Joshua Olson
 Olson at the 2012 Paralympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | August 21, 1979[1] Spokane, Washington, U.S.[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Rifle shooting | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | U.S. Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Joshua Olson (born August 21, 1979) is a former American rifle shooter. He competed at the 2012 Paralympics and placed 12th in the mixed 50 m rifle prone SH1 event.
Biography
Early life and Paralympics
Olson became a Paralympian after losing his leg to a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq War in 2003.[3] In June 2005, he was assigned as a marksman to Fort Benning, where practiced shotgun shooting. He said that in his first tryout outside he hit 49 out of 50.[4] In 2009 he won silver medals at the Oceania Games and Hessian Trophy and gold medals at the French Grand Prix and Alicante Cup.[2][5] He qualified for the 2012 Paralympics by winning a gold and a silver medal at an IPC Approved Competition in 2011.[6]
Prosthesis development
Besides shooting Olson helped develop a prosthesis for wounded soldiers. In late 2004, he met a Prosthetics and Associates employee in Orlando, Florida; together they drew a design on a piece of napkin. As soon as he came back to Walter Reed Army Medical Center the officials liked the new prosthesis on him so much that they started sending copies to wounded soldiers in Florida.[4]
References
- ^ Joshua Olson. usashooting.org. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
- ^ a b "Joshua Olson". Team USA. United States Olympic Committee. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
- ^ "Wounded in War, Josh Olson Heads to Paralympics as a Shooter". NBC. August 6, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
- ^ a b Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr. (September 6, 2012). "Army Paralympic shooter helps pioneer prosthesis". American Forces Press Service. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Iraq War Veteran Josh Olson Earns 2012 U.S. Paralympic Team Nomination". USA Shooting. January 17, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
- ^ Michael Molinaro (August 22, 2012). "Olson ready to make Paralympic history". USAMU PAO. Retrieved March 25, 2018.