Boerne triathlete Travis Decker will try to repeat as the champion in his age division at Sunday’s triathlon at Fort Sam Houston. Photo by Mike Reeder

Boerne junior triathlete Travis Decker will be defending his 2007 age-division championship when he competes at Sunday’s Heart of Texas Triathlon at Fort Sam Houston.

Decker has been participating in the Pan American triathlon camp in San Antonio this week along with many other world class triathletes who will also be competing at Sunday’s event.

“A lot of the people attending camp have been in the world championships and all the camp members are going to race this Sunday,” Decker said.

“That means there will be 30 to 40 world championship-caliber racers competing. It will be a really hard field to race against.”

Back-to-back wins at Fort Sam Houston would keep Decker on course for inclusion on the national team and serve as a tune-up for the USA Triathlon National Championships in Colorado Springs on Aug. 9.

Decker had planned to race in the Hy-Vee Triathlon in Iowa last week, before severe flooding disrupted the schedule.

Organizers of the Iowa event, which usually plays a big role in the national point standings, initially cancelled the swimming portion of the race, turning it into a duathlon and robbing it of its point value. But just three days before the race, the event was relocated and reinstated as a triathlon. By that time, Decker said it was too late to re-enter.

“My coach and I and all my teammates had already cancelled our hotel reservations and our flights,” Decker said.

“It had lost all of its point value as a duathlon and just about everyone pulled out. People go there from all over the world, so changing it again at the last minute really messed up everyone. I was able to sign up for a bike ride in Austin, and I won that.”

Decker also plans to race in this year’s Small Texan Triathlon on July 27 at Boerne City Lake. It will be his third consecutive appearance at the event.