Paralympics: Military veterans Dan Cnossen, Andy Soule break through for medals
Nordic skiers Dan Cnossen and Andy Soule won two more medals at the Paralympics on Tuesday.
The two share more than medal success on the mountain. They are military veterans who both came into Paralympic sports after suffering serious injuries while serving their country.
According to the U.S. Olympic Committee, 18 military veterans are on the 74-person roster competing at the Paralympics in Pyeongchang.
Cnossen was serving as the platoon commander for SEAL Team One in Afghanistan in September 2009 when he stepped on an IED. As a result of his injuries, Cnossen lost both legs just above the knee.
He was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with Valor from the Secretary of the Navy for his service in combat.
He would spend months recovering and learning to use prosthetics. Within a year he ran a mile without stopping, according a story about Cnossen in the Harvard Gazette. He would learn to cross-country ski and moved to Colorado to train for the Paralympics in 2014.
In Sochi, Cnossen competed in six individual events, with a sixth-place finish in the cross-country sprint his best result in 2014.
On Tuesday, Cnossen won his third medal in his third event in South Korea, a silver in the middle-distance biathlon competition. Soule took bronze in the same event.
Four years ago, First Lady Michelle Obama recognized Cnossen as Team USA visited the White House after Sochi. Obama recalled meeting Cnossen for the first time at a dinner at the White House.
"Dan lost both of his legs in the explosion, but he never lost that fighting spirit. I will always remember Dan," Obama said. "Four months after that explosion, he finished a half-marathon in a wheelchair. On the one-year anniversary of his injury, he ran a mile on his prosthetics.
"Over the next few years, Dan stayed on active duty while in the Navy earning medals in swimming and running events at the Warrior Games and completing the New York City Marathon."
Former president Barack Obama tweeted that he was proud of Cnossen on Monday with video of Michelle's speech.
After his race in Pyeongchang on Tuesday, Cnossen credited Soule. Despite strong wind gusts, Cnossen made all 20 targets in his four trips to the range.
“This race feels especially good because I have my teammate, Andy, on the podium," Cnossen said, according to a news release. "I knew he was going to have a good race. I’m really proud and happy to see him on the podium. For me personally, this was a big breakthrough. This was only the second time I’ve ever shot clean in a four-stage, 20-shot race, and to do it at the Paralympics, I feel like I really overcame a big mental hurdle. For me, this means a lot that I shot well under pressure.”
Cnossen has called his teammate Soule a "trailblazer" in the sport. "When I was new on the team, he was the inspiration, and I know he’s going to pop a good race here as well," Cnossen said after winning gold Saturday in his first event.
After Sept. 11, Soule enlisted in the Army and was deployed to Afghanistan. He was severely injured when an IED exploded near his Humvee. Soule had both legs amputated.
A few years later he got involved in cross-country skiing at a camp in Idaho in 2005 and made his first Paralympic team for Vancouver.
Soule retired from the Army as a specialist (E-4). His medal Tuesday is the second Paralympic bronze of his career, the first coming in 2010.
