www.flagshipnews.com | The Flagship | Section 1 | Thursday, August 1, 2024
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Winning treats for your Olympic watch party! Page 6
See how to stream the Olympics for FREE! Page 4 VOL. 32, NO. 28, Norfolk, Va. | flagshipnews.com | August 1-August 7, 2024
1st. Lt. Samantha Sullivan runs upfield during the U.S. Women’s Rugby Sevens team’s gold medal match against Canada on Nov. 4 in the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. Sullivan helped the U.S. team win the gold medal. (US
Spc. Kamal Bey of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program celebrates after he pinned Brazil’s Joilson De Brito to win the 77kg gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. (U.S. ARMY WCAP PHOTO
Staff Sgt. Leonard Korir, a Soldier-Athlete with the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, runs during the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on Feb. 3 in Orlando, Florida. Korir won the bronze medal in a time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, 57 seconds. (U.S.
ARMY WCAP PHOTO BY MAJ. NATE GARCIA)
BY MAJ. NATE GARCIA)
ARMY WCAP PHOTO BY MAJ. NATE GARCIA)
By Stephen Warns
“This opportunity gives me the chance to realize my childhood dream of playing on the world stage and the chance to show that it’s possible to chase both my dream of being an Army officer and an Olympian,” said Sullivan, whose military occupational specialty is 12A, Engineer Officer. “WCAP has provided me with the outlet to not only hone my athletic skills but my leadership skills as well. I am beyond grateful to WCAP for giving me the chance to represent my country at the highest level.”
cated to Bey. “We were paying attention to the IOC media, and the last meeting raised a lot of questions,” said Bey, a 92G, Culinary Specialist, who won his first international medal when he struck gold at the Pan American Games last November. “It’s a big sigh of relief for USA Greco-Roman Wrestling. And I just have to focus on what I can control.”
WCAP Soldier-Athletes ready to show some mettle this summer in the Paris Olympics U.S. Army Installation Management Command
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas — The U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) presents unique opportunities for elite Soldier-Athletes to achieve their Olympic dreams. Starting July 26 and ending Sept. 8, five of WCAP’s best Soldier-Athletes will go for the gold in the Summer Games and Paralympics.
Here are the WCAP Soldier-Athletes who will be competing in Paris: CPT Samantha Sullivan Women’s Rugby Sevens Dates competing: July 28-29 in pool play. Deep down, Sullivan said she knew she would one day realize her dream as an Olympian. “I would say 8-year-old me definitely saw herself as an Olympian, but 26-year-old me still doesn’t feel like it’s real yet,” said Sullivan, who played a key role in Team USA winning the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, last November. “Sometimes, the drive to prove that voice inside your head saying ‘I can’t’ is the greatest motivation of all.” Sullivan said rugby is the perfect sport that shows how one reacts under pressure, and she continues to prove she thrives in adverse environments and situations.
SPC Kamal Bey Greco-Roman Wrestling, 77kg Dates competing: Aug. 6-7 Bey took the mat less traveled to earn his first Olympic berth. The standout wrestler dominated the U.S. Olympic Trials in April at Penn State, then had to qualify the weight class for Team USA at the Last Chance World Olympic Qualifier in Istanbul, Turkey, in May. Bey lost the opening match to Russia’s Sergei Kutuzov, who was competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete, but stormed back to win his next four bouts before falling in a heartbreaker in the third-place match. But in June, the International Olympic Committee deemed certain Russian and Belarusian wrestlers ineligible because of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Eventually, Russia and Belarus pulled all of its wrestlers out of the Paris Games. That means Kutuzov, who won the weight class, won’t compete in Paris and the final spot was allo-
SSG Leonard Korir Marathon Date competing: Aug. 10 Waiting isn’t the hard part for Korir, who placed third in the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in February and found out in June he will be competing for the U.S. His event is also the day before closing ceremonies. “I had to wait but I had the rankings in my mind, and I knew I had like 80% chance of making the team,” said Korir, whose MOS is 88M, motor transport operator. “My coach was telling me that we needed to stay focused with training and just continue with the same program and routine. I just trained like someone on the team already knowing that it’s going to be OK.” Competing on Aug. 10 couldn’t please Korir more. “That is perfect because of preparation,” Korir said. “I get more time to train and get ready. after racing the marathon trials in February, I needed time to recover before starting again with training.” Turn to WCAP Olympians, Page 5
Daughter of NUWC Division Newport employee will compete in rowing at the 2024 Summer Olympics By Public Affairs Office
Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport
NEWPORT, R.I. — Julie Kallfelz, who heads the Northeast Tech Bridge at NUWC Division Newport, will have a vested interest as she heads to Paris this week to attend the Summer Olympics — her daughter Emily is representing the U.S. in the Women’s Rowing Four event. “We’re off-the-charts proud and just so excited for her,” Julie said. “It’s been a long road. You get to this level, for any athlete, and you appreciate how narrow a slot it is to get to this level of performance and this level of competition. Just a tiny sliver of the population is even physiologically capable.” The Women’s Four competition involves a quartet of rowers, each with one oar racing over a 2,000-meter stretch. There are nine countries represented at the Games, with Kaitlin Knifton, Mary Mazzio-Manson and Kelsey Reelick joining 27-year-old Emily in the U.S. boat. Heats begin July 28, and the finals are slated for Aug. 1 (find a detailed schedule below). “Her attitude hasn’t changed much,” Julie said of her daughter. “There is definitely the realization that this is the Olympics, and this is a big deal, but at the same time, she and her boat mates have a great vibe where they’re just like, ‘We’re going to go out and do our best.’ They’re going to treat it like any other race, and not get all spun up about the stress and the pressure and the stage.” Rowing is a family affair. When she arrived at Cornell University in the mid-1980s, Julie overheard a classmate say she was going to try out for the rowing team. A runner and swimmer in high school, Julie had never participated in rowing, but was intrigued and joined the program Turn to Daughter Olympian, Page 5
Emily Kallfelz, daughter of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport’s Julie Kallfelz, director of the Northeast Tech Bridge, will be representing the U.S. in the Women’s Rowing Four event in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Heats begin July 28, and the finals are slated for Aug. 1, 2024. (PHOTO BY EVAN CRAWLEY, NAVAL UNDERSEA WARFARE CENTER DIVISION NEWPORT)
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