POLICE AND FIRE OLYMPICS Hartzell's death adds inspiration to biathlon racer

Vera Brown dedicated her two gold medals to Youngstown police officers.
& lt;a href=mailto:kovach@vindy.com & gt;By JOHN KOVACH & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Vera (Skoufatos) Brown of Youngstown had a double incentive to compete in her second Ohio Police and Fire Olympics in the biathlon held recently at Mosquito Lake Park.
Brown had entered her first biathlon in the 2000 games at Mosquito to represent her husband, Paul, a Youngstown police officer who was unable to compete because of back and neck injuries incurred on the job.
In her second biathlon at the 2003 games based in Warren from June 15-21, she again represented Paul, who is recovering from major neck surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.
But she also had another motivation this time -- Michael Hartzell, the Youngstown police officer who was killed in the line of duty April 29.
Won both biathlons
Vera, 38, a native of Campbell, won both of the biathlons in the women's 30-34 and 35-39 age divisions, respectively, although being the only entry each time.
And she dedicated both gold medals to Paul and Hartzell as a tribute to them, to show support for what they and other police officers have to do against the dangers they encounter.
The biathlon is a three-event competition consisting of a 5-kilometer (3-mile) run, an 18.5-mile bike ride and another 5-k run, in that order, and Vera covered all three events this year in a combined time of 1 hour, 56 minutes and 28 seconds.
Vera said Paul used to compete in the games, but hasn't been able to do so since his injuries.
"He [played] basketball and touch football [in the games], but after he got hurt on the job he kind of shied away from sports and I decided to fill in for him, and I just chose the sports that I liked," said Vera, who is an Ohio Certified Dialysis technician for the Center for Dialysis Care.
"The [2000 games) he actually was able to come and watch me, but this last one he couldn't because he just had major neck surgery at the Cleveland Clinic," she said.
Vera said her husband "is home rehabilitating. He is still a Youngstown policeman. He's out of commission for the moment until he is healed up. He has been out [this time] 21/2 weeks."
Tribute to Hartzell
Vera also wanted her 2003 biathlon to also be a tribute to Hartzell.
"He was a friend of my husband's and also our neighbor. He lived right around the corner from us," said Vera, a 1982 graduate of Campbell Memorial High who also attended Youngstown State and studied art before becoming a dialysis technician.
Vera also was glad to participate in a 5-k run held June 14 in Downtown Warren that was dedicated to Hartzell and kicked off the games. She took runner-up in her age group.
Vera is an avid physical fitness buff. She is a member of the Youngstown Roadrunners Club, a certified fitness instructor through NDEITA fitness, a kickboxing instructor and is studying Kraw Maga.
& lt;a href=mailto:kovach@vindy.com & gt;kovach@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;