Melissa Stockwell

Stockwell became the first female to lose a limb in active combat in Iraq in April of 2004. The U.S. Army Second Lieutenant would return to the U.S. and turn to sports after her military service, becoming a world champion paratriathlete and a paralympic bronze medalist. During this podcast she discusses the bombing that left her wounded and her life after the military. Melissa also discusses her new book: “The Power of Choice: My Journey from Wounded Warrior to World Champion.”

More than 200 Americans competed in this year’s Paralympic Games in Tokyo. When Team USA’s contingency of athletes walked in the opening ceremony, they were led by one athlete with a direct tie to Eden Prairie. Melissa Stockwell is a 1998 graduate of Eden Prairie High School (EPHS). Her life...

SIOUX CITY -- Melissa Stockwell says she doesn't see herself as a trailblazer, even though she was the first U.S. female soldier to lose a limb in the Iraq War and one of the first Paralympians to medal in the triathlon. "I didn't go Iraq and be like, 'Hey, guys,...

Melissa Stockwell speaks at a press conference before the start of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce's annual dinner Friday, Sept. 30, 2021, at the Sioux City Convention Center. Stockwell, a Army veteran who lost a leg in a roadside bombing, is a bronze medal paralympion and three-time paratriathlon world champion. She delivered the event's keynote speech.

Eight weeks before the Paralympic Games, triathlete Melissa Stockwell experienced a severe bike crash while training for Tokyo. The three-time world champion and U.S. flag bearer told followers she was riding on a bike path when she ran over a branch and lost control before colliding with a tree. At...

(CBS NEWS) – Melissa Stockwell is returning to represent Team USA, competing in the Paratriathlon in the Tokyo Paralympics this Friday. Her journey began 17 years ago. Stockwell was a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army’s Transportation Corps when she deployed to Iraq in March of 2004. Three weeks later, within seconds, the entire trajectory of her life changed.

Melissa Stockwell is an American two-time Paralympic triathlete, swimmer and former U.S. Army officer. Stockwell lost her left leg when a roadside bomb exploded when she was leading a convoy in Baghdad. She discusses her preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics with CNN’s Selina Wang.

Melissa Stockwell is returning to represent Team USA, competing in the Paratriathlon in the Tokyo Paralympics this Friday. Her journey began 17 years ago. Stockwell was a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army's Transportation Corps when she deployed to Iraq in March of 2004. Three weeks later, within seconds, the entire trajectory of her life changed.

Melissa Stockwell and Chuck Aoki are Team USA's flag bearers for the Paralympic Games opening ceremony on Aug. 24. When Stockwell made it to the 2008 Paralympics for swimming, she became the first Iraq War veteran to qualify. This will be her third Paralympics and her second competing in paratriathlon; she claimed PT2 paratriathlon bronze in 2016 (this classification is now PTS2). Aoki is headed to his third Paralympics as a wheelchair rugby player after helping the team win a bronze medal in 2012 and a silver in 2016.

Chuck Aoki and Melissa Stockwell will take on an important role for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games. On Monday, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced that the wheelchair rugby player, 30, and paratriathlete, 41, will serve as flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Games, which are scheduled to begin on Tuesday.

While training for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic triathlon, Melissa Stockwell faced a bit of a setback. The athlete was involved in a bicycle crash in which she fractured three of her lower vertebrae. "It hasn’t been easy," Melissa exclusively told Distractify ahead of the 2020 Summer Games. "Mentally it was...