| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | United States |
| Born | June 23, 1980 |
| Residence | Little Rock, Mississippi |
| Height | 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) |
Kortney Clemons (born June 23, 1980)[1] is an American Paralympic athlete and Iraq War Veteran.[2]
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.
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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]
Clemons is a Purple Heart recipient. He was serving 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]
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]
He won the 100m (T42) at the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships, Tempe, Ariz, in 2008.
Clemons, Kortney; Briggs, Bill (2008). Amped: A Soldier's Race for Gold in the Shadow of War. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 288. ISBN 9780470281376. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dKcCl9JQeXQC&q=Amped:+A+Soldier%27s+Race+for+Gold+in+the+Shadow+of+War&dq=Amped:+A+Soldier%27s+Race+for+Gold+in+the+Shadow+of+War&hl=en&ei=TsrKTNDYJ4aUOqvM-K4B&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA.