Melissa Stockwell knew from a young age she wanted to serve her country. After graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2002, the Michigan native was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army.
“I was a proud soldier wearing our uniform, very proud to wear the uniform,” said Melissa Stockwell.
Just two years into her military career, her service would cost her more than her willing participation.
“It was April 13th of 2004. We’d been in Iraq for just three weeks, and it was a routine convoy that, that specific day, my vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb which resulted ultimately in the loss of my left leg above the knee,” said Stockwell.
Now a wounded warrior and an amputee, Stockwell had to make a choice: stay in the military or retire. “I was 24 years old, and then in just a second, you know, my entire life had changed.”
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Stockwell became the first American woman to lose a limb in active combat in Iraq.
She retired from the Army in 2004 and was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart—two of the nation’s highest honors given to servicemen and women. Through her recovery, Stockwell was presented with another way to serve her country.
“I did a lot of my rehab at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and a few months after I started there, there was this presentation put on at the hospital about the Paralympics.”
Sockwell saw this as her sign for a second chance. “Somehow, some way I wanted to be a Paralympian.”
In 2008, Stockwell swam and was the flag bearer for Team U.S.A. She didn’t medal in the 2008 games, but that was just the beginning of her competitive career. Stockwell then changed her sport to the triathlon.
“When I swim, I don’t wear a prosthetic leg. I get out of the water, I put on another leg to get to my bike, and then I bike and then I put on another leg that I run with. It’s all about kind of speed and how, how fast you can go.”
In 2016, she won bronze at the Rio Olympic Games and went on to compete in Tokyo in the 2020 games. As she prepares for her fourth Paralympic games in Paris, Stockwell’s mindset is still the same.
“I kind of have that, you know, veteran, Paralympian mindset of: I’ve spent so many years training for it, and I’m gonna go and, you know, be confident in my training and just know that race day, well, I’ll give it the best I can give and, you know, hopefully I’m on the podium.”
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Each step Stockwell takes is to prove to herself that she can do anything and, now she’s helping others do the same.
In 2011, Stockwell opened Dare2Tri with her husband, a non-profit helping people with physical disabilities and visual impairments train, compete and build confidence. One of the members of her foundation will join her at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
“We could see the courage, the dedication, his athleticism and told him that day that he would be a Paralympian and we’re going to Paris together this year,” said Stockwell of her teammate.
This year’s games are a reward for the road she’s paved. It began with her heart to serve, but now has grown into a heart to inspire.
“It’s just, you know, getting back, it’s wanting to prove to others that as paralympic athletes, we’re not out there to inspire which sometimes we do, but we are out there to also show the world that we are also athletes,” said Stockwell.
