Going for Gold: Firefighters to Compete in World Games [VIDEO]

Dayon Cobbs wants the gold medal.

The 35-year-old Springfield resident is one of three Newark firefighters competing in the World Police and Fire Games this week in New York. The games start Friday.

"It's a challenge to compete on an international level with world-class athletes," he said.

Cobbs is part of six-person sprinting team that includes Newark firefighter Jerome Morgan, 26; a firefighter from Georgia; a police officer from Indiana; a police officer from Illinois; and a police officer from Oregon.

The third Newark firefighter, Mike Gibbons, 44, of East Hanover, is on a separate team because he's competing in the free-style wrestling tournament. Gibbons' three-member team represents the Garden State — it includes Westfield firefighter Lou Cerchio and Kenilworth police officer Glenn Sandull.

Gibbons is a captain at Engine 13 in the city's North Ward.

"I work out and don't eat," Gibbons said when asked how he prepares for the match. "Five days before, I start drinking two gallons of water. Three days before, I drink one gallon of water. And the day before and the day of (the event), I don't drink any water." He says he has to lose 15 pounds by Saturday to weigh in at 167 for the competition.

Cobbs, who has competed in national relays and, once before, in the police and fire games, said he's been a sprinter since high school, "Once the gun goes off, I'm thinking about what I trained for … I'm in my zone."

The 16-year Newark veteran firefighter said he works out nearly five hours a day, sprinting at tracks in Newark and Springfield and climbing rope and flipping large, 150-pound tires at a city firehouse.

Cobbs said he trains alongside Morgan, who he considers a protege, "We ran a 400 (meter dash) and he beat me, but I told him, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, 'I'll be back.' "

The two are stationed at Engine 10 and Engine 12 in Newark's South Ward.

Morgan, who is competing in the world games for the first time, said he's not doing it for the glory, but for the department, "It says something to do this and represent the Newark Fire Department."

Gibbons, also a first-timer, was more direct, "I'll be pissed if I lose."

— Lia Eustachewich contributed to this report.