Gallery: U.S. Military Athletes Invade London Olympics
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Never mind whether Dream Team '12 can hold a candle to Dream Team '92. A different crew of athletes competing for Olympic Gold in London has been through a much different set of trials: U.S. military service. This year, 21 athletes and coaches heading to the Olympic Games are on active duty in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. They're competing in everything from wrestling to shooting to boxing to fencing. One of the U.S.'s Paralympians, Army Sgt. 1st Class John Olson, lost his right leg on a combat mission in Iraq in 2003. It's actually nothing new for the U.S.: Olympic athletes throughout history have had distinguished military records. Oftentimes, their service has come after their athletic achievements. Linn Farish won the gold in 1924 for his rugby skills, but he would later fly behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia during World War II to map landing strips and rescue downed pilots for the pre-CIA Office of Strategic Services. Sprinting champ Charley Paddock, a four-time medalist from 1920 to 1928, died in a 1943 plane crash in Alaska after enlisting. Farid Simaika represented Egypt as a diver in the 1928 Olympics. He became a U.S. citizen in 1942 and joined the Army Air Corps before being shot down over New Guinea two years later. There was also this other guy named [George Patton](http://hclib.tumblr.com/post/7129115768/george-s-patton-olympic-pentathlete-the-1912). This time around, with the United States still at war, military athletes aren't waiting until before or after their service to compete. Here are eight of the active-duty athletes worth letting out an extra cheer for in London. Eat your heart out, Kobe. Army Sgt. 1st Class Dremiel Byers --------------------------------- __Sport: Greco-Roman Wrestling__ Byers may be out to prove something in London. He competed in Beijing in the 120-kilogram Greco-Roman weight class, and came in 7th. On the other hand, the quartermaster and 18-year veteran should feel pretty secure in his athletic prowess: According to the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, he's the U.S.'s most decorated Greco-Roman wrestler, a 10-time world champion at the age of 37. Byers got as far as the quarterfinals on August 6 before getting outmatched by Turkey's Riza Kayaalp. *Photo: U.S. Army*
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Army Sgt. 1st Class Josh Olson ------------------------------ __Sport: R3 10M Rifle Prone and R6 50M Rifle Prone Shooting__ Olson is competing in the Paralympics -- the first ever active-duty servicemember to do so. And he credits his life-changing injury, caused by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq in 2003, with his passion for prone shooting. After losing his right leg, he honed his marksmanship skills shooting on his stomach. "I can't carry a rucksack through the mountains, but I can still pull a trigger, and I can take what I've learned and pass it along to other soldiers," he [recently told NBC]( http://www.nbcchicago.com/feature/2012-olympics/Wounded-in-War-Josh-Olson-Heads-to-Paralympics-as-a-Shooter-160448505.html#ixzz21rA75ixR). Olson competes September 1 and September 4. *Photo: U.S. Army*
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Army Spc. Dennis Bowsher ------------------------ __Sport: Modern Pentathlon__ No pressure for an Army truck driver here: Pentathlon is only the category of sports that won a young lieutenant named George Patton glory in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Bowsher may not go on to chase the Germans across Europe, but he's already distinguished himself at the 2011 Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro, where he was the top North American finisher. In fact, not only does Bowsher's five-sport discipline include running, fencing, horseback riding, swimming and fencing, it was designed to mimic the skills that made for an excellent cavalryman. Bowsher will compete on August 11. *Photo: U.S. Army*
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Army Sgt. First Class Keith Sanderson ------------------------------------- __Sport: Men’s 25m Rapid-Fire Pistol__ Competitive shooting isn’t new to Sanderson, a two-time Olympian. But he is relatively new to the Army. Sanderson was a Marine for eight years before joining the U.S. Army Reserve. Despite having distinguished himself as one of the world’s elite marksmen, Sanderson didn’t advance to the finals on August 2, placing 14th instead. *Photo: Tim Hipps/IMCOM Public Affairs/U.S. Army*
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Army Sgt. First Class Jason Parker ---------------------------------- __Sport: Men’s 50m Rifle__ At 38, Parker is one of the senior military members of the U.S. marksmanship unit. He’s repped the U.S. in the past four Olympics. But Parker has yet to win a medal -- and he didn’t snap his losing streak in London. On August 6, Parker failed to qualify for the 50-meter rifle event, finishing a disappointing 30th. *Photo: Courtesy U.S. Army*
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Army Staff Sgt. John Nunn ------------------------- __Sport: 50K Race Walk__ Race walking may not be the Olympic thrill ride that, say, basketball is, but Nunn is well-positioned to compete. An Army infantryman, he won the U.S. team trials for the competition outright with a 50K race time of 4 hours, 4 minutes, 41 seconds. This is a test of endurance: Nunn told *the Air Force Times* he's taking part in "[the most grueling physical event at the Olympic Games](http://www.airforcetimes.com/offduty/sports/offduty_olympians-meet-the-athletes-track-and-field_073012/)": *You* try walking with a completely straight leg as soon as your foot touches the ground. Nunn lurches for glory on August 11. *Photo: U.S. Army*
