentathlon, University of Bath Archives, H/2/763 San Antonio Cup, Results lists, Second San Antonio Cup, San Antonio, Texas, US, 23 March 1988. and sixth in the 1987 Royal Nordic Cup.The Times 5 June 1987 At the 1988 World Championships her team placed 6th. In the 1992 World Team Championships the team placed 5th. In 1987, she won the 2,000 m cross-Country run in a Women’s International Modern Pentathlon Competition in Italy.Athletics Weekly Magazine, April 1983
Triathlon In 1995, Cox-Conklin became the ITU Triathlon World Amateur Age Group Champion.January 1996, World Triathlon Championships, Triathlete magazine.Triathlete Magazine January 1996 In the same year, she became the Southwest USA Regional Champion at Malibu TriathlonMichael Epstein Sports productions official race results, September 1995 & Certificate Malibu and won first place in the Carlsbad TriathlonA Change of Pace, Davis, California, Carlsbad Triathlon Results and Do the Tri in Camp Pendleton California.Camp Pendleton Do the Tri Results 1995 Official race results, Camp Pendleton, California In the following year, she won the European Triathlon Union Prestige Cup in Aegina Island, Greece, and Ardennes, France, as well as the FTF Select Race in Tours France. In addition, she was also the USA National Champion at the Pacific Grove Triathlon.Triathlete Magazine December 1996
She secured several other international placements,29 April 1996, page 47, Welch Puts Retirement to Rest, Tempa Bay Times. including third in the Amami International in Japan,Triathlete Magazine January 1997 third in the International Women's Triathlon in Zurich, third in the Florida St. Augustine's Lighthouse InternationalLighthouse Triathlon, Tampa Bay times,15 Sep 1996 third in the SETRIC Cup Belgrade InternationalTriathlete (French) No 114October 1996, Page 74, Coupe d’europe Du Sud-est Triathlon.October 1996, Page 8, Rencontre: Sara Jane Cox, Tribulations. and third in the Tahiti International.Tahiti International The Press Democrat, 11 April 1996Burnham & Highbridge Times, 1996 She placed seventh in the International Triathlon Union (ITU) New Zealand World Cup in 1996.February 1997, John Williams, Mind Over Matter, Triathlete Magazine.
Later in 1999, Cox-Conklin ranked seventh in Professional Lake Placid Ironman, ninth in Austria, and twenty-eighth in the Hawaii World Championships.Burnham & Highridge weekly news 12 November 1999 In 2005, she took first place at the Pacific Northwest Regional championships in Vashon Island, USA and placed 4th at Xterra Switzerland (2014), qualifying for the Xterra World Championships in Maui.Select 2005, August then Vashon Island Off-Road Triathlon and you can see I won the Age Group division 40-44
In 2010, she was the ITU Winter Triathlon World Cup & Pan American Champion by securing first place at Soldier Hollow. As of 2010, she has had over 28 wins around the world in her career as a professional triathlete.
Cross-country skiing Cox-Conklin placed third at the USA Masters Nationals in Skiathlon and competed for the GB Masters team in three World Cups. She placed seventh in the Masters World Cup (30k Classic) in 2008 in McCall and tenth in the 30K Classic in Falun in 2010.
Biathle In 2009, she placed third in the World Biathle Championships in Monaco, first in the Europa Cup in Italy, and was the GB National Series Champion, securing first place at Millfield, Weymouth, Portland, and Poole in the age group 45-49.
