11 August 2025
Spain’s Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Marbella will push Flying Officer Annabelle Savage’s resilience to the limit, as the logistics officer aims to inspire fellow aviators to chase bold goals.
Flying Officer Savage, based at RAAF Base Williamtown with 3 Control and Reporting Unit (3CRU), hopes her journey to the global stage on November 8 motivates others to push their limits.
Transferring to logistics in 2023, Flying Officer Savage, 25, stumbled into triathlon post-COVID. Raised in Cronulla, Sydney, in an active family, she inherited athletic genes from her mother, a former world-ranked open-water swimmer and surf lifesaver, though she wasn’t pushed into elite sport.
“My mum was pretty chuffed to see that I’d found my passion. They never pushed me, but I found it myself,” Flying Officer Savage said, recalling her parents’ shock when she qualified for the World Championships.
Her triathlon journey began when she bought a bike during a course at RAAF Base Richmond.
“I signed up for a local triathlon, placed second, then won another, and decided to give Ironman 70.3 a shot,” she said.
Her breakthrough came at the Ironman 70.3 in Melbourne in November 2024, placing sixth in her age group among hundreds, securing her spot in Marbella.
The Ironman 70.3 demands a 1.9km swim, 90km bike ride and 21.1km run, testing athletes through gruelling conditions over several hours.
For Flying Officer Savage, the toughest moment in Melbourne came around the 17km mark of the run’s second lap.
“I had pretty bad calf cramping and was beginning to feel sick from the nutrition I’d had throughout the race to stay energised,” she said.
’I’d been smiling the entire time up until that moment and I knew I only had four kilometres left to say I’d officially completed a 70.3. I spent hours every morning and afternoon putting in the work to prepare for this race. The least I could do was put in another 20 minutes of work.”
She said crossing the finish line with the crowd’s encouragement and the iconic red carpet was “such an indescribable feeling”, driving her to compete again.
Flying Officer Savage’s training mirrors her role within 3CRU, where she leads a team of six supply members.
'Training for triathlon taught me discipline and the ability to stay focused on key tasks and deliverables.'
Her section’s role is to support the deployment of Tactical Air Defence Radar Systems and the establishment of Control and Reporting Posts across northern Australia, in support of communications coverage for military aircraft.
"In a lot of ways triathlon and logistics have similarities,” Flying Officer Savage said.
“Training for triathlon taught me discipline and the ability to stay focused on key tasks and deliverables.
“Without properly prioritising tasks and remaining disciplined across multiple aspects of training, you are your own single point of failure. Logistics requires much of the same discipline and prioritisation, based on what urgently needs to be actioned, otherwise it can have mission-critical outcomes.
“Waking up at 4am every single morning, training for an hour-and-a-half to two hours, and often training in the afternoon, allows me to create structure in my life and remain resilient to change, kind of similar to ensuring preparation of a radar deployment is conducted and hence, jets have comms when they’re flying missions.”
Her Commanding Officer’s support, offering flexible leave and training time, has been vital, while the Air Force Sports Council provided a limited amount of financial support to cover entry fees for representative events, including the World Championships.
“This support is really important and one of the many reasons I want to stay in,” said Flying Officer Savage, who completed an honours thesis at the Australian Defence Force Academy on mid-career retention of women in the Air Force.
“Initiatives like the Sports Council make a real difference when it comes to retention.”
Her advice when it comes to sport?
“Take the jump and make that move, even if you’re not sure about it. You don’t know how much you might fall in love with something until you try it. Life is too short not to find your passion, even if you fail at times.”
Through her Instagram @belle_triathlon, Flying Officer Savage shares her training grind – early mornings, toast in the dark, winter sessions – to encourage others.
She encouraged aviators to consider joining her in the ADF Triathlon.
“Just visit the ADF Sport page on the DPN, fill out a form or two and you’re in,” Flying Officer Savage said.
“The human body and mind can achieve incredible things – you just have to start.”
