--- title: "Army combat medic wins five silver medals at Paralympics" description: "Elizabeth Marks competed in seven events at the the Paralympic Games, earning Team USA several medals in Paris." date: "2024-09-08" modified: "2024-09-08" authors: - name: "Nicholas Slayton" job_title: "Contributing Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/nicholas-slayton/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-elizabeth-marks-swimmer-silver-paralympics/" categories: - "Army" - "Military Branches" - "News" tags: - "adsafety" - "sports" --- # Army combat medic wins five silver medals at Paralympics ![U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Elizabeth Marks competes in the Para Swimming Women's 100m Backstroke race on Sept. 7 2024 in Paris. One arm is mid-stroke, kicking up water from the pool. (Getty Images photo by Adam Pretty)]() *U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Elizabeth Marks competes in the Para Swimming Women's 100m Backstroke race on Sept. 7 2024 in Paris. Getty Images photo by Adam Pretty* U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Elizabeth Marks had a busy and successful time at the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games. The active-duty combat medic and competitive swimmer competed in seven events, winning five silver medals over the course of the games, which wrapped up this weekend. Heading into the final weekend of the games, Marks already had four silver medals, having placed on the podium for the Women’s 50m Freestyle S6, 200m Individual Medley S6 and two relays. On Saturday, Sept. 7, she won her final medal of the games, taking home the silver for the Para Swimming Women's 100m Backstroke event. She won gold in the 2021 event, but this year China’s Jiang Yuyan beat her, with a time of 1 minute, 19.44 seconds to Marks’ one minute, After the last race, Marks, a member of the military’s World Class Athlete Program, was asked how she balances being active-duty military and a competitive swimmer. She called the military “the biggest, most beautiful family in the world.” “They support me and my crazy dreams and they lift me up when I can’t lift myself up.,” Marks [told NBC]() shortly after the race on Saturday. Marks suffered a bilateral hip injury while serving in Iraq in 2010. Since taking up swimming following her injuries, she competed in the previous two Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021 as well as two Invictus Games. Pain from her injury led to her getting her left leg amputated below the knee in 2017. Four years later at the Tokyo Paralympic Games she won gold, silver and bronze in separate swimming events. [**Subscribe to Task & Purpose Today**]()**. Get the latest military news and culture in your inbox daily.** Marks also had the distinction of earning Team USA its first medal at the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games, taking silver in the Women’s 50-Meter Freestyle S6 race on Aug. 29. She finished less than half a second behind Jiang Yuyan. With the Paris summer games now over, she has a total of 10 Paralympic medals. She is one of several active-duty or veteran servicemembers representing the United States at the Paris Olympic and Paralympic games this year. Several, either in individual competitions or as part of teams, have won medals for Team USA in everything from [women’s rugby]() to [archery](). Marks also had the distinction of being one of the two flagbearers for Team USA at the closing ceremony for the Paralympic Games, something she told NBC meant “everything” to her. ## The latest on Task & Purpose - **Hawaii soldier earns** [**rare triple tab**]()**: Ranger, Sapper, Jungle** - **‘I want to be an** [**infantryman**]()**,’ says man who joined the Army at 39** - **New Tinker Air Force Base motto** [**immediately lampooned**]() **by airmen, veterans** - **Army Chinook takes flight with ‘**[**FUKIRAN**]()**’ call sign** - [**Navy fires**]() **captain of USS John S. McCain for “loss of confidence”** ## Author Nicholas Slayton is a contributing editor for Task & Purpose, covering conflict for over 12 years, from the Arab Spring to the war in Ukraine. His previous reporting can be found on the non-profit Aslan Media, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera, The New Republic, The American Prospect, Architectural Digest, The Daily Beast, and the Los Angeles Downtown News. You can reach him at nicholas@taskandpurpose.com or find him on Twitter @NSlayton and Bluesky at @nslayton.bsky.social. ### Author social links [Twitter]()