From a record-breaking gold medal performance to a devastating COVID-19 test result, 14 soldier-athletes from across the Army represented the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics.

Most of the soldier-athletes who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics are part of the Army’s World Class Athlete Program. Three other soldiers, also from the World Class Athlete Program, went to the games as coaches. 

First Lt. Amber English, who competed in women’s shotgun skeet, won the gold medal July 26 with a record-breaking performance. English hit 56 of 60 targets, setting an Olympic record and edging out the 2016 women’s skeet gold medalist Diana Bacosi, of Italy, by one target. She is the second American to win gold in skeet.

Sam Kendricks, a pole vaulter who serves in the Army Reserve, was pulled from the Games after he tested positive for COVID-19, the Associated Press reported. Kendricks won the bronze medal in pole vaulting at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the gold at the 2019 World Championships.

Though English was the only soldier-athlete to medal at the Tokyo Olympics, which ended Aug. 8, three World Class Athlete Program soldiers will compete in the Paralympic Games beginning Aug. 24. They include Sgt. 1st Class Elizabeth Marks, who will compete in swimming, and Staff Sgt. John Joss and Staff Sgt. Kevin Nguyen, who will both compete in shooting.

Several other soldier-athletes delivered noteworthy performances in their respective events at the Olympic Games. 

Spc. Bernard Keter was the only American to quality for the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase finals after breaking his personal best in the qualifying heat July 30. Keter placed 11th in the finals. “It means everything to me,” Keter said, according to the Army. “Both teams [Team USA and the Army] have given me everything I have ever needed to be at the Olympic level.”

Sgt. Amro Elgeziry, competing in his fourth Olympics but his first as a member of Team USA, set a new Olympic record in the men’s 200-meter swim in the modern pentathlon. 

“It is a dream come true to me,” Elgeziry, who previously represented Egypt, told Team USA. “I'm so proud to represent the U.S. and the U.S. Army. I have worked so hard for this and I'm speechless. I can be grateful for the opportunity to be here and represent the U.S.”

Staff Sgt. Naomi Graham, who competed in the women’s boxing 75kg, was the first female active-duty service member to fight for the U.S. in the Olympics. Graham lost in the round of 16 by split decision to a boxer from the Russian Olympic Committee.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Graham said her adaptability is a direct result of her military service. “The military teaches you to be adaptable in any situation, and I believe I take that into the ring,” Graham said. “Because any style I see, I immediately adapt as soon as I see something that needs to be adjusted.”

Beyond boxing, Graham said she just wants to keep inspiring others. 

“I feel like a regular person that’s just pursuing my dreams,” she said. “And then I have to think, and I’m like, ‘Wow, there really is a lot of people who have tried to do this who haven’t been able to.’ I just want to keep inspiring.”