ARLINGTON, Va. - When Team Army arrived in Chicago, Ill. for the 2017 Department of Defense Warrior Games, one thing was for sure: they came ready to play.
And all of their hard work and training was worth its weight in bronze, silver and gold.
Team Army won a combined total of 115 medals during the eight day competition.
Thirty-eight athletes from numerous cities and states competed on behalf of team Army in swimming, cycling, archery, shooting, field, wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball and - the teams strongest sport overall, yielding more than 35 medals - track.
The Army athletes showed their strength in numbers during team competition, winning gold in wheelchair basketball and compound archery and taking silver in sitting volleyball.
Sgt. Christy Gardner, who became a Warrior Games stand out winning 11 medals, says it feels great knowing that all of their hard work paid off.
"It's such an amazing and rewarding experience that I wish more veterans get to try," Gardner said.
More than 200 athletes representing Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and the United Kingdom and Australian Armed Forces took part in the seventh annual Games.
The friendly rivalry between teams continues as Gardner looks ahead to next year's Warrior Games at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
"It would be awesome for Army to take top honors away from Air Force on their home turf," Gardner said.
With Warrior Games behind them, several Army athletes are turning their attention to the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, August 23 - September 30.
The third annual event will bring together more than 550 competitors from 17 nations for eight days of fierce competition. The US Team will include competitors from all branches of service and Special Operations Command.
To see the full list of Army athletes, more about the Invictus Games, click http://wct.army.mil/pressRoom/articles/U_S_Army_athletes_named_to_U_S_Team_for_the_2017_Invictus_Games.html
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