The 2012 Paralympics are well underway and we wanted to point out a few of this years amazing Wounded Warriors competing for TeamUSA!
There are a total of 227 members competing on TeamUSA,
20 of which are veterans.
Below are 5 remarkable veterans the Huffington Post is highlighting this week.
Though he was blinded by an IED blast in Afghanistan in September 2011, Brad Snyder never lost sight of his love for swimming, NBC reports. The former Navy swim team captain quickly got back in the pool and will compete in the Paralympics on the one-year anniversary of the explosion that stole his eyesight.
More about Brad Synder.
While recovering in the hospital after having lost both legs above the knee after an IED blast two years ago in Afghanistan, Rob Jones was already thinking about how he would return to sports, he told NPR. The former Marine found his way back to athletics, and to representing his country, as a rower for the U.S.'s mixed-doubles competition.
Rob Jones takes home a medal!
The first active-duty service member ever to compete in the Paralympics,
Sgt. 1st Class Josh Olson lost his right leg from the hip down during a rocket-propelled grenade attack while deployed in Iraq in 2004, WTVM reports.
A member of the Army's Marksmanship Unit, Olson will compete in two rifle competition events.
More about Josh Olson.
Former Army Sergeant Gavin Sibayan survived several roadside bombs and soon after suffered a stroke, according to the Army Times. The wounded warrior serves as defender on Team USA's seven-man soccer squad, which is played on a smaller field and with smaller
goals than non-disabled soccer.
Former Army Specialist Scott Winkler was
paralyzed from the chest down after falling from an ammunition truck while serving in Iraq in 2003, the Signal reports. But just five years later, the shot-put competitor set an American record in Beijing and is back in London, hoping to do the same. The determined warrior also inspires people with disabilities to find healing through sports through his charity, "Champions Made of Adversity."
More about Scott Winkler.
Images and brief story on each soldier via: huffingtonpost.com
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