`` After moving to Minnesota , she joined her first competitive swim team . Melissa Stockwell was deployed to Iraq with the US Army in March 2004 . Two weeks later , Stockwell 's car hit a roadside bomb . She lost her left leg , becoming the first female amputee in Operation Iraqi Freedom . She competed in the 2008 Olympics and now is a champion paratriathlete .
Melissa Stockwell was deployed to Iraq with the US Army in March 2004 . Two weeks later , Stockwell 's car hit a roadside bomb . She lost her left leg , becoming the first female amputee in Operation Iraqi Freedom . She competed in the 2008 Olympics and now is a champion paratriathlete .