US Paralympic Swim Team named: First Iraq Veteran selected for Beijing

Even as I soaked up the rays of Key West Florida this weekend, the thought crossed my mind no less than a dozen times that four years ago I was soaking up chlorine during one of the most important weekends of my life, my trials for the '04 Games in Athens. I knew there were records being broken, dreams made, and I'm sure...dreams lost. Sometimes I wish I'd gone out in a bang and known my last meet was my last but mostly I'm content with where I am in life today. There are other things I want to accomplish and it's not possible to do those AND swim competitively at an elite level. Knowing that I'm happy with my choices allows me to truly enjoy hearing of others making the team this year. There have been many changes in the coaching and training for this round of Paralympians and I think they'll have the best performance as an American team to date.

So who made the team?

First, you should know the number of slots are determined by a complicated mix of standards, rules, and wildcard allocations. This year, the US got 18 slots for women and 20 for men. Here are the rosters:

2008 U.S. Paralympics Swimming Team Roster

WOMEN
Cheryl Angelelli-Kornoelje (Fraser, Mich.)
Kelley Becherer (Sheboygan, Wis.)
Aimee Bruder (Birmingham, Ala.)
Anna Eames (Golden Valley, Minn.)
Amanda Everlove (Wichita, Kan.)
Deb Gruen (Hamden, Conn.)
Casey Johnson (Cypress, Calif.)
Cortney Jordan (Henderson, Nev.)
April Kerley (Loveland, Ohio)
Beth Kolbe (Tiffin, Ohio)
Jessica Long (Baltimore, Md.)
Marin Morrison (Sammamish, Wash.)
Ashley Owens (Stockbridge, Ga.)
Erin Popovich (Silverbow, Mont.)
Susan Beth Scott (Cape Girardeau, Mo.)
Melissa Stockwell (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Elizabeth Stone (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Miranda Uhl (Alachua, Fla.)

MEN
Kendall Bailey (San Diego, Calif.)
Mark Barr (Davis, Calif.)
Cody Bureau (Latrobe, Pa.)
Michael DeMarco (San Diego, Calif.)
Dave Denniston (Longmont, Colo.)
Alex Dionne (Mequon, Wis.)
Tucker Dupree (Raleigh, N.C.)
Grover Evans (Little Rock, Ark.)
Rudy Garcia-Tolson (Riverside, Calif.)
Lantz Lamback (Augusta, Ga.)
Curtis Lovejoy (Atlanta, Ga.)
Joe McCarthy (San Diego, Calif.)
Tom Miazga (Cedarburg, Wis.)
Aaron Paulson (Portland, Ore.)
Roy Perkins (Del Mar, Calif.)
Jarrett Perry (Wichita, Kan.)
Michael Prout (West Springfield, Mass.)
Philip Scholz (Mt.Sinai, N.Y.)
Joe Wise (Menlo Park, Calif.)
Justin Zook (Plymouth, Minn.)
There are several impressive highlights from the Trials and if you're interested in swimming times and news, check out the coverage by Mat Luebbers at about.com's swimming page. I'm glad to see more media coverage of this year's road to the Paralympic swimming and hope it continues. Because swimming Trials are earlier than many sports, Melissa Stockwell's inclusion on the team marks the first time an Iraq veteran has qualified for the Paralympics.
[Photo caption: Melissa Stockwell stretches on the pool deck before a meet. Her arm is raised in the air and she's wearing a swimsuit, swim cap, and her prosthetic leg. She has a towel around her neck.]
She's also one of a growing group of resident Paralympic athletes that live and train full-time at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training facilities. I lived there for several months  preceding the '04 Games and there's no better place to train. The benefits were reflected in my lifetime best performance in Athens and Stockwell also smashed the American record for the 400m freestyle during the Trials this weekend. Here's a short clip about Stockwell and her work with Wounded Warriors.
4. Duty - Melissa Stockwell - The best bloopers are a click away
There are 38 other important stories to celebrate with the naming of the 2008 Paralympic Swim Team and I'm sure dozens of others that barely missed the few coveted spots. I'll just share two more for now:
1) Dave Denniston has always been a phenomenal swimmer but in 2005 he had a sledding accident that allowed him the opportunity to join our ranks as disabled swimmers...and now Paralympian. His site is awesome and turns out-he's a great blogger too.
2)Elizabeth Stone was my roommate and one of the youngest Paralympians in Athens. She's made the team again and is swimming faster than ever. We had alot of fun and laughs in our Games together and I'm so happy for her because I have a feeling this is her year.
No longer in the pool for Team USA, I'll always be a loyal supporter...I'm going to start this year by adding to the coverage of the events leading up to Beijing...so there's more to come!
Go Team USA!