By Rick Burke, Navy
Office of Community Outreach Public Affairs
CHICAGO – The 2017 Department of
Defense Warrior Games kicked off June 30th with
competitions over the weekend in shooting, sitting volleyball, wheelchair
basketball, and track.
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Sean Ricks, a 1987
Lee Davis High School graduate and Mechanicsville, Virginia native, is a
multisport athlete competing in shooting, cycling and swimming.
On June 30, Ricks placed 3rd in the
10m air pistol open qualification, earning a spot in the medal round on July 6.
He will also compete in cycling on July
6 and swimming on the last day of competition on July 8.
“Team Navy” joins more than 250
seriously wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans at the Department
of Defense Warrior Games.
Navy athletes are competing against
competitors from the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, Special Operations Command,
Australian Defense Force and the United Kingdom Armed Forces in cycling, track
and field, shooting, swimming, archery, sitting volleyball and wheelchair
basketball.
The Navy honors the sacrifices of
wounded warriors by providing them top-notch non-medical support through Navy
Wounded Warrior (NWW) – Safe Harbor. All enrollees in NWW are encouraged to
make athletics a key component of their recovery efforts. By promoting wounded
warrior participation in competitions like the Warrior Games, NWW helps
enrollees heal through adaptive sports.
These games provide an opportunity
for athletes to grow physically, mentally and spiritually from the
sportsmanship and camaraderie gained by representing their respective service
teams in a friendly and spirited competition. It is an opportunity for athletes
to showcase their enduring warrior spirit in the presence of their families and
grateful nation.
- - Lt. Cmdr. Jenn Womble, Team Navy Public Affairs
For more information about the 2017
DoD Warrior Games, please visit http://www.dodwarriorgames.com/.