Jump to content

Melissa Stockwell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Pokebub22 (talk | contribs) at 07:43, 16 July 2014 (Undid revision 617151988 by 101.169.127.230 (talk) deleted content). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Melissa Stockwell
Stockwell speaking to fellow injured service members
Personal information
Born (1980-04-23) 23 April 1980 (age 44)
Grand Haven, MI
Height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)[1]
Weight130 lb (59 kg)[1]
Medal record
Representing  United States
Women's Paratriathlon
ITU Triathlon World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2010 Budapest Tri 2
Gold medal – first place 2011 Beijing Tri 2
Gold medal – first place 2012 Auckland Tri 2

Melissa Stockwell is an American paratriathlete and former Paralympic swimmer and U.S. Army officer.

Military career

A first lieutenant, she was the first female soldier to lose a limb in the Iraq War. She lost her left leg when a roadside bomb exploded when she was leading a convoy in Baghdad.[2] For her service in Iraq she was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.[3] Following her retirement from the military she works as a prosthetist[4] and has been on the board of directors of the Wounded Warrior Project since 2005.[4]

Sport

She subsequently became the first Iraq veteran chosen for the Paralympics.[5] She competed in three swimming events, the 100 m butterfly, 100 m freestyle, and 400 m freestyle, at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, and finished sixth, fifth, and fourth in her heats, respectively.[6] She was the U.S. team's flag bearer at the closing ceremonies.[3]

Turning to triathlon after the Beijing Paralympics, Stockwell was selected to represent the USA in the 2010 ITU Paratriathlon World Championships in Budapest. She won the Women's TRI-2 (above knee amputee) class, then successfully defended her TRI-2 World Champion title in 2011 and 2012.[7] She is a multiple US National Paratriathlon Champion in her classification,[8][9] and was named USAT Paratriathlete of the Year in 2010[10] and 2011.[11] As of January 2013 Stockwell is at the top of the ITU's rankings in the women's TRI-2 class.[12]

Stockwell is a Level 1 USAT Triathlon coach and co-founder of Dare2Tri, a Chicago-based triathlon club specifically for athletes with disability.[4][13]

Filmography

References

  1. ^ a b "Melissa Stockwell". Triathlon.org. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
  2. ^ Stein, Ann. "Stories of Inspiration: Melissa - Amputee, First female soldier to lose limb in Iraq discovers new life after injury". CMS.carepages.com. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
  3. ^ a b Dugan Kusumoto, Tara (September 16, 2008). "Melissa Stockwell, Iraq War Veteran, Elected as Flag Bearer for Closing Ceremonies". United States Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
  4. ^ a b c "Board of Directors - Melissa Stockwell". Wounded Warrior Project. Retrieved 18 Jan 2013.
  5. ^ "First Iraq war veteran chosen for Paralympics Melissa Stockwell, who lost leg to roadside bomb, makes U.S. swim team". Associated Press. April 6, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
  6. ^ Melissa Stockwell at the International Paralympic Committee Edit this at Wikidata
  7. Melissa Stockwell at IPC.InfostradaSports.com (archived) Edit this at Wikidata
  8. ^ "Melissa Stockwell: Results". International Triathlon Union.
  9. ^ "Paratriathletes compete for slots and title at USA Paratriathlon National Championship". everymantri. Aug 2011.
  10. ^ "Top Paratriathletes Earn USA Paratriathlon National Titles". USA Triathlon. May 2012.
  11. ^ "USA Triathlon Announces Paratriathletes Of The Year". Jan 2011. Retrieved 18 Jan 2013.
  12. ^ "Melissa Stockwell, JP Theberge Named USA Paratriathlon Athletes of the Year". USA Triathlon. Retrieved 18 Jan 2013.
  13. ^ "Rankings Tri2 Women" (PDF). Triathlon.org. 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
  14. ^ "Dare2Tri". Retrieved 18 Jan 2013.
  15. ^ Warrior Champions, Austin Film Festival
  16. ^ New Jersey. "Stockton to host screening of 'Warrior Champions: From Baghdad to Beijing'". NJ.com. Retrieved 2013-01-18.

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Melissa_Stockwell&oldid=617152071"