Samantha Rose, an RAF officer, won the OA Inter-Services Triathlon in 2016. We interviewed her to discover what it takes to be a winning a triathlete ahead of the race next week.
This year the triathlon is organised by the RAF Triathlon Association, and sponsored by the OA. The Army, Navy and RAF will compete at the annual event, in individual and team categories, including Male, Female and Veteran. In addition to the Armed Forces, the emergency services, the OA and guest teams will participate.
The OA sponsors the OA Inter-Services Triathlon to celebrate the high levels of physical fitness, mental determination and self-discipline that competing requires. These are qualities that will support Service leavers when they make a successful transition into civilian life.
Tell us about yourself.
I completed my first triathlon in 2011 while studying at the University of Birmingham, and was instantly hooked. I immediately progressed to racing standard distance triathlons, and medalled in my first race. I graduated as a dentist in July 2012, and since then I have combined working full-time with training and racing in triathlons at a highly competitive level. After working in the NHS, I joined the RAF in January 2016.
My best achievements to date include coming third in the World ITU AG Champs in Chicago (2015); third in ETU AG Champs in Kitzbuhel (2017), 11th in the London Elite Triathlon (2016) and I won the OA Inter-Services Standard Distance triathlon (2016). 2017 has been a jam-packed season, fitting races in early due to my deployment to the Falklands being brought forwards.
