The older Seamus Millettt gets, the competition gets tougher and the opportunities to compete become greater. But the time to practice the sport he loves has become less frequent.
The 2016 Durango High School graduate claimed his sixth national championship in modern pentathlon this summer. The modern pentathlon combines five events with fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping and an event that combines laser pistol shooting and cross-country running.
Millett, who was a key member of Durango High School’s 2015 state champion cross-country team and 2016 state champion 4x800-meter relay team, claimed five national titles in the Youth A category in his modern pentathlon career. This year, he moved up and claimed the junior division championship for athletes ages 19 to 21. He also competed in the men’s senior division for athletes 22-and-older and finished second. He had the best laser-run in the nation. The laser-run requires athletes to complete legs of a half-mile run along with rounds of laser pistol shooting. Athletes complete two miles and four rounds of shooting. Millett is also an elite fencer.
Millett is the second-ranked man in the U.S. in the senior division behind only two-time Olympian Amro Elgeziry. He is the top-ranked junior. As the second-ranked man in the country, Millett has a chance to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He also will be in contention for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“Becoming an Olympian has always been my dream, and it is one of the biggest motivators for me to keep continuing my sport,” Millett said. “The goals for the next two years before Tokyo Olympics are to continue competing at the senior level and stay in the top two in the U.S. rankings as well as start to make finals and even top 20 in these international events to possibly start qualifying for the Olympics. 2024 is still definitely a possibility, as well, but I haven’t thought that far ahead to really come up with a plan.”
Millett, 19, recently competed in the UIPM Junior World Championships in Kladno, Czech Republic. He was unable to advance out of qualifying and get into the finals. He then joined Naomi Ross of Aurora to compete in the mixed relay, the final event of the junior world championships. Millett had the best 100 freestyle swim time of his life at 59.92 seconds. The duo finished seventh in fencing, as Millett recorded five victories. He added a perfect ride in horse jumping, and the duo went on to place 14th out of 20 teams in the competition.
Millett has learned to control the nervous energy that comes along with competing at big international events.
“I’ve gotten used to all the rush and overwhelming number of people and noise that comes with that, but I still get nervous and feel the pressure,” he said. “Half the time, it’s good to have those nerves, as that’s what keeps you sharp in the competition.”
Next month, Millett will see even tougher competition at the UIPM Senior World Championships in Mexico City.
“It’s definitely a change competing at a higher level,” Millett said. “It is a whole different level of intensity and speed at the higher level, and it is a bit overwhelming not having too much experience at that level. It gets very tough at the level, especially in events like the fencing, and I am still struggling to compete well at that level just because I’m not getting as high of level training as I need.”
Millett, son of James Millettt and Jennifer Thurston, has struggled to find adequate training time, let alone high level training. He is a student at Colorado School of Mines and is in the civil engineering program. He also swims freestyle events for the Colorado Mines Orediggers in the NCAA Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
On top of his difficult studies, he works three jobs. During the summer months, he typically will swim or lift weights from 6 to 8 a.m. and then work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. He will then try to get another practice in from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
“He is accomplishing this success while also on the dean’s list for civil engineering at Colorado School of Mines,” Thurston said. “Now, he is working three jobs to cover his expenses. He coaches swimming and fencing. He also is an intern for a civil engineering firm in Boulder.
“We are always looking for contributions to USA Pentathlon for him so he doesn’t have to work quite so hard.”
The average age of a pentathlon Olympian is 27. Millett is still young in a sport that he said is typically dominated by European countries such as France, Hungary, Italy and Russia, as well as Asian nations such as China and South Korea.
If Millett can get into the top 40 in the world rankings or win a qualifying slot at the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru, he could reach his Olympic dream as early as age 21.
To get there, he needs some more support.
“It has been quite the challenge continuing to compete at a high level while in college and working,” he said. “I’ve definitely had to miss out on some training to continue school and work over the years, and it’s been a hard sacrifice to make but I knew it was going to happen when I came to school. I’ve just been doing my best to keep training and continue school.
“I get very little to no support from the USA Olympic team, so it is mostly all up to me. I rely heavily on outside help to get to these events, and any support that I can get helps immensely.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
How to help
All donations to help fund Seamus Millet’s modern pentathlon career must be made directly to USA Pentathlon. Donations can be submitted online at
https://go.teamusa.org/2MyZ5DP
. Checks can also be made out to USA Pentathlon. Those interested in making a donation need to contact Jennifer Thurston at weaselskin1@msn.com with their name, the amount donated and their address for tax documents. The money can then be directed to Millet’s expenses.
