The Reluctant Athlete: Faith, Fitness, and the Fleet

Chaplain Lieutenant Commander Jeremy Sweeten never set out to become an elite endurance athlete. Growing up, sports were little more than a fleeting distraction, he dabbled in soccer as a child, lost interest by middle school, and lifted weights in college simply to prevent "gaining the freshman fifteen."

His real athletic journey was forged years later not out of ambition, but out of necessity on the congested streets of New York City. While pastoring a church in the heart of the metropolis, the relentless grind began to take its toll. "The Lord gave me exercise as a way of alleviating stress," Sweeten recalled. Biking through city traffic became his primary commute until crime and street hazards forced a change of plans: "I had a bike, and the emphasis there ishada bike. It got stolen three times, so I had to buy bikes three times. The last bike I had, I actually got hit by a car three times in one week. And I was like, you know what? I gotta find something else to do!"

Left without wheels, he adapted immediately. "Well, how am I gonna get to the gym?” was Sweeten’s thought. “I guess I'll run. So, I started running to the gym and realized, I like biking, I like running, and I like going to the gym.” A realization that would shape his future as an athlete.

After being commissioned as a Navy Chaplain and reporting to his first duty station in San Diego in 2014, a sudden injury sidelined him from both running and cycling. Refusing to sit idle, Sweeten looked at California’s aquatic culture and decided to conquer the water. "I taught myself how to swim at about the age of 33," he said. "I knew how to tread water, and I knew how to doggy paddle, but I didn't know how to swim. So, I taught myself how to swim at the YMCA with all the old people making fun of me. It was fantastic!"

Realizing the quality-of-life biking, running, and swimming brought him, he reluctantly accepted an offer to go bike racing with a friend. “My friend asked me to get into bike racing, and I was like, no, no, no, that sounds stupid. I went and did it and had a blast, but I was terrible at it. So, I said, well, I don't want to do that. But then again, in San Diego, everyone was doing triathlons, so I thought, maybe I'll dip my toe into that.”

That humble persistence soon led him to enter a local triathlon with zero expectations. He took his time in transition, greeted fellow cyclists on the course saying, "Hello, good morning, you're doing great, you’re amazing" and crossed the finish line expecting a modest morning workout. His family quickly surprised him: "My wife goes, 'You did really good. I think you won!' It turned out I got fourth place, I was like, 'Man, that was pretty cool, and I didn't even do anything.'”

With a new twinkle in his eye for triathlons, Sweeten signed up for another one with a longer distance. With two months to prepare, “I realized that triathlon is a sport that if you want to be competitive, you have got to intentionally train. So, I started working with a coach who helped me with a training and nutrition plan," he said. Soon after, Sweeten picked up sponsorship by a local San Diego team. “There was no money, just affiliation and support, which was better than gold.”

Sweeten went on to compete in triathlons in the San Diego area throughout 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Balancing sea duty, family life, and competitive endurance soon became a masterclass in tactical discipline. Stationed aboard a ship out of Coronado, Sweeten adapted his training to whatever the fleet demanded, logging miles on shipboard treadmills in all kinds of pitching sea states and riding "one of the old and simple bikes that you see at the MWR gym with all the rust on them that was tucked away in a ship’s fan room. It was never easy, but endurance sports are often more a matter of determination than anything else.”

When the high operational tempo at Twentynine Palms with the Marines and cross-country recruiting duty forced a multi-year break from competition, Sweeten reignited his drive upon arriving at Naval Hospital Jacksonville by taking on the grueling Ironman Jacksonville, a 140.6-mile test he described as "pure grit.”

His peak conditioning for the event produced a standout score on his Navy Physical Readiness Test, prompting Navy fitness officers to review his file and officially select him for the All-Navy Triathlon Team and a chance to compete for a berth in the Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM) World Military Games. "Being selected is a huge honor, especially in light of knowing how stiff the competition is out there and knowing that I am 47 years old," Sweeten said. "I want to walk that line humbly and enjoy it, but at the same time, honor this incredible opportunity. I know that this is probably my only chance to perform at this level with this group. So, I don't want to squander it for myself or the Navy."

Executing at that elite level while serving as a full-time military chaplain, husband, and father to three young adults requires unrelenting daily commitment. Training in Florida brings constant friction, from frequent summer lightning storms that abruptly shut down indoor pools to the harrowing reality of draft-legal pack riding. "It is NASCAR on bikes," Sweeten explained. "It is a pack of cyclists going in a circle around on a half-mile track... you are rubbing elbows the whole time. Somebody touches the brakes even the smallest little bit, and there is the chance of a significant crash or losing the benefit of the draft.”

