SGT
takes on the world’s best in military triathlon titles
AN
AUSTRALIAN athlete recently gave notice to 103 of the world’s
finest military athletes that Australians are a force to be reckoned
with.
Sergeant John Hovius from RAAF Base Williamtown competed in the
2005 World Military Triathlon Championships.
Military athletes from 17 countries entered the prestigious event,
which was held on June 25 at the Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC)
in California. Several of them had competed in the 2004 Athens
Olympics, guaranteeing a fast and competitive pace.
The participating countries were Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands,
Russia, Slovenia, Sweden and the United States. Sergeant Hovius
entered the event as a non-member athlete.
The event comprised a 1500m swim, 40km bike ride and 10km run,
using the same course as the US Armed Forces Triathlon, which
has been held at NBVC for the past five years.
“The qualifying races were held on June 18, just one week
before the main event,” he said. “I saw a chance to
represent both the USA and Australia, so I entered the US Armed
Forces Triathlon Championships.”
He came home fourth in the Open Male category in a very respectable
2:10, beating many US military hopefuls in the process.
Stephane Poulat, of France, took the gold with a time of 1:41:48,
which was quicker than that of the 2004 Olympics. Silver and bronze
went to Marko Albert, of Estonia, with 1:42:19 and Sylvain Dodet,
of France, in 1:43:39.
Nadia Cortassa, of Italy, took the women’s gold in 1:52:47,
while silver and bronze went to Ricarda Lisk, of Germany, 1:56:48,
and Camille Cierpik, of France, 1:57:06 respectively.
Sergeant Hovius came in 54th in 2:27:21, being let down by a slower-than-normal
swim.
“I didn’t place, but I came away with a great experience
and many new mates from all over the world,” he said.
For
those interested
