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WHMC triathlete earns fifth silver

  • Published
  • By Patrick Desmond
  • 37th Training Wing Public Affairs
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Leading the Air Force team to third place at the military's top triathlon, James Bales earned his fifth Armed Forces Triathlon silver medal at Point Mugu, Calif., May 30. 

The Wilford Hall senior resident orthopedic surgeon extended his streak to seven straight years as the top Air Force triathlete with a time of 1:55:29 in the 1,500-meter swim, 40K bike ride and 10K run. 

"I work in the orthopedic clinic, a lot of people there are mobility impaired," Bales said. "(I'm) thankful just to be out there competing. There are a lot of people that can't." 

A bane to Bales winning gold, the Navy found yet another winning triathlete this year -- former six-time champion Timothy O'Donnell having gone pro -- in Derek Oskutis, who edged Bales by 39 seconds in the three-sport competition. 

"I was right in the thick of it and just couldn't pull it off in the end," Bales said. "You can't make excuses in this sport; he was just better that day." 

Coming out of the water and hopping on his bike, Bales was caught at a disadvantage in between the lead and chase packs during the draft-legal race. 

"I ended up being able to single-handedly catch the lead pack," he said. "That is hard to do. Three cyclists working together are tremendously stronger than one cyclist." 

Bales said the necessary solo effort may have led him to come up short, despite recording the third-best run time in the final section. 

"It's such a strategic race," he said. "Just not having quite as much left for the run as you would hope, and this time it was 39 seconds too little." 

Newcomer Anthony Milunas also helped the Air Force to third place, surpassing 44 other competitors for 64th place. 

In his first year competing against servicemembers from other military branches, he recorded a personal best time of 2:13:37. 

Impressed by the level of competition, Milunas said, "Easily, it has to be the highlight of my career." 

Earning his best time of the triathlon in the bike event, Milunas completed the 40K ride in 58:37. 

Milunas teamed up with competitors from the Navy and Army, taking turns leading into the wind during the bike ride. 

"It was a great show of comradeship between the Army, Navy and Air Force," he said. "We were taking turns, drafting off each other." 

The Navy team won first place, followed by the Army, with the Marine and Air Force teams tying for third. 

The women's Air Force team took first as four members placed in the top eight. 

The general consensus of the triathletes was that official timing for the event was two minutes slow, affecting personal best times.