Interservice rivalry: Air Force athletes claim Ironman military division

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Mike Meares
  • 15th Wing Public Affairs
KONA, Hawaii (AFNS) --  A pair of Airmen pushed the envelope of mental and physical toughness to claim the 2010 Ironman World Championships Kona Military Division on a 140.6-mile grueling course.

Maj. Scott Poteet and Capt. Jamie Turner combined for a 20:27:36 time to claim this year's top honors for the Armed Forces. Major Poteet, assigned to the U.S. Air Force Academy, finished the course in a few ticks over nine and a half hours at 9:39:05, placing second to the U.S. Army's Robert Killian at 9:30:50.

The Airmen are part of a special group at the Mecca of triathlons. This year there were a total of nine individuals hand-picked from each of the services, including the Coast Guard, who take physical fitness and mental toughness to new lengths: all 140.6 miles to be exact.

They started their day with a 2.4-mile swim in the choppy salt waters of Kona Bay. They climbed from its waves to begin a 112-mile bike ride through the heat-emitting lava fields along the Kona and Kohala coastlines. The marathon of 26.2 miles ran along the same path as the bike ride, the Queen Ka'ahumanu highway.

"This is a very unforgiving environment, especially once you get out on the highway," Major Poteet said.  "There's no hiding from the elements. One of the biggest challenges is the sun and unforgiving heat radiating off the lava fields."

These nine military competitors, five males and four females, were selected from their ranks to represent the U.S. Armed Forces in the Ironman competition, a race dubbed "ke alahele o ke koa," a Hawaiian saying meaning "The Way of the Warrior."

"I think Ironman is one of the greatest displays of what the Armed Forces is about," said Navy Capt. Scott Jones, from Port Hueneme, Calif., who posted a time of 9:46:00. "It's about discipline. It's about being extraordinary when called upon to be extraordinary. When it gets hard, you get harder. The military embodies what the whole ethos this race is built upon."

These individuals are part of a fraternity who call themselves "Ironmen," a fraternity that started with a debate more than 30 years ago among military men and women trying to determine who was the top endurance athlete.

During an awards banquet in 1977, this group of military athletes stationed in Hawaii announced an idea that would change the course for endurance athletics. Gordon Haller, a retired Navy lieutenant commander, was the inaugural Ironman champion in 1978. He was the first of only 12 finishers of the race.

"I know they are all pretty disciplined because I was one of those guys," said Gordon Haller, a retired U.S. Navy lieutenant commander said. "I was not good enough to make one of those teams."

The military competitors relish in the magnitude of the event that began among their ranks more than 30 years ago. In the final turn, people lined the streets, recognizing each military competitor's logo on his or her uniform and cheering for that service.

"Ali'i Drive is the most famous road I know," Major Poteet said. "It is just lined three or four deep with fans cheering loud as can be, zig zagging along the sea wall...You turn a corner and see the finish line to the Ironman World Championships. Mike Reilly, the voice of Ironman, is cheering you on and announces your name. As soon as you cross that line it's, 'Scott Poteet, you are an Ironman!'


2010 Ironman World Championships Military Division finishing times:

U.S. Air Force
Maj. Scott Poteet, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.
2.4-mile swim: 1:06:12; 112-mile bike: 5:09:42; 26.2-mile run: 3:18:19; Overall: 9:39:05

Capt. Jamie Turner, Joint Base Charleston, S.C.
2.4-mile swim: 1:15:43; 112-mile bike: 5:46:23; 26.2-mile run: 3:41:26; Overall: 10:48:31

U.S. Army
Capt. Robert Killian, U.S. Army Forces Command, Colo.
2.4-mile swim: 1:14:34 ; 112-mile bike: 4:59:51; 26.2-mile run: 3:09:58; Overall: 9:30:50

Capt. Erica Chabalko, Baylor University, Waco, Texas
2.4-mile swim: 1:07:28; 112-mile bike: 6:05:26; 26.2-mile run: 4:26:35; Overall: 11:50:49

U.S. Navy
Capt. Scott Jones, Port Hueneme, Calif.
2.4-mile swim: 1:01:06; 112-mile bike: 5:12:52; 26.2-mile run: 3:25:48; Overall: 9:46:00

Cmdr. Kristin Barnes, Virginia Beach, Va.
2.4-mile swim: 1:21:54; 112-mile bike: 6:03:47; 26.2-mile run: 4:11:57; Overall: 11:44:45

U.S. Coast Guard
Cmnd. Master Chief Michael Ferreira, 14th District, Honolulu, Hawaii
2.4-mile swim: 1:07:20; 112-mile bike: 5:18:13; 26.2-mile run: 3:38:52; Overall: 10:10:33

Lt. Rachel Beckmann, University of Oregon, Eugene, Ore.
2.4-mile swim: 1:15:57; 112-mile bike: 5:49:20; 26.2-mile run: 4:17:56; Overall: 11:31:37

U.S. Marine Corps
Lt. Col. Hunter Hobson, Pentagon, Washington D.C.
2.4-mile swim: 1:08:33; 112-mile bike: 5:25:04; 26.2-mile run: 3:58:36; Overall: 10:40:54