![]() Marks in 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nickname | Ellie | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Prescott Valley, Arizona, U.S. | August 7, 1990||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 115 lb (52 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Breaststroke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | U.S. Army WCAP | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Sergeant First Class Elizabeth Marks (born August 7, 1990) is an American Paralympic swimmer who specializes in the 100m breaststroke distance.
Marks was born to James Marks, a U.S. Marine veteran who served during the Vietnam War. [1] She graduated high school at age 16 before attending community colleges in Arizona. [2]
Marks joined the U.S. Army in July 2008 aged 17 and earned the military occupational specialty 68W, Health Care Specialist. While deployed in Iraq in 2010 she suffered bilateral hip injuries that left her disabled; she has a tattoo over most of her right leg.
Marks, then known by her married name Elizabeth Wasil, recovered from her injuries, first in Germany, [2] then at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. [1]
While it initially appeared that Marks could be declared unfit for duty by Army medics, she set a goal to become fit for duty. She began swimming as way to complete additional physical therapy and cardio while at BAMC and obtained the fit for duty classification on July 3, 2012. [1]
Marks began competing in swimming competitions shortly after joining the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program in July 2012. [1]
In 2014, during the 2014 Invictus Games, she contracted a severe respiratory infection, which forced doctors at Papworth Hospital, United Kingdom to place her in a medically induced coma for one month. [3] The infection left Marks with a reduced lung capacity and prolonged exercise can affect her vision. [2]
Marks has won a gold medal at the 2015 Military World Games and four gold medals at the 2016 Invictus Games. After the ceremony, she privately asked Prince Harry, who had awarded her her gold medals, if he could present one of her Invictus gold medals to the Doctors and Nurses of Papworth Hospital who had saved her life. She qualified for the 2016 Summer Paralympics by clocking a time of 1:28.54 at the U.S. trials, which was only 0.01 seconds short of the world record. [3] She won an individual gold and a relay bronze medal at the Paralympics. [4]
In June 2021 the US announced the 34 Paralympic swimmers who would be going to the delayed 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo. The women's team was Marks, Jessica Long, McKenzie Coan, Rebecca Meyers and Mallory Weggemann. [5]
On April 14, 2022, Marks was named to the roster to represent the United States at the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships. [6] On April 29, 2023, Marks was named to the roster to represent the United States at the 2023 World Para Swimming Championships. [7]
Marks is married to former US Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal soldier, Mason Heibel. [8]
In 2016, Marks received the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the 2016 ESPY Awards, and, as of 2022 [update] the only active-duty soldier to receive the award. [9] [10]
In 2017, Marks was inducted into the U.S. Army Women's Foundation Hall of Fame. [11]
The Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award is an annual award honoring the achievements of a female individual from the community of disabled sports. Established with the aid of disability advocate and former United States Paralympic soccer player Eli Wolff, the accolade's trophy, designed by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan, is presented to the disabled sportswomen adjudged to be the best at the annual ESPY Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. The Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award was first bestowed as part of the ESPY Awards in 2005 after the non-gender specific Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award was presented the previous three years. Balloting for the award is undertaken by fans over the Internet from between three and five choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee, which is composed of a panel of experts. It is conferred in July to reflect performance and achievement over the preceding twelve months.
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Ellie Victoria Cole, is an Australian retired Paralympic swimmer and wheelchair basketball player. After having her leg amputated due to cancer, she trained in swimming as part of her rehabilitation program and progressed more rapidly than instructors had predicted. She began competitive swimming in 2003 and first competed internationally at the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships, where she won a silver medal. Since then, she has won medals in the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, the Commonwealth Games, the Paralympic Games, the IPC Swimming World Championships, and various national championships.
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Elizabeth Mary Edmondson PLY is an Australian Paralympic competitor and current Australian Masters competitor in swimming. She became a paraplegic after contracting polio as a small child. She won several medals in the 1964 and 1968 Summer Paralympics. She subsequently retired from swimming, only taking up the sport again in 2006 to compete in the 2008 FINA World Masters Championships in Perth.
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Maddison Gae Elliott, is an Australian swimmer. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, she became the youngest Australian Paralympic medallist by winning bronze medals in the women's 400 m and 100 m freestyle S8 events. She then became the youngest Australian gold medallist when she was a member of the women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay 34 points team. At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, she won three gold and two silver medals.
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