MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. (Army News Service, June 30, 2015) -- Wheelchair racer Kelly Elmlinger won all five of her events to lead Team Army on the track at the 2015 Department of Defense Warrior Games.
Elmlinger won the women's 100 meters 3.0 division in 20.26 seconds, 200 meters (36.32), 400 meters (1:12.16 ), 800 meters (2:33.98) and 1500 meters (5:13.19). She was the most dominant athlete on the track in a meet that began June 23 and resumed June 28 after being postponed by a thunderstorm that downed trees on the Marine Corps base Tuesday night.
Come Sunday, neither Mother Nature nor competitors from the Air Force, Navy, Special Operations Command, British Armed Forces or host Marines could stop Elmlinger, who won all her races by rolling away from the field.
"The meet went excellent," said Elmlinger, 35, a surgical nurse at the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. "Obviously we had a continuation, and I had to swim yesterday so I was a little nervous about how I would feel in terms of being out here in the weather and the environment and trying to get over all those external-type things.
"I came out here and had a goal as far as how I wanted to finish, and I did just that, as well as being able to cheer other teammates and the other branches on. All in all, it was a good day, a good week."
Several Soldiers won three events, two of whom also ran legs of Team Army's mixed 4x100-meter relay squad that secured the gold in 48.72 seconds.
Army Reserve Sgt. Zed Pitts of Birmingham, Alabama, won the men's 100-meter dash 5.0 in 11.96 seconds, 200 meters in 25.95, and 400 meters in 1:01.21 before running the second leg of Team Army's winning relay.
Cpl. Matthew Mueller of Fort Morgan, Colorado, won the men's 200-meter dash 1.0 in 28.74 seconds, 400 meters (1:20.76) and 800 meters (3:12.03) before running the third leg of the relay. Mueller also finished runner-up to teammate Spc. Anthony Atemon (13.42) in the 100 meters with a time of 13.43 seconds.
Atemon of Decatur, Alabama, also won the 1500 (3:34.18), followed by Mueller (7:28.86) and veteran Staff Sgt. Sean Johnson (7:53.05) of Mohall, North Dakota.
Veteran Sgt. 1st Class Katie Kuiper of San Antonio won the women's 400 meters 4.0 with a time of 1:33.09, 800 (3:24.38) and 1500 (6:05.80).
Sgt. 1st Class Samantha Goldenstein of Kansas City, Missouri, struck gold in the women's 400 meters 6.0 in 1:17.72, 800 (2:57.94) and 1500 (6:05.04). She also took silver in the 200 (33.31).
Goldenstein, a Team Army co-captain with double hip impingements caused by chronic wear and tear, recently departed Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, to serve as a cadre for the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Sam Houston.
"I like seeing the team camaraderie," she said. "You make lifelong friends here, and you get to watch people adapt and overcome while they're here, too, which is just amazing. You watch them grow. It's a motivator for everybody."
Veteran Capt. Will Reynolds of Rochester, New York, won the men's 100 meters 4.0 (16.46), 800 (3:05.72) and 1500 (6:40.87).
Army National Guard Capt. Steven Bortle of Pearl City, Hawaii, won the 800 meters 5.5U in 2:32.17, finished second in the 1500 (6:02.20) and ran the third leg of Team Army's winning 4x100 relay.
Veteran Staff Sgt. Randi Gavell of Oklahoma City won the women's 100-meter dash 6.0 in 15.00 seconds and 200 meters in 32.01.
Sgt. Nicholas Titman of Damascus, Virginia, ran the first leg of Team Army's winning 4x100-meter relay and finished third in the men's 200 meters 6.0 in 24.91 seconds.
Cpl. Jasmine Perry of Central City, Kentucky won the women's 100-meter dash 4.0 with a time of 33.74 seconds and finished third in the 200 (41.63).
Staff Sgt. Monica Martinez of Washington, D.C., had one of the best views of Elmlinger's dominance by finishing second in the 1500 meters 3.0 (6:51.27), third in the 800 (3:43.73) and fourth in the 400 (1:40.81).
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