Aug 6, 2007 3:55 PM
Military Athletes Compete for Chance at World Games
Lt. Timothy O'Donnell takes first place in the annual Armed Forces Triathlon Championship held at Naval Base Ventura County in Point Mugu, CA. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Daisy Abonza.
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 of 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 men and women service members competed in the 1,500-meter ocean swim, 24.8-mile bike course and 6.2-mile run course. NBVC is the permanent host of the annual event, which was held for its 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. He finished with an overall time of 1:49:32.
“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.
The Navy placed first, followed by Air Force, Army and Marine Corps for the eight-person men’s teams' overall standings. For the women’s four-person teams, Air Force placed first, followed by 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."
