Kortney Clemons

Last updated
Kortney Clemons
Kortney Clemons.jpg
Personal information
NationalityFlag of the United States.svg  United States
Born (1980-06-23) June 23, 1980 (age 42)
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)

Kortney Clemons (born June 23, 1980) [1] is an American Paralympic athlete and Iraq War Veteran. [2]

Contents

He is featured in the 2009 documentary Warrior Champions about American soldiers who lost limbs or suffered paralysis in Iraq, and their way to the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing.

Early life

Paralympic athlete Sgt. Kortney Clemons and former New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister reminisce about when they played against each other when Clemons was a high school freshman and McAllister was a senior. Deuce McAllister and Kortney Clemons.jpg
Paralympic athlete Sgt. Kortney Clemons and former New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister reminisce about when they played against each other when Clemons was a high school freshman and McAllister was a senior.

Clemons went to high school in Little Rock, Mississippi. He played football, basketball and baseball.

He played junior college football as a cornerback at East Mississippi Community College before he joined the army. [3]

Military service

Clemons is a Purple Heart recipient. He served in the United States Army from 2001 to 2006. [4]

He was working as a combat medic in the 1st Cavalry Division.

Clemons lost his leg in Baghdad, Iraq on February 21, 2005, when he and other soldiers were helping a group of soldiers whose car had hit gravel and tipped over. As they were helping, a roadside bomb exploded, and wounded some and killed others. In the first years since this happened, Clemons has worn a bracelet with the name of three soldiers who lost their lives; 1st Lt. Jason Timmerman, Staff Sgt. David Day and Sgt. Jesse Lhotka. [5]

Paralympic career

Clemons attended a clinic held by U.S. Paralympics at Brooke Army Medical Center in 2005, and then a Military Sports Camp, which was when he started track and field training. He first started competing in power lifting, but chose to commit to track and field in 2007. [6]

He is the first Iraq war Veteran to have qualified for the U.S. Paralympic team. [1] [2] [7]

He tried to qualify for the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, [8] but did not make the cut. [9] This is featured in the 2009 documentary Warrior Champions. [10] He is now focusing on the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. [11]

Currently, he is on the roster to compete for the U.S. in the 2016 Summer Paralympics. [12]

National championships

He won the 100m (T42) at the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships, Tempe, Ariz, in 2008.

Education

He attended Penn State University and participated in their Ability Athlete program. [13] [14] [15]

Bibliography

Clemons, Kortney; Briggs, Bill (2008). Amped: A Soldier's Race for Gold in the Shadow of War. John Wiley & Sons. p. 288. ISBN   978-0-470-28137-6.

Filmography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the 2003 invasion of Iraq</span>

This is a timeline of the events surrounding the United States-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Woodruff</span> American journalist

Robert Warren Woodruff is an American television journalist. Since 1996, he has served as a reporter for ABC News. Woodruff co-anchored ABC World News Tonight in 2006 alongside ABC News journalist Elizabeth Vargas. He was severely injured by an IED explosion during a reporting trip to Iraq that January, and slowly recovered over an extended period before returning to air.

Gold Star Families for Peace (GSFP) is a United States-based organization founded in January 2005 by individuals who lost family members in the Iraq War, and are thus entitled to display a Gold Star. It is considered an offshoot of Military Families Speak Out. Gold Star Families for Peace now includes more than 65 families of troops killed in Iraq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Imposing Law</span>

Operation Imposing Law, also known as Operation Law and Order, Operation Fardh al-Qanoon or Baghdad Security Plan (BSP), was a joint Coalition-Iraqi security plan conducted throughout Baghdad. Under the Surge plan developed in late 2006, Baghdad was to be divided into nine zones, with Iraqi and American soldiers working side by side to clear each sector of Shiite militias and Sunni insurgents and establish Joint Security Stations so that reconstruction programs could begin in safety. The U.S. military commander in Iraq, David Petraeus, went so far as to say Iraq would be "doomed" if this plan failed. Numerous members of Congress stated the plan was a critical period for the U.S. presence in Iraq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diyala campaign</span>

The Diyala province campaign was a series of operations conducted by coalition forces against Iraqi insurgents and a number of bombing and guerrilla attacks against the security forces in Diyala Governorate of Iraq, with the purpose of control of the province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dora, Baghdad</span> Neighborhood of Baghdad in Baghdad Governorate, Iraq

Dora is a neighborhood in Al Rashid administrative district, southern Baghdad, Iraq. Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it was home to the city's largest concentration of Christian Assyrians, as well as Mandaeans and Muslim families.

