Uniformed Services University Medical Student helps Air Force Team Take Silver at Armed Forces Triathlon
By Ian Neligh
There was no time left to train before the highly competitive Armed Forces Triathlon.
Air Force 2nd Lt. Elena Crouch, a medical school student at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) was wrapping up an extremely demanding rotation of internal medicine during a sub-internship. Before she knew it, the time came to compete in the prestigious athletic event in California. She didn’t feel ready.
“I really didn’t have time to work out very much, which wasn’t ideal,” says Crouch who regularly trains for triathlons.
 |
| Air Force 2nd Lt. Elena Crouch, a USU medical student, helped the Air Force team secure second place at the Armed Forces Triathlon at Naval Base Ventura County on Sept. 11. (Photo courtesy of Jake Suss) |
Despite having little time to train, Crouch says, “I did pretty well. We got enough points to be second, so I’m happy.”
She adds that she did great on the run and particularly well during the swim portion of the competition, but felt her time on the bike could’ve been improved. Out of the total 14 women in the triathlon Crouch says she came in 7th place individually. Crouch’s overall placement helped the team secure their second-place victory.
The women’s Navy team won first place, with the Marines coming in third.
Crouch has competed in triathlons since she was an undergraduate student and has kept up with training and competitions, which she says has helped her through medical school.
“It keeps me sane to have something to do,” Crouch jokes. “I just try to bike, run or swim every day. ”
Crouch says she started doing triathlons because she couldn’t just run all the time without injuring herself, so she tossed swimming and cycling into her exercise regimen to balance it out.
The annual Armed Forces Triathlon is an opportunity for the various branches of the Armed Forces to compete against each other. The women’s portion of the triathlon event comprises five team members competing against others in a 500-meter swim in the ocean, a 24.8-mile bike ride, and finishing up with a 6.2-mile run. Overall team scores are determined by each athlete’s cumulative times.
“It depends on the team’s ability, not just on one person,” Crouch says.
The competition was a “draft-legal event,” allowing athletes to draft off of one another during the cycling portion of the event. Drafting is following very closely behind the person in front of you to reduce wind resistance. She says part of the trick to the triathlon was getting through the swim portion fast enough so the team can start the cycling stage together.
“Because if you’re alone on the bike you're going to drop behind, you’re going to fall back,” Crouch says. “With others, you can draft and save energy and you go a lot faster — so it’s all about the swim.”
Crouch says she has a trainer bike in her room and wherever she goes she tries to find a local pool to practice in.
“I just do it in my free time because I can’t just sit all the time. I bring my bike to all of my (clinical) rotations,” Crouch says.
Competing in triathlons and attending medical school, have a lot in common, Crouch says.
“They’re both kind of long endurance efforts,” Crouch says, adding training for triathlons helps her focus during her studies.
Pre COVID-19, the highest-scoring triathlon teams would go on to compete with other military forces internationally, which Crouch says is a practice she hopes will restart next year.
 |
| The Air Force Armed Forces Triathlon team pose for a group photo at Naval Base Ventura County on Sept. 11. USU medical student, 2nd Lt. Elena Crouch was among the team members. (Photo courtesy of Air Force 2nd Lt. Elena Crouch) |
