COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— Sheila Taormina (Livonia, Mich.) and Eli Bremer (Colorado Springs, Colo.) won the senior women’s and men’s divisions, respectively, at the Pan American Championships for modern pentathlon, October 3-8 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Competing in modern pentathlon for the first time, three-time Olympian Taormina combined a strong swim of 2:07 and a run of 10:04 to win the title with 5,704 points, 204 points ahead of runner-up Pinette Monica of Canada. In her first fencing competition, Taormina struggled in winning only one of her first seven bouts, but finished strong to earn 868 points. Taormina won gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games as a member of the 4x200m freestyle relay and also competed in triathlon at the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The 2004 world champion in triathlon, Taormina competed in her last triathlon World Cup Sept. 17 in Beijing, China.

“Pentathlon is the most exciting and challenging sport that I have ever done,” Taormina said. “I did not think it could get more difficult, coming from swimming in 2000 and triathlon in 2004, but pentathlon is. Of the three new sports—shooting, fencing and riding—show jumping is my favorite. I am excited to be a part of the sport for years to come.”

Bremer gained 1,284 points by winning the swim portion in a time of 2:06 to place first overall with a total of 5,564 points. He earned 1,024 points by shooting a 174, one of the best of his career. A 2000 graduate of the Air Force Academy, Bremer participated on the swimming and fencing teams and trained in modern pentathlon throughout college. Currently a contract officer at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., Bremer is the 2002 U.S. national champion and was a member of the gold-medal team at the 2004 CISM World Military Championship.

“It was the biggest Pan American competition and the quality of the athletes is getting better,” Bremer said. “There are so many talented juniors that have never competed in pentathlon.”

In the women’s competition, Suzanne Stettinius placed sixth as senior and fourth as a junior with 4,772 points. She went undefeated in her first seven fencing bouts and swam her fastest time in the 50m race.

“Suzanne is a very talented athlete and has a good future in pentathlon,” said coach Michael Cintas. “Sheila was a star—great form in the ride with only one rail down.”

Samuel Sacksen (Somerset, Pa.), who has only been training a few months, finished his first international competition in seventh place for the men with 5,308 points. Sacksen earned 1,144 points riding a horse on which no other competitor scored more than 500 points. Also competing in his first international competition was Larry Goodwin, who earned 4,096 points for 10th place in the men’s junior category.

“Based on their performances here, both Suzanne and Shelia have a great chance to qualify for the Olympic Games in Beijing and the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro,” said coach Janusz Peciak.

The next major competition for modern pentathlon is the NORCECA Championships, December 2-4 in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

RESULTS:

Senior Women

NAME COUNTRY TOTAL SHOOT FENCE SWIM RIDE RUN

1 Taormina Sheila USA 5704 1012 868 1392 1132 1300

2 Pinette Monica Canada 5500 1132 1132 1076 1108 1052

3 Rodriguez Katia Cuba 5384 1012 1044 1168 1172 988

6 Stettinius Suzanne USA 4772 988 956 988 1008 832

Senior Men

NAME COUNTRY TOTAL SHOOT FENCE SWIM RIDE RUN

1 Bremer Eli USA 5564 1024 1000 1284 1136 1120

2 Bustos Cristian Chile 5436 1084 832 1108 1200 1212

3 Vicente Frank Cuba 5372 928 952 1164 1144 1184

7 Sacksen Samuel USA 5308 1000 880 1180 1144 1104

Junior Women

NAME COUNTRY TOTAL SHOOT FENCE SWIM RIDE RUN

1 Rodriguez Katia Cuba 5384 1012 1044 1168 1172 988

2 Bales Elena Canada 5200 1096 692 1136 1184 1092

3 Marques Yane Brazil 5048 1072 912 1292 768 1004

4 Stettinius Suzanne USA 4772 988 956 988 1008 832

Junior Men

NAME COUNTRY TOTAL SHOOT FENCE SWIM RIDE RUN

1 Martinez Marco Mexico 5608 1144 1140 1116 1032 1176

2 Ortega Yasmany Cuba 5232 1060 944 1104 1016 1108

3 Gonzalez Pedro pablo Guatemala 5156 976 1028 1040 1188 924

10 Goodwin Larry USA 4096 916 756 820 1116 489