<i>Body of War</i> 2007 American film

Body of War is a 2007 documentary film about Iraq War veteran Tomas Young. Bill Moyers Journal featured a one-hour special about Body of War including interviews with filmmakers Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melissa Stockwell</span>

Melissa Stockwell is an American two-time Paralympic triathlete, swimmer and former U.S. Army officer. Competing in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in three swimming events, she returned to race in the 2016 Paralympic Games and won a bronze medal in the inaugural triathlon event on September 11, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States at the 2008 Summer Paralympics</span> Sporting event delegation

The United States sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. A total of 213 U.S. competitors took part in 18 sports; the only 2 sports Americans did not compete in were soccer 5-a-side and 7-a-side. The American delegation included 16 former members of the U.S. military, including 3 veterans of the Iraq War. Among them were shot putter Scott Winkler, who was paralyzed in an accident in Iraq, and swimmer Melissa Stockwell, a former United States Army officer who lost her left leg to a roadside bomb in the war.

Events in the year 2009 in Iraq.

Little Rock, Mississippi is an unincorporated community in Newton County, Mississippi. It lies along Little Rock Creek and Mississippi Highway 494 between Union and Meridian. The elevation is 440 ft (130 m). It was the former site of Beulah Hubbard High School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heath Calhoun</span> American alpine skier

Heath Calhoun is an American alpine skier and veteran of the United States Army, who achieved the rank of staff sergeant. A double-leg amputee due to injuries received in the Iraq War, Calhoun uses a sit-ski in competitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program</span> Military unit

The U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) is a military unit whose primary mission is to support nationally and internationally ranked soldiers in participating on the U.S. Olympic team. The program is headquartered at Fort Carson, Colorado.

Events in the year 2011 in Iraq.

Scott Winkler is an American Paralympic track and field athlete who competes in men's shot put.

Warrior Champions: From Baghdad to Beijing is a 2009 American documentary film directed by the Renaud Brothers. The films tells the individual stories of four American soldiers who lost limbs or suffered paralysis in the Iraq War, and of their training to try for a position on the 2008 U.S. Paralympic team and their journey to the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing.

Carlos Leon is an American Paralympic track and field athlete who competes in men's shot put.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joshua Olson</span> American sport shooter

Joshua Olson is a former American rifle shooter. He competed at the 2012 Paralympics and placed 12th in the mixed 50 m rifle prone SH1 event.

Segs4Vets, a continuing program which began in 2005, is a grass-roots effort sustained and administered by volunteers in the United States that provide Segway PT vehicles to disabled United States military personnel. The program which made its first presentation in September 2005 to three recipients who had sustained injuries in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), was conceived and implemented with the assistance of Gen. Ralph "Ed" Eberhart, USAF (Ret), President of the Armed Forces Benefits Association.

Brent Anthony Renaud was an American journalist, documentary filmmaker, and photojournalist. Renaud worked with his brother Craig to produce films for outlets such as HBO and Vice News, and was a former contributor to The New York Times. According to Ukrainian officials, he was killed on March 13, 2022, by Russian soldiers while covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Irpin city near Kyiv.

References

  1. 1 2 Iraq war vet outruns tragedy, regains athletic drive, USA Today, November 20, 2006
  2. 1 2 Kortney Clemons Archived 2010-10-06 at the Wayback Machine , Hire Heroes USA
  3. Wounded veteran Kortney Clemons takes on Oscar Pistorius at the Paralympic World Cup, The Telegraph, May 23, 2009
  4. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs - Statement of Sergeant Kortney Clemons, USA (Ret.) Archived 2010-04-10 at the Wayback Machine , veterans.house.gov
  5. Kortney Clemons: A soldier's story of amputation, haitiamputees.msnbc.msn.com, March 19, 2010
  6. "Össur Americas".
  7. Iraq war vet outruns tragedy ; Bomb attack took his leg, but couldn't shake his confidence, USA Today, November 21, 2006
  8. Iraq war amputee seeks success on track Archived 2012-10-09 at the Wayback Machine , nbcsports.msnbc.com, 2006
  9. Wounded veterans fill Paralympic ranks, universalsports.com
  10. Warrior Champions: Behind the scenes with Craig Renaud, U.S. Paralympics, November 10, 2009
  11. Clemons' Road to London goes straight through Iraq, U.S. Paralympics, November 10, 2009
  12. "U.S. Paralympics - Features, Events, Results - Team USA". Team USA.
  13. "Ability Athletics helps Wounded Warriors focus on strengths".
  14. "Penn State Ability Athletics to host Run, Walk and Roll Mile Race Oct. 24".
  15. "BTN LiveBIG: Penn State premiere". Big Ten Network.
  16. Warrior Champions Archived 2011-10-06 at the Wayback Machine , Austin Film Festival
  17. "Stockton to host screening of 'Warrior Champions: From Baghdad to Beijing'". NJ.com.