Josh Sweeney | |
|---|---|
  Sweeney in 2015 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
June 6, 1987 Williams AFB, Arizona, U.S. |
| Nationality |
 United States |
| Education | Ironwood High School |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |
United States of America |
| Service/branch |
 United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 2005–2010 |
| Rank |
 Sergeant |
| Unit | 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines[1] |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
 Purple Heart |
Joshua Sweeney (born June 6, 1987) is an American gold medal ice sled hockey player and Purple Heart recipient who competed in 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.
Early life[]
Sweeney's passion for hockey began at an early age, as he played ice hockey during middle school & competed in his high school team.[2] A graduate of Ironwood High School's class of 2005, he shortly enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.
Military life[]
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Sweeney (right) speaks with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at a 2010 meeting with wounded warriors
In September 2009, Sergeant Sweeney was deployed to Afghanistan for his second deployment[3][4] as a scout sniper[5] to Nowzad,[2] Afghanistan.
On October 28, 2009, while on patrol duty, Sgt. Sweeney was injured when he stepped on an IED. The blast severed both his legs & caused injury to his left hand & arm. He had to wait 2 hours to be evacuated.[6]
Paralympic career[]
In 2014, Sweeney joined Paralympic sled hockey team and lost 2–1 to the Russians.[7] Couple of days later, he scored the only goal with which his team won a gold medal in a final against the same country.[8] In 2022, Sweeney competed in Beijing in Para-nordic skiing making him a two-time Paralympian. A native of Arizona, he lives in Nampa, Idaho.[9]
References[]
- ↑ "Pat Tillman's legacy honored at the ESPYs". Orange County Register. 15 July 2014. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/sweeney-628966-hockey-tillman.html.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Angel Canales (July 24, 2013). "Wounded Marine Is a Rising Star in Sled Hockey". ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/07/joshsweeney/.
- ↑ "Sled hockey's Josh Sweeney to receive inaugural Pat Tillman Award for Service". Team USA. June 25, 2014. http://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Features/2014/June/25/Sled-hockeys-Josh-Sweeney-to-receive-inaugural-Pat-Tillman-Award-for-Service.
- ↑ "Josh Sweeney earns Tillman Award". ESPN.com. July 2, 2014. https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/11133592/paralympic-star-josh-sweeney-earns-1st-tillman-award.
- ↑ Angel Canales (July 24, 2013). "Wounded Marine Is a Rising Star in Sled Hockey". ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/07/joshsweeney/.
- ↑ Joanne C Gerstner (January 9, 2014). "After being injured in Afghanistan, Josh Sweeney finds solace on ice". http://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Features/2014/January/09/After-being-injured-in-Afghanistan-Josh-Sweeney-finds-solace-on-ice.
- ↑ Rob Harris (March 11, 2014). "From war to Paralympics, US vets compete on ice". http://bigstory.ap.org/article/war-paralympics-us-vets-compete-ice.
- ↑ "Josh Sweeney leads USA to second straight sled hockey gold". IPC. March 15, 2014. http://www.paralympic.org/news/josh-sweeney-leads-usa-second-straight-sledge-hockey-gold.
- ↑ Heerwagen, Art (April 6, 2014). "Skating into town". http://www.pamplinmedia.com/ht/117-hillsboro-tribune-news/216267-75103-skating-into-town.
External links[]
- Template:IPC athlete
- Template:Team USA
The original article can be found at Joshua Sweeney and the edit history here.