Modern biathlon (Run/Swim) Cox-Conklin was the British Champion in 1985 and 2010. She became the first International Biathlon Champion in Corby in 1990.Modern Pentathlon, University of Bath Archives, H/2/801 International/Domestic June - Nov 1988 British Modern Tetrathlon Championships
Modern triathlon (Run/Swim/Shoot) Cox-Conklin won the Team National Triathlon Championships at Crystal Palace in (1984)Somerset County Gazette, May 1984 and won the Ladies Open Individual event at Southampton in 1986.Sara’s Success. The Western Gazette 1986, 31 January 1986 – Personal Best She was the Southern Regional Individual Champion in 1989.Modern Pentathlon, University of Bath Archives, H/2/807 Results Lists, Souther Region Modern Triathlon Qualifying, 5 March 1989
Tetrathlon (Run/Swim/Shoot/Fence) Cox-Conklin achieved second place in the British Championships in 1988 (Yeovil). and 3rd Place in 1986.A new discipline for Pegasus, North Dorset Western Gazette, 9 May 1986 She was a member of the winning team at the British Championships in 1985 at Bracknell.Modern Pentathlon, University of Bath Archives, H/2/649 Program with results lists. British Modern Tetrathlon Championships She won the Ladies event at the Open Army Invitational in 1987.Pegasus Winners, North Dorset Western Gazette, 27 March 1987
Swimming Cox-Conklin competed in the British Masters Championships in Swansea in 2014 at the age of 50-54, winning three bronze medals in the 100 and 200 Butterfly events & 200 Freestyle. In 2014, she placed first in the Chamonix Masters 50 Butterfly, second in the 100 Butterfly, and third in the 200 Individual Medley.
Open-water swimming Cox-Conklin achieved first place at the inaugural Steart Island Swim (2000)11 August 2000, Page 18, Double Trouble, Burnham & Highbridge Weekly News. & was third at the Traversee du Lac d’Annecy (2014).Burnham & Highbridge Gazette, November 1983
Fencing Cox-Conklin placed third in the National Epee Championships & Birmingham International Competition in 1993. She was part of the National Epee Squad from 1988 to 1989. She won the 1989 Aldershot Open Epee Championship and the 1985 Somerset & Dorset County Championships.16 January 1989, The Fencing Article by Bill Meredith, The Telegraph. She placed 2nd at the Slough Open (1989)January 1989, Competition Results, The Sword - Slough Epee 2nd and 2nd at the Clara Rayner Championships (1993).January 1994, Competition Results, The Sword In 1985 she represented MPAGB against Hongkong & the Royal Navy where she placed 3rd.Modern Pentathlon, University of Bath Archives, A/6/59 MPAGB Broadsheet, 22, November 1985.
Cross country running Cox-Conklin was the South-West Cross Country Champion in 1983, winning first place in the Senior Ladies category in St Austell.February 1982, Cross Country Championship, Burnham & Highbridge Gazette. In 1981, Cox-Conklin represented Somerset Senior Girls in the English Schools Cross Country Championships in Exeter.English schools Athletic Association, Official Program 7 March 1981
Athletics - Track Cox-Conklin won the South-West Inter Counties Athletics Championships in 1983 in the Senior Girls 1500 Meters Event.Somerset County Gazette, August 1983 She also won the 1500 & 3000 M County Championships and in 1986 the 800 M County Championships.23 May 1986, Page 18, North Dorset Western GazetteOn right road with new track, North Dorset Western Gazette, 23 May, 1986 800 m In 1984 she was selected to represent the South West Amateur Athletic Association in an inter-regional match in Wiltshire.Wiltshire AAA v South West AAA v Southern AA, Programme 28 April 1984
Road running She won Age-group championships in England & the United States. Notably, The Ironman California 5K (2000)Ironman 5k, Ironkids 1k draws big crowd for debut. North County Times, 21 May 2000 The Nisene Marks Marathon (2001),8 June 2001, Page 33, McMorries, Ben, Nisene Marks Marathon Record Broken, Santa Cruz Sentinel. and the Run for Britain 6-mile event in Burnham-on-Sea (1984).19 March 1984, Page 8, Fund-runners, Western Daily Press.
Duathlon (Bike/Run) Cox-Conklin took first place at Lake Padden, Washington in 2005. In 1995 she achieved 4th place in the San Diego International Duathlon.
Tennis She was the U18 County Doubles Somerset Champion (1981) and the Veterans Ladies Somerset Champion in 2008.Burnham & Highbridge Gazette, August 1981
Golf Cox-Conklin represented Somerset in the south west Seniors Inter-County Gross Team Championships (2023 & 2024). She has achieved three “hole-in ones” (2021, 2022 2024) & won the Somerset County Fowler Brooches Foursomes Stableford (2018 & 2019) & County Bowmaker (2023).Burnham & Berrow enjoy success at home Burnham and Highbridge weekly news, 11 April 2019
Superstars Cox-Conklin won the King Alfred Sports Center Superstar championships three years in a row between 1983 – 1985).Superstars, once again its Peter & Sara Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News, June 1985
Recognition(s)