When it comes to the modern pentathlon, Durango’s Seamus Millett has been the gold standard in his age group in recent years.
Millett went back to the U.S. Olympic Training Center on Friday in Colorado Springs and proved it again. The recent Durango High School graduate defended his title and became a four-time USA Modern Pentathlon National Champion in the men’s Youth A group.
The modern pentathlon is a competition involving fencing, shooting, swimming, riding and cross-country running.
Millett dominated the fencing portion of the event, winning 282 points while going 34 and 6 in the round robin. He also won the run/shoot combined category with a time of 12 minutes, 15 seconds.
With the win, Millett cemented himself as the top competitor for the U.S. team headed to compete July 12-19 at the Youth World Championships in Limerick, Ireland.
Millett has already built up enough USA Pentathlon points to be in strong consideration for the 2020 Olympic Games. He finished third overall Tuesday, a day that saw competitors aged 16-65 going head-to-head.
He was solidly in second place after the fencing portion and won the run/shoot combined event with a time of 12:13. The time was 28 seconds better than U.S. Army Sergeant and 2012 and 2016 U.S. Olympian Dennis Bowsher.
Another Southwest Colorado athlete, Mancos’ Teslin Stecher, finished in fourth-place in the Youth A and B groups.
There are still two days of pentathlon competition left in Colorado Springs. Saturday and Sunday are relay events, and, if all goes well, Millett has a chance to bring home an unprecedented six medals.
Modern pentathlon titles aren’t the only medals Millett has racked up recently. He was a key component to the Durango High School cross country team’s state title this year and added another in the spring with the state-championship-winning DHS track and field 4x800-meter relay team.
jfries@durangoherald.com
