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Fidel · 07-30-2007, 10:06 PM

Another one:

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"Wounded soldiers may become next wave of Paralympians
By Lynn Zinser The New York Times

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2005
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado The first time he watched an amputee run, Sergeant Kortney Clemons saw his future.

He was not going to get his right leg back, the one blown off by a bomb on a Baghdad street in February. He was never going to play football, as he had in high school and college in Mississippi. Clemons was still learning to walk again when he saw John Register, the head of the Paralympics military program, jog around a track on a prosthetic left leg in April. At that point, Clemons's competition was limited to limping faster than the soldier next to him in a therapy session.

But Clemons's mind took chase.

"There's an army World Class Athlete Program, and I want to be one of the first amputees to be accepted," Clemons said, his dreams now backed by a full-fledged plan. "I want to compete for the U.S. and represent my country still."

Someday, perhaps by 2008, Clemons wants to be part of the new face of the U.S. Paralympic team, which many believe may be transformed by soldiers injured in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Clemons was one of 34 injured soldiers and veterans brought here to the U.S. Olympic Committee's training center in September for an overview of Paralympic sports. Register, who changed Clemons's perspective by running a few laps outside Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio in April, had visited many others at their rehabilitation bases. Those visits introduced the newly injured to disabled sports.

The gathering here was the next step: pushing them to pursue sports as a way to a healthy active life and persuading some to chase sports to the highest level of disabled competition.

Clemons, 25, was an easy sell. In high school in Little Rock, Mississippi, he played football, basketball and baseball, and he played football at East Mississippi Community College before joining the army and becoming a combat medic. Clemons, who was wounded while carrying a soldier away from another explosion, wanted to walk the day after his leg was amputated above his right knee. He wanted to run before he could walk.

During the visit to the training center, Clemons hopped from one sport to the next, from shooting to wheelchair fencing to cycling to sled hockey to sitting volleyball to table tennis, his path lighted by his own smile.

"These type of sports allows us to know we might have bad days, just like anybody else, but we can continue to move on in life and still compete," Clemons said. "You can't get stuck in that rut, start feeling pity for yourself and let life pass you by."

Many of the soldiers here, like Clemons, were injured in Iraq. Others sustained injuries at home, or on duty elsewhere. Some were hurt in military training, some doing activities as mundane as climbing a ladder.

Some, like Clemons, have trained their sights on 2008. By then, Clemons said, he can compete for a spot on the power-lifting team, a pursuit he stumbled into when he began lifting weights as a rehabilitation exercise. By 2012, he envisions himself as a top-notch sprinter as well. Those are big dreams, considering Clemons was injured eight months ago.

It was late summer when Clemons finally ran. He said he worried every step whether his leg would hold him, but he loved the feeling of the wind in his ears. Now, he runs twice a week. He also lifts weights and bikes on a hand cycle.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado The first time he watched an amputee run, Sergeant Kortney Clemons saw his future.

He was not going to get his right leg back, the one blown off by a bomb on a Baghdad street in February. He was never going to play football, as he had in high school and college in Mississippi. Clemons was still learning to walk again when he saw John Register, the head of the Paralympics military program, jog around a track on a prosthetic left leg in April. At that point, Clemons's competition was limited to limping faster than the soldier next to him in a therapy session.

But Clemons's mind took chase.

"There's an army World Class Athlete Program, and I want to be one of the first amputees to be accepted," Clemons said, his dreams now backed by a full-fledged plan. "I want to compete for the U.S. and represent my country still."

Someday, perhaps by 2008, Clemons wants to be part of the new face of the U.S. Paralympic team, which many believe may be transformed by soldiers injured in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Clemons was one of 34 injured soldiers and veterans brought here to the U.S. Olympic Committee's training center in September for an overview of Paralympic sports. Register, who changed Clemons's perspective by running a few laps outside Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio in April, had visited many others at their rehabilitation bases. Those visits introduced the newly injured to disabled sports.

The gathering here was the next step: pushing them to pursue sports as a way to a healthy active life and persuading some to chase sports to the highest level of disabled competition.

Clemons, 25, was an easy sell. In high school in Little Rock, Mississippi, he played football, basketball and baseball, and he played football at East Mississippi Community College before joining the army and becoming a combat medic. Clemons, who was wounded while carrying a soldier away from another explosion, wanted to walk the day after his leg was amputated above his right knee. He wanted to run before he could walk.

During the visit to the training center, Clemons hopped from one sport to the next, from shooting to wheelchair fencing to cycling to sled hockey to sitting volleyball to table tennis, his path lighted by his own smile.

"These type of sports allows us to know we might have bad days, just like anybody else, but we can continue to move on in life and still compete," Clemons said. "You can't get stuck in that rut, start feeling pity for yourself and let life pass you by."

