Photo By Sgt. Amber Bohlman | Gregory Stone preparing to take off on the second portion of the Morale, Welfare &...... read more read more
Subscribe
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — On your mark, get set, GO!
Swimmers threw themselves into the ocean, swimming with all of their might, to the buoys almost a half-mile away, signifying the turnaround point for the first event of the Morale, Welfare & Recreation Olympic Triathlon at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, April 25.
This multiple-stage competition, involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance disciplines, tested the limits of participants with swimming, cycling and running.
“We had 48 participants; there were 18 individual competitors and 10 teams that competed,” said Glenn Ignacio, MWR recreation lead.
The race consisted of a 0.93 mile swim from Ferry Landing Beach out into the bay, cycling 24.8 miles to and from Cable Beach to Windmill Beach and back up to Cable, followed by a 6.2 mile run, circling around to the Joint Trooper Clinic and ending at the Downtown Lyceum.
Of the 18 individual competitors, Gregory Stone, overall winner in all categories, decided to take a chance and compete in his first ever Olympic Triathlon.
“This is a very grueling event. Quite honestly, this is a competition of attrition. So, really there is a lot of strategy that goes into a triathlon,” Stone said. “It’s really about keeping yourself calm, keeping your heart rate down and strategizing, so you’re not wasting all of your energy on the swim, on the bike ride and then on the run trying to basically catch your breath and not push yourself too hard.”
The event started at 6:30 a.m. at Ferry Landing Beach, the shore was lined with competitors, volunteers and people who came out to support one another.
“Here in Cuba, it’s really a chance for you to get together with your comrades. Those comrades could be fellow Soldiers, Airmen, Marines or Seamen. They could also be civilians, so it’s really about getting together and encouraging one another to go the distance, because this is not really a ‘I’m going to go out and go as fast as I can’ type of event. This is a ‘You’ve got to hold on, and you’ve got to have the stamina and the endurance’ type of event,” Stone said.
Ignacio said that an event like this is a great way to bring the community together. Not only does it help boost the morale around the base, but it also gives everyone a taste of home.
“I don’t think it mattered so much that I was the first one. I think what mattered was that it was done and I survived, and a lot of my fellow teammates here, and runners and swimmers survived as well, and they did a great job,” Stone said.
| Date Taken: | 04.25.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.01.2015 09:34 |
| Story ID: | 161902 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 31.93 miles of sweat, camaraderie, determination, by SGT Amber Bohlman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT