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News | June 18, 2018

Navy Sweeps Men's and Women's Triathlon Championship

By Armed Forces Sports U.S. Armed Forces Sports

Navy Lt. Kyle Hooker of the USS Nimitz wins the 2018 Armed Forces Triathlon Championship men’s title for the fourth straight year and Marine Capt. Mollie Hebda of Camp Pendleton, Calif. takes home her second straight women’s gold at Point Mugu, California, June 9. 

Hooker led the pack throughout the competition winning four minutes ahead of the other competitors finishing with a time of 1:50:12.  

Fellow Navy teammates Ensign Davis Frease of Oceanside, Calif. and Ian King of the U.S. Coast Guard completed the podium finishing second and third with times of 1:54:30 and 1:55:02 respectively.  

Navy’s 1-2-3 punch was good enough to win team gold for the second straight year.

Air Force finished second for team silver, with Army and Marine Corps finishing third and fourth respectively.  

Hebda’s gold medal performance time of 2:08:20 was highlighted when her twin sister Navy Lt. Megan Hebda of Naval Station Mayport, Fla. captured silver with a time of 2:09:30.  

Megan Hebda was convinced by her sister Mollie to compete in her first Armed Forces Championship, helping to launch Navy into first place behind strong finishes behind bronze medalist Ensign Elizabeth Cullingford of Naval Air Station Jacksonville with a time of 2:12:26.  

Navy captured team gold for the first time since 2013.  Air Force took silver and Army and Marines finished third and fourth respectively.  

Team scores are calculated based on the placement rank of the top five men and top three women of each respective division.  

In the men’s masters’ division (consisting of participants who 40 years and older), Air Force Lt. Col. Jonathon Mason, of Pope Army Field, N.C. captured gold with a time of 2:02:04. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Robert Allen of Newport, R.I. and Navy Captain Lee Boyer of Washington, D.C. completed the podium with times of 2:06:33 and 2:08:37 respectively.  

Air Force Major Christina Hopper, of Vance Air Force Base, Calif., brought home the gold with a time of 2:14:00 in the Women’s Masters’ Division.  Marine Corps Lt. Col. Kate Murray of Quantico, Va. and Major Erica Chabalko of Fort Bragg, N.C. won silver and bronze with times of 2:24:18 and 2:26:04 respectively. 
The women’s masters’ division consists of competitors that are 35-years and older.  

The Armed Forces Triathlon Championship consists of Olympic distances of a 1,500-meter (approximately one-mile) open water ocean swim, followed by a 40-kilometer (24.8-mile) bike ride and finishing with a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) run. 

The Armed Forces Championship features men’s and women’s teams from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force along with athletes from the Coast Guard competing on the Navy team. 

As part of a long standing cooperation with the Canadian Armed Forces, Canada once again joined the U.S. Service branches in their annual Armed Forces Championship as part of the CISM Bilateral Competition.  

The 2018 Armed Forces Triathlon Championship also served as the selection process for naming the 2018 U.S. Armed Forces Triathlon Team that is scheduled to participate in Lidköping, Sweden from 15-18 July 2018.  

To stay informed on the Triathlon team, along with U.S Armed Forces Sports, visit www.armedforcessports.com for complete coverage of CISM World Championship. 

Follow the U.S. Delegation throughout social media using the following hashtags: #CISMUSA, #CISMTriathlon, #ArmedForcesSports.

COMPLETE RESULTS:

ARMED FORCES WOMEN'S STANDINGS
1ST Place – Navy (11 pts)
2nd Place – Air Force (16 pts)
3rd Place - Army (31 pts)
4th Place – Marine Corps (32 pts)

ARMED FORCES MEN'S STANDINGS
1ST Place – Navy (31 pts)
2nd Place – Air Force (36 pts)
3rd Place - Army (72 pts)
4th Place – Marine Corps (87 pts)

WOMEN'S MEDALISTS
1st Place - Capt Mollie Hebda, Marine Corps, MCB Camp Pendleton, CA, 2:08:20
2nd Place - LT Megan Hebda, Navy, NBMC Mayport, FL, 2:09:30
3rd Place -ENS Katie Cullingford, NAS Jacksonville, FL, 2:12:26

MEN'S MEDALISTS
1st Place - LT Kyle Hooker, Navy, USS Nimiz, 1:50:12
2nd Place - ENS Davis Frease, Navy, Oceanside, CA 1:54:30
3rd Place - LT Ian King, Navy, Colorado State University, 1:55:02

WOMEN'S MASTERS MEDALISTS
1st Place - Maj Christina Hopper, USAF, Vance AFB, CA, 2:14:00
2nd Place - LtCol Kate Murray, USMC, Quantico, VA, 2:24:18
3rd Place - MAJ Erica Chabalko, Fort Bragg, N.C., 2:26:04

MEN'S MASTERS MEDALISTS
1st Place - Lt Col Jonathan Mason, USAF, Pope AAF, N.C., 2:02:04
2nd Place - LCDR Robert Allen, Navy, Newport RI, 2:06:33
3rd Place - CAPT Lee Boyer, Navy, Washington, D.C., 2:08:37

U.S. ARMED FORCES CISM TEAM

Col Stephen Armes, USMC - Chief of Mission
Mr. James Senn, Navy - Team Captain
Mr. James Felty, Navy – Coach
Col Spencer Cocanour, USAF, CISM Sports Committee Member

WOMEN'S OPEN TEAM
Capt Mollie Hebda, Marine Corps, MCB Camp Pendleton, CA
LT Megan Hebda, Navy, NBMC Mayport, FL
ENS Katie Cullingford, NAS Jacksonville, FL
LT Elizabeth Bochner, Monterey, CA
Maj Jamie Turner, Joint Base Charleston, SC
2d Lt Samantha Skold, Langley AFB, VA

MEN'S OPEN TEAM
LT Kyle Hooker, Navy, USS Nimiz
ENS Davis Frease, Navy, Oceanside, CA
LT Ian King, Navy, Colorado State University
Capt Brett King, USAF, Beale Air Force Base, CA
CPT Nicholas Sterghos, Army, Colorado Army Reserve, CO
Capt Joel Bischoff, USAF, Luke AFB, AZ

WOMEN'S MASTERS TEAM
Maj Christina Hopper, USAF, Vance AFB, CA
Maj Judith Coyle, USA, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA

MEN'S MASTERS TEAM
Lt Col Jonathan Mason, USAF, Pope AAF, N.C.
LCDR Robert Allen, Navy, Newport RI
CAPT Lee Boyer, Navy, Washington, D.C.