Major win at Columbus AFB triathlon

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Keith Holcomb
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  Columbus Air Force Base held a free, base-wide triathlon June 3, 2017.

Starting around 7 a.m. competitors took off to complete the 300-yard swim, 22-kilometer biking route and 5-kilometer run.

Maj. Alan Goncalves, 50th Flying Training Squadron Assistant Director of Operations, came in overall 1st place with a time of 1:03:05.

Following up in second place was Lt. Col. Jeffrey Yost, 50th FTS, and in 3rd place overall came 2nd Lt. Holden McDaniel, a 14th Student Squadron Student Pilot.

Participants completed the 300-yard swim in the Independence pool. Individuals swam edge to edge moving left one lane after each turn.

From the pool participants walked to the bike racks to change into their gear. They then started the 22-kilometer bike ride from the club parking lot, down the flightline, and back to the parking lot.

From the bike racks the runners ran a designated 5-kilometer route to the finish line and celebrated with water and food the Red Cross provided.

“Going down the runway, the center runway, that was the coolest part to me,” said 2nd Lt. Forrest Schaffer, 14th STUS Student Pilot.

The runway may have been a highlight for some, but for a few competitors the highlight was their first triathlon and one of their first community events at Columbus AFB.

“This is my first Air Force base; I’m here with my husband and it’s just awesome,” said Ann Doll, spouse of 2nd Lt. Ryan Doll, 14th STUS Student Pilot. “Not only the military, but the triathlon community is just very energetic all the time and I had a lot of fun.”

The triathlon was free, but only open to those who have access to the base.

“We are looking into opening up future triathlons to the community to see how many people are interested in competing (from) off base,” said Col. Anthony Sansano, 14th Mission Support Group Commander.