Kortney Clemons
![]() | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Nationality |
![]() |
Born | June 23, 1980 |
Residence | Little Rock, Mississippi |
Height | 5 ft 10 in (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.
Early life
![](../I/m/Deuce_McAllister_and_Kortney_Clemons.jpg)
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
![](../I/m/Purpleheart.jpg)
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]
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]
National championships
He won the 100m (T42) at the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships, Tempe, Ariz, in 2008.
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
- Warrior Champions: From Baghdad to Beijing, a documentary film by directors Brent Renaud and Craig Renaud.[12][13]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Iraq war vet outruns tragedy, regains athletic drive, USA Today, November 20, 2006
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kortney Clemons, Hire Heroes USA
- ↑ Wounded veteran Kortney Clemons takes on Oscar Pistorius at the Paralympic World Cup, The Telegraph, May 23, 2009
- ↑ House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs - Statement of Sergeant Kortney Clemons, USA (Ret.), veterans.house.gov
- ↑ Kortney Clemons: A soldier's story of amputation, haitiamputees.msnbc.msn.com, March 19, 2010
- ↑ Kortney Clemons, Össur
- ↑ Iraq war vet outruns tragedy ; Bomb attack took his leg, but couldn't shake his confidence, USA Today, November 21, 2006
- ↑ Iraq war amputee seeks success on track, nbcsports.msnbc.com, 2006
- ↑ Wounded veterans fill Paralympic ranks, universalsports.com
- ↑ Warrior Champions: Behind the scenes with Craig Renaud, U.S. Paralympics, November 10, 2009
- ↑ Clemons' Road to London goes straight through Iraq, U.S. Paralympics, November 10, 2009
- ↑ Warrior Champions, Austin Film Festival
- ↑ http://www.nj.com/south/index.ssf/2011/10/stockton_to_host_screening_of.html
External links
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kortney Clemons. |
- Kortney Clemons - Profile at the official website of the U.S. Paralympic Team
- Kortney Clemons: A Paralympian Story on YouTube
- Kortney Clemons interview NBC News on YouTube
- Warrior Champions, the official site of the documentary
|