[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 156 (Friday, September 10, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E971]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        RECOGNIZING SARAH RUDDER AS MY CONSTITUENT OF THE MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MIKE LEVIN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 10, 2021

  Mr. LEVIN of California. Madam Speaker, it is my great honor to 
recognize the incredibly resilient and athletically talented Marine 
Corps veteran, Sarah Rudder, as my August Constituent of the Month. As 
a young girl, Sarah knew she wanted to be a Marine after watching an 
air show and the Silent Drill Platoon perform. She accomplished her 
goal, but in the wake of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon in Washington, 
D.C. her dream of a long career in the Marine Corps came to a close. 
While recovering bodies in the rubble of the famous building, Sarah 
sustained a career-ending ankle injury, forcing her to medically 
retire, and ultimately leading to amputation of her left leg below the 
knee.
  Following her career-ending injury, Sarah struggled to find the 
purpose and commitment that she felt while serving in the military. 
After being medically retired from the military, Sarah volunteered as 
an online coach for the Catch a Lift Fund, a nonprofit that provides 
fitness grants, equipment, and nutrition to combat-wounded veterans. It 
was within this program that Sarah launched her path to competitive 
fitness. After chronic pain, depression, and post-traumatic stress, her 
fitness journey morphed into a sense of therapy, helping to ease her 
stress and bring back the routine and drive she missed as a Marine.
  Sarah's best course of action to relieve some of the strain and pain 
on her body from the original injury was to have her leg amputated 
below the knee. With her new sense of relief and a fitted prosthetic 
leg, she got serious about the fitness regimen CrossFit. In 2015, Sarah 
tried out for the Warrior Games, an annual competition put on by the 
Department of Defense for wounded active-duty service members and 
veterans. Sarah did so well that when she returned in 2016, she 
qualified to compete for Team USA at that year's Invictus Games, a 
global competition for wounded service members that was started in 2014 
by Britain's Prince Harry. During her two years competing for Team USA 
at Invictus, Rudder won a dozen gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter 
running events, along with the 1-minute sprint row, shotput, discus, 
swimming, seated volleyball, and power lifting.
  Overcoming a life-changing injury is an incredible challenge, and I 
am inspired by the strength and perseverance Sarah has embodied in her 
recovery journey. I thank Sarah for her service to our country, for her 
dedication to helping other disabled veterans in similar circumstances, 
and her unwavering drive to be her very best. I'm proud to honor Sarah 
Rudder as my August Constituent of the Month.

                          ____________________