POINT MUGU, CA -- Select sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines stationed all over the world came together in late July to participate in the 2007 Armed Forces Triathlon Championships at Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) in Point Mugu, CA. The top five male and female athletes in the triathlon will be part of the 2007 U.S. Armed Forces Triathlon Team that will compete in the Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM) World Military World Games in Mumbai, India, Oct. 14-22.
Seventy-five male and female service members competed in the 1,500-meter ocean swim, 24.8-mile bike ride and 6.2-mile run. NBVC is the permanent host of the annual event, which was held for the seventh consecutive year.
Navy Lt. Timothy O’Donnell, who is stationed in Naval Air Station Coronado (CA), was the first-place male finisher in the triathlon with an overall time of 1 hour, 49 minutes, 32 seconds.
“I’m glad I can bring out a victory for the Navy,” O’Donnell says. “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.”
For the women, Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Justine Whipple of Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA, placed first with an overall time of 2:05:45.
“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,” Whipple says.
In the eight-person men’s team overall standings, the Navy placed first, followed by the Air Force, Army and Marine Corps. For the women’s four-person teams, the Air Force placed first, followed by the Army, Marine Corps and Navy.
“The goal of CISM is to break cultural barriers and combine military branches,” says Suba Saty, Armed Forces Sports Secretariat. “The concept of the World Games is friendship through sport.”