The Farmington native is the first U.S. walker to ever meet the IAAF ‘A’ Olympic standard.

Captain Kevin Eastler, a native of Farmington and graduate of Mt. Blue High School and the Air Force Academy, was honored Wednesday, Dec. 3, with the 2003 Air Force Male Athlete of the Year Award.

Eastler accepted the award at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., with his wife by his

side.

“It is an honor to be named as one of the two top athletes in the Air Force, especially considering the talent that so many Air Force athletes demonstrate,” said Eastler.

The current national champion in the men’s 20-kilometer racewalk, Eastler expressed his gratitude for being accepted into the 2003 World Class Athlete Program where he will be permitted to train full-time for the

U.S. racewalk Olympic Trials.

Eastler has said in the past that it is remarkable he was able to place as well as he did in 2003 racewalk competitions considering that he trains half as much as his fellow colleagues due to his full-time responsibilities as a Missile Combat Crew Commander in the 400th Missile Squadron at FE Warren Air Force Base.

In addition to the Air Force recognition, Eastler received the Capt. Ron Zinn Memorial annual award as the best 20k racewalker in the country in 2003 at the USA Track

and Field convention earlier this month in Greensboro, N.C.

Eastler, the only U.S. athlete ever to break the IAAF ‘A’ standard for the Olympic games, was honored with the award in memory of one of the finest American 20k walkers in history. Army Capt. Ron Zinn, a West Point graduate placed sixth in 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.

Rather than train for the next Olympics, Zinn volunteered for Vietnam and

was subsequently killed in action.

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