STOCKWELL Melissa

United States of America

Date of Birth: 31 Jan 1980

Age: 41

Gender: Female

Sport Class: PTS2

Place of birth: GRAND HAVEN, MI

Birth Country:

United States of America

Place of residence : COLORADO SPRINGS, CO

Residence Country:

United States of America

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Triathlon	Women's PTS2	5

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Odaiba Marine Park	Women's PTS2	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
Paralympic Games
3	PT2	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	1:25:24
World Championships
1	Women's TRI-2	2012	Auckland, NZL	1:22:14
2	Women's TRI-2	2013	London, GBR	1:30:39
3	PT2	2015	Chicago, IL, USA	1:26:07
7	PTS2	2018	Gold Coast, QLD, AUS	1:27:16

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
Paralympic Games
11	400m Freestyle - S9	2008	Beijing, CHN	5:09.89
17	100m Freestyle - S9	2008	Beijing, CHN	1:09.55
18	100m Butterfly - S9	2008	Beijing, CHN	1:22.09

Occupation:

Business Owner, Motivational Speaker, Veteran

Communications - University of Colorado Boulder, United States

Husband Brian, son Dallas [2014], daughter Millie [2017]

Languages spoken:

Derick Williamson [national], USA

Other sports:

She competed in swimming at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, and she handcycled the 2005 New York Marathon in the United States of America. (Athlete, 18 Jan 2015; delawareonline.com, 08 Apr 2014)

In early July 2021 she was hospitalised after a bicycle crash. She sustained multiple injuries, including a fracture of her L2 and L3 vertebrae as well as severe bruising of the pelvis. She resumed training the same month. (forbes.com, 23 Aug 2021; Instagram profile, 08 Jul 2021)

National team:

2010 (ussa.edu, 29 Aug 2014)

She took up Para triathlon in 2009 at age 29. (Athlete, 18 Jan 2015)

"I was invited to do a triathlon. And I thought, triathletes are crazy - swim, bike and run was, you know, all in one day seemed a little daunting. But I love challenges, so I went and gave it a shot." (npr.org, 21 Sep 2015)

To win a medal at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (tokyo2020.org, 04 Sep 2020)

She trains up to 18 hours a week at the US Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO, United States of America. "We swim five days a week, with Tuesday and Friday our hard days in the pool. The other days are still pretty intensive. Thursdays are my hard bike day with some running and Monday is the hardest run day." (insidethegames.biz, 19 Aug 2021; forbes.com, 23 Aug 2021)

Winning a bronze medal in the PT2 event at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (SportsDeskOnline, 07 Sep 2020; tokyo2020.org, 04 Sep 2020)

US Para triathlete Patricia Collins. (Athlete, 18 Jan 2015)

Philosophy:

"To be your own rockstar. It doesn't matter what other people think, be proud of what you do." (Athlete, 18 Jan 2015)

She was named flag bearer for the United States of America for the opening ceremony of the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo alongside wheelchair rugby player Chuck Aoki. (forbes.com, 23 Aug 2021)

She received the 2014 Mildred 'Babe' Didrikson Zaharias Courage Award from the United States Sports Academy. (ussa.edu, 29 Aug 2014)

She was named Female Para Triathlete of the Year by USA Triathlon in 2010 and 2011. (ussa.edu, 29 Aug 2014)

She was the United States of America's flag bearer at the closing ceremony of the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. (Athlete, 02 Aug 2010)

General Interest

Classification
PTS2 (World Triathlon, 25 Jun 2021)

Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency (Athlete, 18 Jan 2015)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (Athlete, 18 Jan 2015)

Impairment Details
Her left leg was amputated above the knee after she was injured by a roadside bomb while serving with the US Army in Iraq in 2004. (Athlete, 18 Jan 2015; melissastockwell.com, 02 Aug 2010)

General
OTHER ACTIVITIES
She co-founded the Dare2tri Paratriathlon Club in Chicago, IL, United States of America, and has also served as a board member for the Wounded Warrior Project, the Mideast Region Triathlon Council, and the USA Triathlon Women's Committee. In 2020 she released an autobiographical book called 'The Power of Choice: My Journey from Wounded Soldier to World Champion'. (forbes.com, 23 Aug 2021; tokyo2020.org, 04 Sep 2020; teamusa.org, 01 Sep 2016)

PROSTHETICS BUSINESS
In 2019 she and her husband Brian Tolsma co-founded a prosthetics business called Tolsma Stockwell Prosthetics, which is based in Colorado Springs, CO, United States of America. (Tolsma Stockwell Prosthetics Facebook page, 08 Sep 2020; olympics.nbcsports.com, 27 Mar 2020; LinkedIn profile, 01 Jan 2020)

MILITARY SERVICE
In 2002 she graduated from university and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army. In March 2004 she was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq. In April that year she was on a routine convoy when her vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb, which ultimately resulted in the amputation of her left leg above the knee. She was medically retired from the army in 2005. (delawareonline.com, 08 Apr 2014; usatriathlon.org, 06 May 2014; triathloninspires.com, 2014)

FURTHER EDUCATION
After she studied communications at the University of Colorado Boulder between 1998 and 2002, she studied prosthetics at Century College in Mahtomedi, MN, United States of America, between 2005 and 2007. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Jan 2020)

Social Media

Athlete Blog: http://melissastockwell.blogspot.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/melissajstockwell
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/MStockwell01/
https://instagram.com/mstockwell01
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-stockwell-722b7018
https://twitter.com/mstockwell01
Athlete Website: http://melissastockwell.com/

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos