Olympic dreams: air force athletes compete for Olympic slots and dreams

Airman, June, 2004

Twenty-two athletes have dedicated their lives the past two years to not only serving the country as Air Force members, but hopefully as representatives of their country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, in August, where the ancient games originated.

Many of these officers and enlisted men and women are chasing Olympic dreams that began in childhood. Facing the best competition the world has to offer, most won't succeed in their efforts to make the Olympic team, and fewer still, if any, will win Olympic medals.

But their desire to give their all for that chance, that opportunity, to represent their country has been the driving force as they trained and competed as part of the Air Force World Class Athlete Program.

Airman features five of these athletes whose recent accomplishments have made them the most likely contenders to join the 2004 Olympic team, and includes all who have given their best. After the Olympic trials, and possibly the games in Greece, they'll return to their Air Force careers. They may not return wearing medals around their necks, but they can hold their heads high for what they've accomplished personally and professionally.

Capt. Eli Bremer, Modern Pentathlon

Usually an officer's primary weapon is the M-9 Baretta pistol. But for one captain, his weapons of choice are an air pistol, an epee, a pool, a horse and running shoes.

Ever since he was a kid, Eli Bremer has wanted two things. Now at 26, he's accomplished one of them--graduating from the Air Force Academy--and is working hard on the other--being an Olympian.

Through the World Class Athlete Program, Captain Bremer represents the Air Force as a modern pentathlon athlete, currently ranked third in the country. The sport consists of five events--shooting, fencing, free-style swimming, equestrian show jumping and cross country running.

"It's very emotionally draining," he said. "One minute you're doing a passive, calm event like shooting, and then the next is an action event like fencing."

Captain Bremer grew up riding horses and was on both the swimming and fencing teams at the academy. But it was during his sophomore year in high school after meeting a pentathlon athlete that he first took a hard look at his own possibilities in the sport.

"I never even knew what the pentathlon was, but once I heard of the events I figured I was already doing three of them, so I had nothing to lose."

Today, Captain Bremer eats, sleeps and dreams training. When he's not spending 10 hours a day at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Colo., he's putting on his blue uniform and representing the Air Force around the world. He never forgets he's still a full-time military officer.

"Being an athlete is merely an extension of my job as an of ricer," he said. "Sports allow us to 'touch' people as role models and ambassadors to our country."

With the help of many family and friends, Captain Bremer has the support behind him to reach his dream.

"I've had a lot of good competitions, but until you make the Olympics, all the rest don't matter. Once you're an Olympian, you're always an Olympian. No one can ever take that away."

Follow Captain Bremer's journey to the Olympics at www.usapentathlon.org.

--Capt. Christine L. Kunz

Athlete Profile

Eli Bremer is a 2000 graduate from the Air Force Academy and entered the World Class Athlete Program in November 2001.

Hometown: Monument, Colo.

AFSC: 64P3, Contracting Officer

Age: 26

Height: 6 feet

Weight: 170 pounds

Event stats: Shooting, 175 to 180 points (out of 200 possible)

Fencing, A-rated fencer

Swimming, 2 minutes to 2:01 for 200-meter long course

Riding, 1,200 points (out of 1,200 possible)

Running, 8 minutes 35 seconds to 8:40 for 3,000 meters

Hobbies: Fixing up his home and reading Tom Clancy's books and the "Left Behind" series

Capt. Kevin Eastler, Race Walking

While other kids in Farmington, Maine, were heading to Little League practice, 9-year-old Kevin Eastler was moving to the beat of a different drum.

He was following in the footsteps of his father and older sister, Gretchen. They were race walkers, and he knew that if he, too, worked and paid his dues, the sport of race walking could ultimately lead to competition in, what seemed to him at the time, distant lands such as Florida where he flew for the first time to see his big sister compete.

Now, almost 20 years later, the Air Force captain continues the journey that could lead to Athens. His Olympic chances look good. He currently holds the fastest time among U.S. race walkers and is holder of the second-fastest time in U.S. 20-kilometer race walking history with a time of 1 hour, 22 minutes, 25 seconds.

"That would be the best thing. That's what I've been training for," said Captain Eastler, who trains full time in Aurora, Colo., as part of the World Class Athlete Program. His recent success makes him a heavy favorite to qualify for a position on the Olympic team, but he's taking nothing for granted. Soon after graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1999, he was ranked fifth in the nation and finished second at the Olympic trials but was about three minutes off the qualifying time.