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Fairchild athlete represents Air Force

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Janelle Patiño
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  A pilot assigned to the 93rd Air Refueling Squadron was selected to represent the Air Force while doing what he loves; cycling.

1st Lt. John ShalekBriski recently returned from Leopoldsburg, Belgium, where he was selected to compete in the 2013 Conseil International du Sport Militaire 23rd World Military Cycling Championship.

The CISM is one of the largest multidisciplinary organizations in the world where members of the Armed Forces meet in the sports playing field for a friendly competition. The ultimate goal of the event, with the motto "friendship through sport," is to contribute to world peace by uniting Armed Forces through sports.

In order to be selected, ShalekBriski had to submit a resumé with a record of his last four years of racing. In addition, they also look at physiological data to show individual performance when racing.

"The feeling I get after finishing a race is amazing," said ShalekBriski. "I like the adrenaline, excitement and satisfaction I get everytime I push myself beyond the limits to see how far I can go."

Military racers come from all over the globe to participate in CISM for the cycling championship.

ShaleskBriski met with his teammates for the first time just weeks before the competition and said having to race with them a few weeks later is one of the biggest challenges they had to face.

"Our team consisted of a couple U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force and Coast Guard members," said ShalekBriski. "At first, it was tricky to learn to race together since it was the first time I actually got to meet them, but it got easier once I got the hang of it."

According to ShalekBriski, CISM isn't just about racing and competing against other countries, it is also an opportunity to meet and get to know other athletes from around the world, as per the slogan "friendship through sport."

"It was cool seeing how other people from different countries carried themselves and how they interacted," ShalekBriski said. "It made me realize how different things work in other countries."

After 81 miles of cycling, which took him under three hours to finish, ShalekBriski placed 20th out of more than 200 participants that represented more than 10 nations.