One of the elite athletes in the RCP Tiburon Mile this year is Dennis Bowsher from Colorado Springs. The 30-year-old Olympic pentathlete is more accustomed to riding horses, running, shooting, and fencing, but he is ready to give it a go in the cold waters of San Francisco Bay.
“I have done a variety of open water swims, but I read about these Olympic athletes in Swimming World Magazine. But I have done nothing like this. I was a 200-yard breaststroker in high school.”
But then fate intervened.
Bowsher grew up in Dallas when he picked up some flyers on modern pentathlon at a local swim meet. “It looked interesting, so I gave the USA Pentathlon people a call. They sold me over the telephone and I decided to give it a shot. They offered me a room and a stipend and I have been at it every since.”
Over the last ten years he has been gradually improving and placed 30th at his first Olympics in 2012. “I am best in the run-and-shoot. I am a naturally calm person which is good for precision shooting. I am OK in swimming and riding, and scored a perfect score in the riding in the last World Championships. But it is fencing where I am always looking to improve.”
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