Many of the soldiers here, like Clemons, were injured in Iraq. Others sustained injuries at home, or on duty elsewhere. Some were hurt in military training, some doing activities as mundane as climbing a ladder.

Some, like Clemons, have trained their sights on 2008. By then, Clemons said, he can compete for a spot on the power-lifting team, a pursuit he stumbled into when he began lifting weights as a rehabilitation exercise. By 2012, he envisions himself as a top-notch sprinter as well. Those are big dreams, considering Clemons was injured eight months ago.

It was late summer when Clemons finally ran. He said he worried every step whether his leg would hold him, but he loved the feeling of the wind in his ears. Now, he runs twice a week. He also lifts weights and bikes on a hand cycle."

----------------------------------------------------

and another one about Scott Winkler who made it to the paralympics:

"Record shot put throw earns former soldier spot in Paralympics

Staff report

With a record-breaking shot put throw, a former Army specialist is the first severely injured veteran of the Iraq war to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

Scott Winkler, 34, hurled the 16-pound metal ball 10.01 meters at the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships in Marietta, Ga., besting the previous world record by 0.25 meters.

His record-breaking throw at the competition, held June 30-July 2, earned him a place on the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Team.

Winkler, who last served with the 549th Military Police Company out of Fort Stewart, Ga., deployed to Tikrit, Iraq, in 2003. While unloading ammunition, he fell from a truck and severely injured his spinal cord.

Today, he is a wheelchair athlete who participates in the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project, a partnership between Disabled Sports USA and the Wounded Warrior Project. The partnership offers year-round sports programs for troops severely wounded in the war on terrorism.

“I just want to do my best,” Winkler said in a press release announcing his record. “I believed and achieved my goals. If you believe, you can do anything you want, and my end goal is to get to Beijing next year and win a medal.”

Winkler also is a mentor in Disabled Sports USA’s Youth Sports Mentoring Program, working with young wheelchair athletes.

“Scott is an outstanding example of the tremendous talent and motivation our wounded warriors possess,” Kirk Bauer, a disabled Vietnam War veteran and executive director of Disabled Sports USA, said in the press release. “Scott’s achievement demonstrates how much these fine young men and women can attain with the help of such programs as the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project, providing sports rehabilitation and development; and the U.S. Paralympics providing training and opportunities for elite competition.”

The previous shot-put world record, 9.76 meters, was held by Markku Niinimaki of Finland, set at the 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships, according to U.S. Paralympics officials."