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Army Sgt. Glenn Eller --------------------- __Sport: Shooting__ Eller doesn’t have anything to prove. Another member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, the 30-year-old won the gold in Beijing for double-trap shooting. He’s also one of the most seasoned Olympians competing for the Stars and Stripes: This is his fourth Olympics. Alas, on August 2, he ranked 22nd – at the bottom of the pile. *Photo: Tim Hipps/IMCOM Public Affairs/U.S. Army*
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Army Spc. Justin Lester ----------------------- __Sport: Greco-Roman Wrestling__ This is the first Olympics for Lester, an Akron native and field artilleryman who's competing in the 66-kilogram weight class in Greco-Roman wrestling. But he's well prepared: He's already a multiple national champion in the sport, and holds a World Bronze Medal for it. Lester competes August 7. *Photo: U.S. Army*
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Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Sandra Uptagrafft ---------------------------------------------- __Sport: 25m Pistol__ What Olympic pressure? As a member of the California Army National Guard, Uptagrafft battled forest fires, earthquakes and even the 1992 Los Angeles riots. She's now a Navy information systems technician, but don't think she's forgotten how to shoot. Uptagrafft has two decades worth of experience instructing other servicemembers the ins and outs of marskmanship. Unfortunately, nerves appear to have gotten the better of Uptagrafft in her July 29 Olympic debut, where she conceded she was “out of my rhythm” in a 28th-place finish. *Photo: DVIDSHUB*
Screengrab courtesy Kent Hudson10michael-mcphail-660
Army Staff Sgt. Michael McPhail ------------------------------- __Sport: Men’s 50m Rifle, Prone__ McPhail won a bronze medal in Beijing – to date, the culmination of a shooting career that began at age 16. But this time, he won’t be taking a medal back to his home station at Fort Benning, Georgia: McPhail placed ninth in the prone shooting competition on August 3. *Photo: Courtesy U.S. Army*
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Army Sgt. 1st Class Daryl Szarenski ------------------------------------ __Sport: Shooting__ Stay out of the way of Szarenski's air pistol. During qualifications this past December, the infantryman stationed at Fort Carlson, Colorado set a national record by scoring 590 out of a possible 600 points with his 10m air pistol. In his 21-year military career, Szarenski has been awarded a chestful of medals for his marksmanship -- including the Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge and the Excellence in Pistol Competition Badge -- and he's a three-time Olympian. He finished 28th in the 50-meter free shooting on August 5. *Photo: U.S. Army*
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Army Sgt. Spenser Mango ----------------------- __Sport: Greco-Roman Wrestling__ Mango, shown here in red, already knows what winning the gold is like. In 2006, the Army truck driver and St. Louis native won the gold for Greco-Roman wrestling in the World University Championships. But he didn't do as well in his first Olympic appearance in Beijing: He finished eighth in the 55-kilogram weight class. But that was before he joined the Army National Guard in 2010. Mango placed ninth on August 5. *Photo: U.S. Army*
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Army Sgt. First Class Eric Uptagrafft -------------------------------------- __Sport: Men’s 50m Rifle, Prone__ Uptagrafft won’t be alone in London: His wife, Sandra, is another member of the U.S. shooting team. Calling the Uptagraffts hardcore probably doesn’t do them justice. They jointly run an eponymous company “focused on the development and testing of a new .22 competition rimfire rifle action,” a six-year endeavor. Not only that, but Eric Uptagrafft isn’t just an Olympian, he trains his fellow Olympic shooters. Alas, he placed 16th on August 3 in the 50-meter prone rifle shooting competition. *Photo: Tim Hipps/IMCOM Public Affairs/U.S. Army*
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Army Staff Sgt. Josh Richmond ----------------------------- __Sport: Men’s Double Trap Shooting__ There’s an argument Richmond was born to shoot. His father actually won him a shotgun during a trap-shooting competition when he was still in his mother’s womb. Fast forward 26 years, and Richmond racked up silver and bronze medals in trap shooting at the World Cups in Sydney and Chile, as well as a perfect 50-for-50 in the ISSF World Championship. Olympic gold remains out of his reach, however: He placed 16th in the August 2 double-trap final. *Photo: Tim Hipps/IMCOM Public Affairs/U.S. Army*
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Army Staff Sgt. Vincent Hancock ------------------------------- __Sport: Skeet Shooting__ For Hancock, the only way to follow up his skeet-shooting gold medal in Beijing four years ago was to win another. And on July 31, that’s exactly what he did. In fact, Hancock outdid his 2008 gold performance by setting an Olympic record during the qualification round, shooting an unprecedented 123 of 125 before the finals even began. When they did, Hancock proved he had no equal. *Photo: Tim Hipps/IMCOM Public Affairs/U.S. Army*
