Sarah Rudder is at her happiest when she is running, jumping, lifting, pulling weights or generally putting her body through various forms of torture.
“If I’m pushing myself and hurting myself, either in training or in an event, it’s a good day,” the former Marine said.
Veterans Day on Saturday has special significance for Rudder, like all past and present members of the armed forces, but certain anniversaries bring difficult memories for the 41-year-old, whose injuries sustained on Sept. 11, 2001, ultimately led to the amputation of her left leg.
Now an elite competitor and reigning CrossFit Games champion as the top female in the below-knee amputee division, Rudder struggled for years after her injuries forced her into a discharge from the military.
“Having adaptive sports to be a part of has meant everything to me,” Rudder said. “It got me off 20 medications and got me off alcohol. The biggest thing it did was force me to be fully committed to myself.”
Rudder was celebrated by FOX NFL Sunday as part of the show’s Veterans Day appreciation, which aired live from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., this week.
Rudder is one of so many inspirational examples provided by those who serve in commitment to the country.
U.S. Marine veteran Sarah Rudder shares the triumphant story of her heroism on 9/11.
On Sept. 11, Rudder was near the Pentagon, where, at just age 18, she was being promoted to Lance Corporal. Despite carrying injuries from a recent car accident, she raced toward the burning building to help.
Later, after standing watch all night outside the Pentagon, she was part of the rescue efforts the next day, searching for survivors, when she stepped into a hole and her ankle crumpled beneath her. Adrenaline kept her going, barely noticing the pain.
When she finally had a moment to rest, nearly 24 hours later, she removed her boot and realized her ankle was completely mangled.
CrossFit Games champion Sarah Rudder says adaptive sports “got me off 20 medications and got me off alcohol. The biggest thing it did was force me to be fully committed to myself.”
“Being a Marine was all I knew and all I wanted to be,” Rudder said. “Suddenly, that was taken away.”
Rudder was told her condition left her non-deployable for combat and she was honorably discharged. Years of rehabilitation and multiple lower-leg surgeries later, Rudder continued to suffer from complications related to complex regional pain syndrome.
Faced with the option of either having a surgical rod inserted from her hip to ankle, or amputation, she chose the latter.
Eventually, sports provided solace. After seeing wheelchair athletes and others with disabilities getting involved in adaptive competition, Rudder found the grueling variety of CrossFit was the right choice to fuel her competitive spirit.
She began training in 2014 and became deeply committed within a few years, pouring her mental and emotional energy into becoming as good as she could.
Placing first in 2022 was an ultimate highlight, but Rudder is hungry for more success when the CrossFit Games take place again in North Carolina later this month.
“Being a Marine was all I knew and all I wanted to be,” Rudder said. “Suddenly, that was taken away.”
In October, Rudder was celebrated with the 2023 Angela Madsen Courage Award as part of Angel City Sports’ Courage Weekend, the West Coast’s only adaptive sports festival where injured service members, veterans and first responders can compete alongside each other.
Athletes took part in 12 disciplines with most events hosted at Harvard Westlake School in Los Angeles, under the supervision of elite coaches such as Paralympians Max Rohn and Ezra Frech (track and field), and John Kremer (sitting volleyball).
For Angel City Sports Founder and CEO Clayton Frech, one of the most uplifting elements of the weekend was seeing elite competitors helping those who were experiencing some of the adaptive disciplines for the first time.
“One thing that unites this community is that you are dealing with incredible individuals who have refused to let their disability stand in the way of their life,” he said. “Now, so many of them want to help people and sports — and adaptive sports — is an amazing way for that to blend together.”
For Rudder, like with any vet, Veterans Day takes on a special poignancy, and sports is very much a part of the reflective process.
“Sports is such a part of the fabric of America and has so many links to the services,” she added. “For those who have been wounded or injured, life changes very quickly and very dramatically.
“I know first-hand, having sports as something to throw yourself into is very powerful — and very special.”
