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Spc. Hattie Johnson,
a member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit from
Athol, Idaho, will compete Aug. 14 in 10-meter air
rifle shooting in the Summer Olympic Games at Athens,
Greece. Photo by Tim Hipps
(Click photo for screen-resolution image); high-resolution
image available.
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First Lt. Chad Senior, a member of the U.S.
Army World Class Athlete Program, will compete Aug. 26 in
modern pentathlon, a five-sport event that includes pistol
shooting, fencing, swimming, equestrian riding and
cross-country running.
Senior 29, of North Fort Myers, Fla., finished
sixth in the event in the 2000 Olympics at Sydney, Australia.
He was leading after three events before a skittish horse
refused two jumps in the equestrian event, ruining his golden
moment.
"I don't think the same thing can happen
now; I'm a much stronger rider than I was in 2000," said
Senior, who returned to the sport after 18 months of soul
searching following his heartbreaker in Australia. "I
just hope I can have the same day I had in Sydney, aside from
the ride."
One day after Senior's grueling event, Army
Capt. Anita Allen, 26, of Star City, Ind., will compete in the
women's modern pentathlon.
Sgt. Oscar Wood, 29, an Army WCAP wrestler
from Gresham, Ore., defeated five- time national champion and
2000 Olympian Kevin Bracken of New York Athletic Club in the
finals of the 66-kilogram/145.5-pound Greco-Roman division of
the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials to earn an Olympic
berth. Wood, who will wrestle Aug. 24 and 25, will have
another soldier in his corner. Staff Sgt. Shon Lewis, 37, of
Oakland, Calif., is one of three Greco-Roman coaches for Team
USA. He has led All-Army wrestlers to three of the past four
Greco national team titles and has twice been named
Greco-Roman Coach of the Year by USA Wrestling.
Army Staff Sgt. Basheer Abdullah, 41, of St.
Louis, is the head coach for Team USA's boxers. He served as
technical coach in the 2000 Sydney Games and will be assisted
in Athens by Anthony Bradley, a retired Army master sergeant
from Newport News, Va., and former WCAP coach who handled
Abdullah during his career in the ring.
Capt. Matt Smith, 26, an Army WCAP rower from
Woodbridge, Va., will team with civilians Steve Warner of
Livonia, Mich., two-time Olympian Paul Teti of Upper Darby,
Pa., and Cincinnati's Pat Todd on Team USA's lightweight four
that begins rowing Aug. 15 with a chance to compete again Aug.
17, 19 and 21 in the B final or Aug. 22 in the A final.
"I hope to succeed on the water, but also
to represent the Army, MWR and WCAP in a positive light and
show the world that the U.S. is one of the better countries
out there in rowing and in general – to show what freedom
will do for you," Smith said. "It allows you to
succeed."
Team USA also will feature Navy Ensign Henry
Nuzum, 27, a two-time Olympian from Chapel Hill, N.C., who
will team with Aquil Abdullah of Washington, D.C., in men's
double sculls. They begin rowing Aug. 16 with the A final Aug.
22.
Oregon National Guard Capt. Dan Browne, 29, of
Portland, Ore., qualified for the Olympics by finishing third
in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials with a time of 2 hours, 12
minutes and 2 seconds. He will run the marathon, the final
competitive event of the Games, Aug. 29.
Browne, a West Point graduate and former
member of Army's WCAP, secured a second Olympic berth by
finishing third in the 10,000 meters with a time of 28:07.47
in the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials at Sacramento,
Calif. Should he decide to double in Greece, Browne will run
the 10K Aug. 20.
Army Sgt. John Nunn, 26, of Evansville, Ind.,
earned an Olympic berth with a second-place finish in the
20-kilometer race walk with a time of 1:26:23 in the U.S.
Track and Field Team Trials. Air Force Capt. Kevin Eastler,
26, a missile combat crew commander stationed at F.E. Warren
Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyo., also made the team by
finishing third in 1:28:49. They will compete Aug. 20.