07-30-2007, 10:06 PM	#2
Fidel Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 3,283	Another one: --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Wounded soldiers may become next wave of Paralympians By Lynn Zinser The New York Times SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2005 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado The first time he watched an amputee run, Sergeant Kortney Clemons saw his future. He was not going to get his right leg back, the one blown off by a bomb on a Baghdad street in February. He was never going to play football, as he had in high school and college in Mississippi. Clemons was still learning to walk again when he saw John Register, the head of the Paralympics military program, jog around a track on a prosthetic left leg in April. At that point, Clemons's competition was limited to limping faster than the soldier next to him in a therapy session. But Clemons's mind took chase. "There's an army World Class Athlete Program, and I want to be one of the first amputees to be accepted," Clemons said, his dreams now backed by a full-fledged plan. "I want to compete for the U.S. and represent my country still." Someday, perhaps by 2008, Clemons wants to be part of the new face of the U.S. Paralympic team, which many believe may be transformed by soldiers injured in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Clemons was one of 34 injured soldiers and veterans brought here to the U.S. Olympic Committee's training center in September for an overview of Paralympic sports. Register, who changed Clemons's perspective by running a few laps outside Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio in April, had visited many others at their rehabilitation bases. Those visits introduced the newly injured to disabled sports. The gathering here was the next step: pushing them to pursue sports as a way to a healthy active life and persuading some to chase sports to the highest level of disabled competition. Clemons, 25, was an easy sell. In high school in Little Rock, Mississippi, he played football, basketball and baseball, and he played football at East Mississippi Community College before joining the army and becoming a combat medic. Clemons, who was wounded while carrying a soldier away from another explosion, wanted to walk the day after his leg was amputated above his right knee. He wanted to run before he could walk. During the visit to the training center, Clemons hopped from one sport to the next, from shooting to wheelchair fencing to cycling to sled hockey to sitting volleyball to table tennis, his path lighted by his own smile. "These type of sports allows us to know we might have bad days, just like anybody else, but we can continue to move on in life and still compete," Clemons said. "You can't get stuck in that rut, start feeling pity for yourself and let life pass you by." Many of the soldiers here, like Clemons, were injured in Iraq. Others sustained injuries at home, or on duty elsewhere. Some were hurt in military training, some doing activities as mundane as climbing a ladder. Some, like Clemons, have trained their sights on 2008. By then, Clemons said, he can compete for a spot on the power-lifting team, a pursuit he stumbled into when he began lifting weights as a rehabilitation exercise. By 2012, he envisions himself as a top-notch sprinter as well. Those are big dreams, considering Clemons was injured eight months ago. It was late summer when Clemons finally ran. He said he worried every step whether his leg would hold him, but he loved the feeling of the wind in his ears. Now, he runs twice a week. He also lifts weights and bikes on a hand cycle. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado The first time he watched an amputee run, Sergeant Kortney Clemons saw his future. He was not going to get his right leg back, the one blown off by a bomb on a Baghdad street in February. He was never going to play football, as he had in high school and college in Mississippi. Clemons was still learning to walk again when he saw John Register, the head of the Paralympics military program, jog around a track on a prosthetic left leg in April. At that point, Clemons's competition was limited to limping faster than the soldier next to him in a therapy session. But Clemons's mind took chase. "There's an army World Class Athlete Program, and I want to be one of the first amputees to be accepted," Clemons said, his dreams now backed by a full-fledged plan. "I want to compete for the U.S. and represent my country still." Someday, perhaps by 2008, Clemons wants to be part of the new face of the U.S. Paralympic team, which many believe may be transformed by soldiers injured in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Clemons was one of 34 injured soldiers and veterans brought here to the U.S. Olympic Committee's training center in September for an overview of Paralympic sports. Register, who changed Clemons's perspective by running a few laps outside Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio in April, had visited many others at their rehabilitation bases. Those visits introduced the newly injured to disabled sports. The gathering here was the next step: pushing them to pursue sports as a way to a healthy active life and persuading some to chase sports to the highest level of disabled competition. Clemons, 25, was an easy sell. In high school in Little Rock, Mississippi, he played football, basketball and baseball, and he played football at East Mississippi Community College before joining the army and becoming a combat medic. Clemons, who was wounded while carrying a soldier away from another explosion, wanted to walk the day after his leg was amputated above his right knee. He wanted to run before he could walk. During the visit to the training center, Clemons hopped from one sport to the next, from shooting to wheelchair fencing to cycling to sled hockey to sitting volleyball to table tennis, his path lighted by his own smile. "These type of sports allows us to know we might have bad days, just like anybody else, but we can continue to move on in life and still compete," Clemons said. "You can't get stuck in that rut, start feeling pity for yourself and let life pass you by." Many of the soldiers here, like Clemons, were injured in Iraq. Others sustained injuries at home, or on duty elsewhere. Some were hurt in military training, some doing activities as mundane as climbing a ladder. Some, like Clemons, have trained their sights on 2008. By then, Clemons said, he can compete for a spot on the power-lifting team, a pursuit he stumbled into when he began lifting weights as a rehabilitation exercise. By 2012, he envisions himself as a top-notch sprinter as well. Those are big dreams, considering Clemons was injured eight months ago. It was late summer when Clemons finally ran. He said he worried every step whether his leg would hold him, but he loved the feeling of the wind in his ears. Now, he runs twice a week. He also lifts weights and bikes on a hand cycle." ---------------------------------------------------- and another one about Scott Winkler who made it to the paralympics: "Record shot put throw earns former soldier spot in Paralympics Staff report With a record-breaking shot put throw, a former Army specialist is the first severely injured veteran of the Iraq war to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. Scott Winkler, 34, hurled the 16-pound metal ball 10.01 meters at the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships in Marietta, Ga., besting the previous world record by 0.25 meters. His record-breaking throw at the competition, held June 30-July 2, earned him a place on the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Team. Winkler, who last served with the 549th Military Police Company out of Fort Stewart, Ga., deployed to Tikrit, Iraq, in 2003. While unloading ammunition, he fell from a truck and severely injured his spinal cord. Today, he is a wheelchair athlete who participates in the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project, a partnership between Disabled Sports USA and the Wounded Warrior Project. The partnership offers year-round sports programs for troops severely wounded in the war on terrorism. “I just want to do my best,” Winkler said in a press release announcing his record. “I believed and achieved my goals. If you believe, you can do anything you want, and my end goal is to get to Beijing next year and win a medal.” Winkler also is a mentor in Disabled Sports USA’s Youth Sports Mentoring Program, working with young wheelchair athletes. “Scott is an outstanding example of the tremendous talent and motivation our wounded warriors possess,” Kirk Bauer, a disabled Vietnam War veteran and executive director of Disabled Sports USA, said in the press release. “Scott’s achievement demonstrates how much these fine young men and women can attain with the help of such programs as the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project, providing sports rehabilitation and development; and the U.S. Paralympics providing training and opportunities for elite competition.” The previous shot-put world record, 9.76 meters, was held by Markku Niinimaki of Finland, set at the 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships, according to U.S. Paralympics officials." Last edited by Fidel; 07-30-2007 at 10:09 PM.