Incirlik hosts multi-national triathlon Published Aug. 19, 2013 By Senior Airman Daniel Phelps 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey -- U.S. Incirlik members and Dutch soldiers competed in a sprint triathlon organized by the 39th Force Support Squadron fitness center Aug. 17. "This event was created to encourage a fitness lifestyle and help increase base morale," said Master Sgt. Ann Mitchell, 39th Force Support Squadron event coordinator. The 65 athletes showed up at the Incirlik AB pool at 5:30 a.m. to sign up for the event that began at 6 in the morning. The participants were broken into 35 individuals and 10 teams. The event consisted of a 5K run, a 20K bike ride and finished with a 200 meter swim. "Most triathlons are longer, but this is a good way for people to try something new and to push themselves," Mitchell said. Two Airmen brought an interesting challenge to the event by completing in the entire triathlon wearing their Airman Battle Uniform. "We have a lot of fallen Defenders out there, and we wanted to do this in memory of them," said Christopher Korleski, 39th Security Forces Squadron. He and Dustin Doyea, 39th SFS, pushed through the whole event. "The bike portion was the hardest part for us," Korleski explained. "Doyea had some issues with his bike and dropped behind. But, we never thought about quitting." Though Korleski finished the triathlon before his fellow defender, when Doyea caught back up, Korleski jumped right back in the pool, boots and all, to swim alongside his wingman. Floris Kolenberg, 1st Netherlands Ballistic Missile Defense Task Force, said he enjoyed the friendly cross nation rivalry and came in second place. "The Dutch recently held our own triathlon here and I won that one," Kolenberg said. "This time, it was fun competing with Americans and seeing what they had to bring." U.S personnel seemed to echo that sentiment. "It was nice seeing Dutch and Americans come out and compete together," Mitchell said. "It shows we are a team here at Incirlik." The results of the triathlon are as follows: 1st Team Finishers 1st: (57:38) Jason Delany, Matt Welling, Alexander Turner 2nd: (1:04:28) Beau Robbins, Kyley Barnes, Trinity Barnes 3rd: (1:11:47) Kellie Rutherford, Denise Wright, Laura Rosenzweig Top Men Finishers 1st: (59:34) Brian Baumgarten 2nd: (59:51) Floris Kolenberg 3rd: (1:03:09) And Kykamp Top Female Finishers 1st: (1:04:27) Julie Ostrand 2nd: (1:07:42) Lindsay Vande Pol 3rd: (1:08.42) Stephie Terwint