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I am incredibly proud to know Sgt. Elizabeth Marks. This year she won four gold medals in swimming events at the Invictus Games in Orlando, Florida. She was then selected to compete for the U.S. team at the Rio Paralympic Games. Going into the Games she was ranked No. 1 in the world in the 100-meter breaststroke, and she went on to win gold in the SB7 100 meters.This is an incredible achievement by any standards, and I know this is how she wants to be defined, by her achievements and her abilities. But as an Army sergeant wounded in service to her country, her journey to get to this point has been remarkable. To me she epitomizes the courage, resilience and determination of our servicemen and women. Using sport to fight back from injury in the most remarkable way, she sums up what the Invictus Games spirit is all about.Elizabeth joined the Army in 2008 as a combat medic. She suffered bilateral hip injuries during a tour in Iraq in 2010 and underwent four surgeries in 18 months. She used sport as a way of helping in her recovery, keeping mobile, fit, healthy and focused. She was selected to compete for the U.S. team in the first 2014 Invictus Games in London, but on arrival in England she had trouble breathing. Within hours, her lungs had filled with fluid and she had been put in a medically induced coma, with little hope of recovery. We all feared the worst, but the team at Cambridges Papworth Hospital helped reoxygenate her body using an external lung machine and brought her back.Elizabeth refused to be beaten, and two years later she was again selected to compete for the U.S. team at the 2016 Orlando Invictus Games. This is where I first met her, and heard from her how she had stayed motivated, not only fighting back to health, but fighting back to the level of an elite sportswoman. Because of her injuries, the effort that she expends in the pool leaves her disorientated to the point of blindness, yet I watched her go on to win four gold medals during that week. Elizabeth certainly doesnt want sympathy; she considers herself unbelievably lucky to have been given another chance in life and to be part of a military family that continues to inspire her to be as good as she can be.After winning her fourth medal, she asked me to return it to the team at Papworth Hospital, whom she credits with saving her life. This was a hugely inspirational and defining moment for the Games, and I was delighted to do this when I got back to London. To see her then win gold in Rio was incredible. Through her achievement, Elizabeth has inspired thousands of people and hugely deserves her place among the espnW IMPACT25.More on Elizabeth Marks? The things she carries Story ?? Paralympic swimmer Sgt. Elizabeth Marks?Gallery ?? Sgt. Elizabeth Marks accepts Pat Tillman award?Video ?The IMPACT25 is espnWs annual list of the 25 athletes and influencers who have made the greatest difference for women in sports. Explore the 2016 list and more content at espnW.com/IMPACT25. Custom Celtics T-shirts .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. Cheap Custom Celtics Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.custompacersjersey.com/ . It just didnt show when he hit the ice. Berra made 42 saves and Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. Wholesale Custom Celtics Shirts . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. Authentic Custom Celtics Jersey . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. I was a very late adopter where sports is concerned. The first time I remember having any emotional involvement in the outcome of a sporting event was the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, when Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton were duking it out for that years drivers title.I cried at the end of that race, through happiness for Lewis but also out of sadness for Felipe, who had defined what it is to be sporting in those quick seconds during which the diminutive Brazilian won and then lost the championship. The dignity with which Massa conducted himself that afternoon earned him a lifelong fan in me (and Im sure hundreds of thousands of other fans watching around the world).My first German Grand Prix was the infamous Hockenheim 2010, the weekend of Fernando is faster than you, and a memorable post-race press conference that mainly consisted of journalists shouting b*****ks! whenever Alonso opened his mouth to speak with pride of his most recent hard-earned race win.For as long as Ive been in the paddock, Felipe has been one of the most vibrant -- and underrated -- personalities on offer. A natural born joker, a cheeky scamp, and a juvenile prankster, Massa is a man who is fun to be with even when the chips are down. Generous to a fault, loyal to his friends, and always ready with an affectionate insult, Felipe Massa will be sorely missed.But amiable as he is, no driver wants to be remembered for his personality when there is a decade-plus of excellent on-track performances to consider. Here are six of my personal favourites...Malaysia 2006 Massas second race for Ferrari didnt get off to the best of starts, as new qualifying rules and a double-engine swap saw the Brazilian hit with a 20-place grid drop. A first lap shunt by Kimi Raikkonen saw Massa jump from 21st to 14th, and from that point on it was a matter of squeezing the best possible result out of the chaos -- damage limitation plus. Having worked his way up to fourth thanks to a series of on-track passes, Massa then pitted for fresh rubber and rejoined in eighth. A near-miss with teammate Michael Schumacher when the latter emerged from his own stop caused a few grey hairs, but the then-young Brazilian showed what he was capable of with a solid points-scoring finish from a back of the grid start.Bahrain 2008 The pun-lovers dream, Bahrain 2008 was the first time in F1 history that we had a Pole on pole. But Robert Kubica was unable to hold off Massa on the start, and the Brazilian was leading the grand prix by the time the pack had made it around the first corner. From that point on it was simply a matter of managing the gaps to the ever-changing pack behind. Raikkonen proved to be the most consistent threat, but Massa claimed his first win of the year with a 3.dddddddddddd3 second lead over the rest of the field, the first sign that the Paulisto would be staking a claim to that years drivers title.Brazil 2008 From a racing perspective, Massa was pure perfection. In order to secure the drivers title in a fight to the wire with Lewis Hamilton, the Brazilian needed to win his home grand prix. On Saturday afternoon, it all looked good -- Felipe was on pole, while Hamilton was on the second row. All Felipe needed to do was hold position while hoping that one or more of the men behind would push the McLaren driver below sixth place. Massa did what he needed to do, taking the chequered flag after a faultless performance, and for a few short corners he was world champion. Until Timo Glocks tyre gamble failed, handing the title to Hamilton. Massa may not have won that championship, but the dignity with which he managed that disappointment won him countless fans.Bahrain 2010 The first race back following his near-fatal crash in qualifying for the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix and his first race as teammate to Fernando Alonso. You could have forgiven Felipe for wilting slightly under the pressure, but instead he bloomed. That first qualifying battle saw Massa line up alongside pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel, one place ahead of his Spanish rival. Alonso went on to win the race, but Massa held position and kicked off his post-rehabilitation season with a second-place finish.Japan 2012 A personal favourite race result (and the day I accidentally made Sebastian Vettel cry!) saw Massa, Vettel, and Kamui Kobayashi grace the Suzuka podium following a chaotic race heavily influenced by an early Safety Car. Massa made up six places in that initial shunt, and was running in second place by the first round of stops; a position he managed to hold until the chequered flag. That podium marked a record of sorts -- with it Felipe ended the longest podium-free drought endured by a Ferrari driver.Italy 2014 Perhaps schadenfreude isnt something we should admit to enjoying, but there was a certain pleasure to be had in seeing Massa standing proud on the Monza podium as legions of tifosi cheered his name -- even though the Brazilian racer was wearing Williams colours, not the red race suit of Ferrari. Making it even better was the fact that Alonso had retired from the race early on with engine failure. This time, Fernando, Felipe was faster than you and there was no refuting it.Felipe, well miss you! ' ' '