Georgina Harland took up the modern pentathlon whilst studying at Loughborough University. She made her World Championship début in 1999 and later the same year helped the British women’s team win the relay event at the World Cup Final. Despite a strong 2000 season she was only selected as a non-travelling reserve for the Sydney Olympics behind Stephanie Cook and Kate Allenby, both of whom finished on the podium at the Games. Over the next few years she became one of the most consistent performers in the world and was third at the 2001 and 2002 World Championships and won both the European Championships and World Cup Final in 2003. She also helped Great Britain win the team event at the World Championships in 2001, 2003 and 2004.
These performances made her a strong medal contender for the Athens Olympics but she struggled badly in the early stages of the event. Still only 14th after four of the five events, Harland produced a cross-country run that was nearly half a minute faster than anyone else and earned herself an Olympic bronze medal in the process. She added silver medals in both the team and relay events at the 2006 World Championships but failed to gain qualification for the Beijing Olympics and retired at the end of the 2008 season. Harland became chair of the athletes committee of the Union International de Pentathlon Moderne and served on the Executive Board of the organization.
Great Britain