By Tabitha L. Messick

Iraqi War veteran, Melissa Stockwell, is honored to have represented the United States at the Beijing Paralympic Games even though she didn't qualify during the swimming heats to compete tonight in the finals.

"My number one goal was to make it here (to Beijing),'' Stockwell said, "and now I've got a lot of great memories to take back with me.''

Stockwell competes in the S9 division of swimming. Swimmers are classified according to their disability (muscle strength, length of limb, joint movement) and performance of swimming strokes. The higher the number of the class, the lower the disability, in a range of 1-10.

Stockwell sustained her injury when she was hit by a roadside bomb during her service in the Iraq War. She has a prosthetic left leg that goes all the way up to her hip.

"Four years ago, I lost my leg,'' Stockwell said. "So to be standing here, without my leg, with really amazing swimmers from around the world, I couldn't be happier.''

Stockwell improved in her performances during the swimming heats. Earlier this week she finished 6th in the 100m Butterfly and 5th in the 100m Freestyle, respectively. Today she finished 4th in the 400m Freestyle heat.

Stockwell plans to compete again in the London 2012 Paralympic Games. She said that the Paralympics are a great place for returning soldiers to achieve their athletic goals.

The Women's 400m Freestyle S9 Final is tonight in the National Aquatics Center. Natalie du Toit (South Africa), who has won 3 gold medals so far, is expected to shine again in the S9 division. Du Toit also competed at the Beijing Olympics.

(China.org.cn September 12, 2008)