No. 45: Stockwell represents red, white and blue

“My path towards Rio will be taken year by year. All of us that train on the elite level can attest that it is a lifestyle that takes a lot of time and commitment. As long as I continue to love the sport and the training that comes with it, my goal is to compete in Rio.”

In October, USA’s Melissa Stockwell crossed the finish line first for a third straight year in the TRI-2 class at the ITU Para-Triathlon World Championships, this time held in Auckland, New Zealand.

Stockwell, an Iraq war veteran who competed in swimming at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, secured herself a spot on the para-triathlon podium once again, finishing this year’s championship course in a top time of 1:22.14.

Her teammates, Hailey Danisewicz and Jennifer Clark, finished just behind her in second and third place, respectively.

“To win my third world title was incredible,” Stockwell said.

“The feeling of standing on top of that podium watching the American flag go up will never get old. And similar to last year, we had a USA sweep so I got to share the podium with two of my friends and US teammates, which makes the whole race that much better.”

The para-triathletes at the Championships had to make some last-minute adjustments when they found out the swim course would be shortened from 750m to 300m due to the cold and windy conditions that day. They were also sent off in three different waves at the start to avoid overcrowding on the course.

Stockwell said she was satisfied with her swim and bike, but that she felt she could have been a few minutes faster on the four-loop run around the water.

“As athletes, we are our biggest critics always wanting to do better even if we are the first one across,” Stockwell said. “But at the end of the day, I was happy with my performance.

“There’s really no comparison to the beauty of New Zealand and I am thankful for the opportunity to have raced there.”

The 32-year-old was the first female soldier to lose a limb in the Iraq war. In April 2004, just a month into her deployment, she was on a routine convoy when a roadside bomb hit her Humvee, which resulted in the amputation of her left leg above the knee.

After a couple of years of rehabilitation, she took to sport, and by 2008, she was competing in three swimming events at the Paralympics and was USA’s flag bearer at the Closing Ceremony.

Recently, she was one of four athletes part of a documentary called “Warrior Champions,” and she has also been featured across CNN, Sports Illustrated and in a Hartford commercial.

In regards to her sport transition, Stockwell said she’s really enjoyed the change from swimming to para-triathlon, as the latter provides variety and breaks up her training into three parts.

“Para-triathlon is still a relatively new sport and with every new sport, there is a learning curve,” Stockwell said.

“The next few years will bring a new classification system, new races, faster time cuts, more teammates, and hopefully changes that improve the sport as the years go by. I am confident it will continue to grow and athletes that have already been successful in individual sports will spill over into our para-triathlon world.”

With para-triathlon set to make its Paralympic Games debut at Rio 2016, Stockwell has a busy four years ahead of her if she wants to win the most coveted prize in para-sport – a Paralympic gold.

“Of course I would love to continue to improve and have continued success on the international level,” Stockwell said.

“My path towards Rio will be taken year by year. All of us that train on the elite level can attest that it is a lifestyle that takes a lot of time and commitment. As long as I continue to love the sport and the training that comes with it, my goal is to compete in Rio.”

Editor’s Note: For the final 50 days of the 2012, the IPC will count down the year’s top moments in Paralympic sport, culminating with the year’s best moment on 31 December.

The 50 moments were selected by nominations from National Paralympic Committees and International Federations and are based on sport performance, emotional moments, media attraction and athletes’ personal stories.

The IPC would also like to call on the public to submit their own nominations for what they believe was the top Paralympic moment of 2012. They can do so by emailing ipc.media@paralympic.org, or by leaving a comment on www.Facebook.com/ParalympicGames or sending a tweet to @Paralympic.