By Liu Chang and Meng Zhuolin
LEBANON, Oct. 11 (ChinaMil) -- The construction engineer detachment of the 17th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon won the 4th place in an military obstacle challenge held by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on October 8, local time.
This military obstacle challenge is a team competition. Each team consists of four people and they have to pass a 4-kilometer track with 12 man-made obstacles. These obstacles are set to test the strength, endurance, agility and teamwork.
A total of 38 teams from 16 countries including China, Italy, France and Spain participated in the competition. The top six teams would be rewarded.
During the competition, the contestants have to push tires and throw heavy objects first. And then, they have to cross puddles, climb walls, carry sandbags, climb ropes, transport the wounded and complete Tyrolean traverse and vehicle pushing and other subjects.
The Chinese team passed through all the obstacles in 26 minutes and 59 seconds and won the 4th place. They were praised by UNIFIL officials and won warm applause from their foreign counterparts.
Chinese peacekeeper Jia Nannan said after the competition, "It is a great challenge to compete against foreign counterparts because they have strong teamwork ability and military qualities. Still, we want to surpass them."
"At the same time, this is an opportunity for us to enhance understanding of foreign militaries, learn from their strengths, and improve our training method," Jia said.