From this weekend through the coming months, a handful of leathernecks will be competing for coveted spots on Team USA in their respective sports for the Summer Olympic Games set to begin in July in Tokyo.
The Marines have competitors in both the men and women’s marathon, women’s rugby and men’s wrestling.
Below are brief profiles of the individual Marines vying for a chance at Olympic gold.
Marathon
The U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials are being held Saturday in Atlanta ― and it will be quite a crowded field.
Just to enter the race, male runners must have a marathon time of 2 hours and 19 minutes or faster or a half marathon in 1 hour, 4 minutes or faster. Female runners had to hit a 2 hour, 45 minute mark for the full marathon and at least 1 hour, 13 minutes or faster for the half marathon.
As of January a total of 771 runners had qualified for the trials, 511 women and 260 men, according to USA Track and Field listings.
That’s nearly double the number of runners who tried for an Olympic spot in the 2016 trials. And they’ll all be running for six spots: three for men and three for women.
Capt. Lindsay Carrick, 26, is a 2015 U.S. Naval Academy graduate who played varsity lacrosse for four years and ran cross country for the academy her senior year. The logistics officer competed on the All-Marine Running Team in the 2017 Marine Corps Marathon and the 2018 Warriors Across the Sea Half Marathon in Torbay, England, while assigned to 2nd Tank Battalion. The Wycombe, Pennsylvania, native is currently assigned to the Officer Candidates School at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. She placed third overall female in the 2018 Marine Corps Marathon and obtained an Olympic marathon qualifying time at the 2019 Military World Games in Wuhan, China.
Capt. Kyle King, 30, is an artillery officer currently stationed at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado, where he commands as the inspector instructor for Battery Q, 5th Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment. The Wenatchee, Washington, native won the Eugene (Oregon) Marathon in 2019 with a 2 hour, 18 minute time ― his Olympic trial qualifying time. In October, King improved that time to 2 hours, 16 minutes for an 8th place finish at the 2019 Military World Games in Wuhan, China.
Women’s Rugby Sevens
The U.S. Women’s Olympic Rugby Team qualified for the upcoming tournament in 2019 after placing 5th in the 2016 games, which was the first year the sport was featured. Australia won the women’s gold medal.
A dozen teams are expected to make the cut, with the last qualifying tournament in June.
Capt. Kate Herren is a 2012 U.S. Naval Academy graduate who served as the Marine Air Traffic Control Mobile Team Leader with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. She was selected to the All-Armed Forces Women’s Soccer Team in 2015. The Auburn, Washington, native was later selected team captain competed in the 2016 Military World Soccer Championship in France. While a student at the Naval Post Graduate School she played recreational rugby and was selected to the All-Armed Forces Women’s Sevens Rugby Team in 2017. She has been a resident member of the U.S. squad, helping the team qualify for the 2020 games. In 2019, she captained the All-Marine Women’s Seven Rugby Team to a silver medal at the first Armed Forces Women’s Rugby Championship.
Men’s Wrestling
Nine Marines are in the running to compete for the 18 weight classes at the Olympic wrestling competition.
While there are still qualifying events through late March, the trials tournament to make the actual U.S. Olympic men’s wrestling team is scheduled for April 4-5 at University Park, Pennsylvania.
The following Marines are competing for spots on the U.S. Olympic Team:
Capt. Dan Miller, 27, is a 2013 U.S. Naval Academy graduate and ground supply officer. The Berlin, Maryland, native joined the All-Marine Wrestling Team in 2016 and has earned champion and medal finishes at more than 20 national or international competitions.
Capt. Peyton Walsh, 27, is a 2015 U.S. Naval Academy graduate and supply officer. The Richmond, Virginia, native joined the All-Marine Wrestling Team in 2017 and has earned champion and placer finishes at more than a dozen national and international events.
First Lt. Jamel Johnson, 28, graduated from the University of North Carolina Greensboro and joined the Marine Corps in 2017. The Winston Salem, North Carolina, native wrestled in both high school and college. The logistics officer received permanent orders to the All-Marine Wrestling Team in 2016. Since joining the team, Johnson has been champion, medaled or placed in at least 14 national or international events.
Sgt. Xavier Johnson, 24, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2013. The motor transportation operator joined the All-Marine Wrestling Team in 2016. The Brooklyn, New York native finished high school in Orangeburg, South Carolina, where he competed in varsity wrestling, soccer, cross country and track and field. Johnson has made champion and placer finishes at nearly a dozen national and international events since 2016.
Staff Sgt. John Stefanowicz Jr., 28, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2009, after having wrestled, played football and baseball in Baltimore, Maryland. The aviation communications technician competed with the All-Marine Wrestling Team from 2011 to 2014 and returned to the team in 2017 on permanent orders. On the team for more than six years, Stefanowicz has been a champion, medaled or placed at more than 30 national or international events.
Sgt. Raymond Bunker, 25, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2013. The Chicago native wrestled, played football and did gymnastics while in high school. The distribution management specialist received permanent orders to the All-Marine Wrestling Team in 2016. Bunker has since been a champion, medaled or placed in at least 17 national or international events.
The following Marines are competing for spots on the Puerto Rico Olympic Team:
Sgt. Joshua Medina, 27, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2012. The Manati, Puerto Rico, native played baseball, track and wrestled in high school. The motor transport operator received permanent orders to the All-Marine Wrestling Team in 2017. Medina has won two Puerto Rico National titles and placed third at the 2019 Pan-American Wrestling Championships.
Cpl. German Diaz, 27, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2017. The Carolina, Puerto Rico, native wrestled at the Universidad del Este in Puerto Rico. The inventory management specialist received permanent orders to the All-Marine Wrestling Team in 2017. Throughout the past three years, Diaz has been champion, medaled or placed in nine national or international events.
Lance Cpl. Marciano Ali, 28, joined the Marine Corps in 2016. The Brooklyn, New York, native later moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he wrestled in high school and later in college at schools in Illinois and Indiana. The ejection seat mechanic received permanent orders to the All-Marine Wrestling Team in 2017 and has won the Puerto Rico National title twice.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
