Kortney Clemons

[Stick]

Vet goes up against disabled elite
By MICHELLE HISKEY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/30/06
Kortney Clemons lost most of his right leg serving as an Army medic in Iraq.
This weekend, he'll attempt to represent his country as an athlete, by running the 100-meter dash at the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships in Atlanta.
Kortney Clemons, 26, stretching in May after a workout at Penn State University, is the first Iraq war veteran to try to qualify for a Paralympics national championship.
Kortney Clemons lost most of his right leg in February 2005 while serving as an Army medic in Iraq. This weekend, he'll attempt to represent his country as an athlete, by competing in the 100-meter dash at the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships in Atlanta.
The war in Iraq is sending home injured soldiers who may represent a future wave of elite disabled athletes. Injured troops are given sports training as soon as possible. The military and medical communities believe sports not only rebuilds confidence, but also pushes injured veterans to re-learn physical skills that war took away from them.
Clemons, 26, is the first Iraq veteran to try to qualify for a Paralympics national championship. He runs with a specially designed prosthetic "sprinter leg" that allows for greater balance and speed.
"I'm definitely going to be competitive," he said. "But it's going to be totally different. I never ran against anyone like this. I ran against able-bodied [runners]. I'm kind of curious, and I would say, I'm sort of like, optimistic. I'm coming to win."
Clemons will compete against other amputees at the meet, scheduled Friday through Sunday at Lakewood Stadium in south Atlanta.
The competition is sponsored by the U.S. Disabled Athletes Fund, established in Atlanta after the 1996 Paralympics here. The USDAF runs the BlazeSports America program that works with injured vets in military rehab hospitals.

[SEATJERKER]

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...We have a homwtown girl named Millissa Shroud from Troy who is still in Walter Reed,...

...She lost both legs from an IED, and is trying to recover from her wounds... still there are no words to discribe the long road ahead ,...

...God be with all of them,...

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