Also in track and field, Air Force 1st Lt.
James Parker, 28, a native of Great Falls, Mont., stationed at
Malmstrom Air Force Base in his home state, will throw the
hammer in qualifying rounds Aug. 20 with the final Aug. 22.
Parker won the event in the U.S. Track and Field Team Trials
with a throw of 77.58 meters -- 254 feet, 6 inches -- and will
be the only American in the field.
Air Force 2nd Lt. Weston "Seth"
Kelsey, 22, of Santa Monica, Calif., will fence in men's
individual epee Aug. 17 and team epee Aug. 22. Kelsey, a 2003
graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, is a two-time national
champion.
Army Reserve Maj. David Johnson, 40, a native
of Mount Holly, N.J., who lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., is
a WCAP shooting coach and 15-year member of the U.S. National
Rifle Team who competed in the 1992 Barcelona Games. He will
serve as Team USA's rifle coach Aug. 14 through 22 at
Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Centre.
Four-time Olympian Sgt. 1st Class James
"Todd" Graves, 41, of Laurel, Miss., became the
first U.S. men's skeet shooter since 1984 to win an Olympic
medal with a bronze in the 2000 Sydney Games. He will compete
Aug. 22.
"I'm doing this for my family in green
and I've decided that if I get a medal this time that I'm
going to dedicate it to the troops," Graves said.
"Every time I break a target or stand on a podium to get
a medal, I'm dedicating it to all those guys and gals over
there. That's the least I can do."
Sgt. 1st Class Shawn Dulohery, 39, a world
champion from Lee's Summit, Mo., downed 25 consecutive targets
in the final round to edge Graves in the men's skeet
competition in the U.S. Olympic Shotgun Team Trials at Fort
Benning, Ga., home of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit.
"Hopefully in Athens, we'll both bring something of color
home," Dulohery said. "Just going through it
together is going to be a big plus."
Two-time Olympian Sgt. 1st Class Bret
Erickson, 43, of Bennington, Neb., will compete in men's trap
and double trap shotgun shooting Aug. 14 and 17, respectively.
Sgt. 1st Class Jason Parker, 30, a world
record-holder from Omaha, Neb., finished fifth in air rifle at
the Sydney Games, missing a bronze medal by seven-tenths of a
point. He seeks redemption Aug. 16.
Maj. Michael Anti, a USAMU member attached to
WCAP who recently won a national championship, will compete in
50-meter prone and 50-meter three-position rifle shooting Aug.
20 and 22 respectively.
Three-time Olympian Army Reserve Staff Sgt.
Elizabeth "Libby" Callahan, 52, of Upper Marlboro,
Md., will compete Aug. 15 in 10-meter air pistol and Aug. 18
in 25-meter sport pistol. She is the oldest member of Team
USA.
Spc. Hattie Johnson, 22, of Athol, Idaho, will
compete Aug. 14 in women's 10- meter air rifle, the first
event of the Games. Sgt. 1st Class Daryl Szarenski will
compete later that day in men's 10-meter air pistol shooting.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Charles Gartland, 39, of
Bardstown, Ky., will serve as Team USA's gunsmith.
(Tim Hipps is assigned to U.S. Army Community
and Family Support Center Public Affairs.)
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Army Sgt. John Nunn pulls away from Air Force Capt.
Kevin Eastler to finish second in the 20-kilometer
race walk in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Track and Field
Team Trials July 17 at Sacramento State University in
California. Both walkers will compete Aug. 20 for Team
USA in the Olympic Games at Athens, Greece. Photo by
Tim Hipps |
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High resolution photo. |
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Oregon National Guard Capt. Dan Browne, a West Point
graduate and former member of the U.S. Army World
Class Athlete Program, will run the marathon Aug. 29
and perhaps the 10,000 meters Aug. 20 in the Summer
Olympic Games at Athens, Greece. Photo by Tim Hipps |
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High resolution photo. |
