Norwich Cadet Gabriel Gaetz wins at the 2021 OCR World Championship

By NU Office of Communications

Norwich University’s Cadet Gabriel Gaetz, class of 2023, spent this past weekend competing against over 400 athletes from around the world at the 2022 Obstacle Course Racing World (OCR) Championship in Stratton, Vermont. Gaetz finished 3rd in his age group (18-24) and 36th overall with a time of 2:08:43.

The Obstacle Course Racing World (OCR) Championship is a grueling 15K course featured over 40 obstacles spread across rough mountainous terrain at Stratton Mountain Resort.

Gaetz, a member of Army ROTC and member of the Army Ranger Challenge Team, was the first American to finish and the only person from the United States to make the podium. Gaetz qualified for the world championship by finishing first place in a U.S. qualifier race earlier this year.

Since its inaugural event in 2014, the OCR World Championship has served as the premier independent world championships for the sport of Obstacle Course Racing. The three-day event features five different races that accommodate a variety of athletes. The events flagship 3K and 15K distance races are only open to qualified age-group and professional athletes.

Gaetz won the 2021 OCR World Championship in the 18-24 category. He was featured in a YouTube video this past January where he talked about his efforts and inspiration.

WATCH: Obstacle Course Racing: Gabriel Gaetz

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Norwich University is a diversified academic institution that educates traditional-age students and adults in a Corps of Cadets and as civilians. Norwich offers a broad selection of traditional and distance-learning programs culminating in baccalaureate and graduate degrees. Norwich University was founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge of the U.S. Army and is the oldest private military college in the United States of America. Norwich is one of our nation's six senior military colleges and the birthplace of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). www.norwich.edu

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