Military Athletes Compete For Chance
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| Navy Lt. Timothy O’Donnell races toward the finish line during the 2007 Armed Forces Triathlon Championships run course at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu July 28. O’Donnell will be attending the World Games in Mumbai, India later this year. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael Moriatis |
POINT MUGU, Calif. (July 28, 2007) – Select Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen and Marines stationed all over the world participated in the 2007 Armed Forces Triathlon Championships at Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) Point Mugu July 28.
NBVC is the permanent host of the annual event, which was held for the seventh consecutive year at Point Mugu. Approximately seventy-five service members, both male and female, assembled at Point Mugu family beach to compete for a chance to attend the 4th Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM) Military World Games in Mumbai, India.
Athletes competed in an ocean swim, bike course and run course. The swim consists of a two-loop, 1,500-meter swim. The bike course is a four-loop, 24.8-mile ride and the run is a three-loop, 6.2 mile course.
Navy Lt. Timothy O’Donnell stationed in NAS Coronado, Calif. was male category first place finisher in the triathlon. “I’m glad I can bring out a victory for the Navy,” said O’ Donnell.
“I love seeing how far I can push myself and see what my limits are. It just comes down to being smart and the type of training being done. I love seeing everyone that comes to compete; there are few chances we can engage with other countries like China and India,” at the World Games said O’ Donnell.
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| Navy Lt. Timothy O’ Donnell competitively races his bike one step closer to the finish line during the 2007 Armed Forces Triathlon Championships at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu July 28. O’Donnell placed first with an overall time of 1:49:32. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael Moriatis |
O’ Donnell finished with an overall time of 1:49:32.
For the women’s side of the house, U.S. Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Justine Whipple of Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. placed first in the women’s category. “It’s my first military championship, but I couldn’t do it by myself. It was an awesome thing to have a great team and to compete with such great people from other military branches to qualify for CISM,” said Whipple.
Whipple finished with an overall time of 2:05:45.
“CISM and the World Games is an opportunity to interact with other countries on a world scale that we may not have the ability to have diplomatic relations otherwise, so it’s not only a friendly competition but it’s a move towards peace throughout the world, said Navy Lt. Andrew Baldwin, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
The top five male and female athletes who qualified in the Armed Forces Triathlon Championships will be part of the 2007 U.S. Armed Forces Triathlon Team that will compete in the CISM World Military Games (CISM) in October.
“The goal of CISM is to break cultural barriers and bring military members from the battlefield to the sports field,” said Suba Saty, Armed Forces Sports Secretariat. “The concept of the World Games is friendship through sport,” said Saty.
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| Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Justine Whipple passes Air Force 2nd Lt. Stephanie Hirst during the bike course of the 2007 Armed Forces Triathlon Championships at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu July 28. Whipple and Hirst placed in the U.S.A. Triathlon Team that will be going to Mumbai, India for the World Games later this year. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael Moriatis |
This year’s U.S. Armed Forces Triathlon Team includes first place men’s finisher Navy Lt. Timothy O’ Donnell (1:49:32), second place Navy Ens. Thomas Brown, U.S. Naval Academy, Md. (1:56:12), Army 1st Lt. Darin Shearer, Army Reserve National Guard Starke, Fla. third place (1:59:12), fourth place Air Force Capt. James Bales, Lackland AFB, Texas (1:59:56) and sixth place finisher Air Force Sgt. Michael Berquist, Fairchild AFB, Wash. (2:01:22).
For the women, first place finisher Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Justine Whipple (2:05:45), second place Air Force Senior Airman Jolene Wilkinson (2:08:58) Hill AFB, Utah, fourth place Coast Guard Ens. Rachel Beckmann USCGC Healy, Wash. (2:15:55), fifth place Air Force 2nd Lt. Stephanie Hirst Air Force Academy, Colo. (2:16:29) and sixth place winner Air Force Maj. Erika Foster (2:17:46) Rochester Institute of Technology, N.Y. will attend CISM.
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| Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Justine Whipple comes up behind Air Force Maj. Erika Foster as she passes Air Force 2nd Lt. Stephanie Hirst in the four-loop, 24.8 mile bike course during the 2007 Armed Forces Triathlon Championships at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu July 28. Whipple, Foster and Hirst will be attending the World Games in Mumbai, India. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael Moriatis |
The overall team standings included for the eight person men’s teams: first place-Navy (14:12:35), followed by Air Force (14:33:08), Army (14:59:48), and Marine Corps (15:01:59). For the women’s four person teams: first place-Air Force (9:02:49), followed by Army (9:15:27), Marine Corps (9:28:24), and Navy (9:42:55).
The Chief of Mission will be Capt. Brad Conners, NBVC commanding officer. The Team Captain will be Cmdr. Scott Jones and the Triathlon Technical committee member will be Kent Blankenship.
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| Navy Ens. Thomas Brown runs along side another competitor in the 2007 Armed Forces Triathlon Championships at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu July 28. Brown finished in second place and will be going to the World Games later this year. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael Moriatis |