To sustain his physical output, he fuels his body with plenty of carbohydrates and electrolytes, while intentionally staying away from daily coffee: "It’s not that caffeine is bad, but I want caffeine to be effective. Caffeine lowers your perceived effort levels, so if my tolerance becomes too high, any caffeine I would ingest during an event would be null and void to my performance."

When the physical agony of a race peaks, Sweeten refuses to let his mind surrender to pain, shifting instead into an analytical mode, "Your body will not respond to pain if it's in an analytical mode. When my body is saying, 'I'm tired, I can't breathe, and no one cares,' I need to get analytical. I'll start counting to ten. I'll start doing math problems like ‘What percentage of this is completed already? How much is left?’ All of a sudden, I’m no longer thinking about my discomfort and yet still moving forward.”

For Sweeten, stepping onto the course in the Navy uniform is fundamentally tied to holistic warfighter readiness and spiritual resilience. "Physical activity can lead to a stronger mind and also a stronger soul, if you allow it to.”

Sweeten expanded on this by explaining, “Our bodies have limits, as do our minds, and often the mission of warfighting exceeds both. There is a third source of strength, which is the soul. The soul is the place of our deepest values and beliefs about meaning and purpose. If you know your values and have a deep connection with your meaning and purpose, then there is infinite strength to endure. As a Christian, my beliefs ground me in the belief that God is always with me and has created me to do the hard things that life requires. Every training and race event finds me praying and meditating on my beliefs more than anything else. Speed and skill are important, but nothing can replace the power of the soul.”

Win or lose, Sweeten carries that mission onto the racecourse and back to the deckplates: "Win or lose, I'm still going to be a chaplain and a shipmate, and I take that responsibility and privilege very seriously. My ‘why’ for doing this is so that I can honor the Navy in a national sporting event, demonstrate courage knowing that many will be counting on me, and, above all, fulfill my commitment to always be ready when called upon, regardless of the mission. Like everything else in the Navy, this is just another opportunity to train, fight, and win using my body, mind and soul.”

This holistic commitment to readiness was put to the ultimate test at Point Mugu Naval Air Station, where the lofty ideals of joint-service camaraderie and physical endurance materialized on the starting line. Sweeten arrived on Wednesday, September 23rd, for the 2026 Armed Forces Triathlon Championship, immediately integrating with teammates from across the fleet, including two Coast Guard representatives. He spent the next two days in team race preparation alongside competitors from the Army, Air Force, Space Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, culminating a joint team dinner on Thursday night at Point Hueneme. The championship commenced on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. The day was hot and beautiful, and the course was primed for an elite level of competition.

The athletic caliber of the field was immediately apparent. "The competition, especially between the Navy and the Air Force, was exceptionally strong," Sweeten recalled. While the Navy ultimately claimed the top individual spots for both men and women and took home the overall team victory, Sweeten faced immediate tactical hurdles.

An arduous swim portion put him at a disadvantage in the draft-legal race format, leaving him to fight from behind on the bike. When he was completing the run portion, the leading places and team points had already been decided. Rather than letting frustration take over, Sweeten adapted his focus to align with his pastoral mission. "I shifted from racing for a result to just enjoying the latter part of the event and cheering on my teammates," he shared. "Though I was disappointed not to have my absolute best day out there, I deeply valued the experience and celebrated our team’s incredible success."

For Sweeten, the true value of the Armed Forces Triathlon Championship extends far beyond the final scoreboard. He emphasized that these events are vital for building morale, camaraderie, and esprit de corps across the entire military enterprise. "Participants supported one another regardless of branch or placement, which created a genuine cohesion of force," Sweeten noted.

The gathering of diverse professionals, including doctors, pilots, nurses, explosive ordnance disposal personnel, and Sweeten himself as a chaplain, served as a powerful microcosm of the wider Department of War. "These interactions are valuable preparation for joint operations," Sweeten explained. "In the field, service members must inherently understand and work seamlessly alongside one another."

Looking to the future, Sweeten hopes the Armed Forces will continue to invest in and expand these athletic platforms, viewing them as essential training rather than isolated, niche activities. "Physical readiness, mutual understanding, and camaraderie directly contribute to the overall effectiveness of our joint warfighters," Sweeten argued. "Ultimately, these relationships make us a stronger, more ready force for the nation."

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