Photo By Bert Blanchette | 2nd Lieutenant Jessica M. Clay, a South Elgin, Ill., native and battalion liaison...... read more read more
CAMP CASEY, South Korea - With the sound of her alarm, her eyes opened. For most of the other competitors, their day had not yet started. For her, it had already begun.
As she drank coffee at the cafeteria, she thought about her practice of planning ahead and the usefulness it provides on mornings like this. It was early, but her schedule for today was already outlined and her gear was neatly organized and packed for the long day ahead. The preparation lent itself to a moment of solitude to calm her nerves before traveling to the chilly shores.
The hour-long ride took competitors through South Korea’s southern region to the starting line at the beaches of Yeongildae. When the bus arrived, she quickly made her way to the transition area to ensure her equipment was perfectly staged for the race’s second and third events.
She had felt this nervousness so many times before, but today was different. Today she was competing against athletes from 80 nations around the world. In a matter of minutes she would dash towards the chilly, unforgiving waves of the East Sea.
Waiting at the threshold of anxiousness, she steadied her breathing. Ready. Set. Go.
Swimming has always been a passion for 2nd Lt. Jessica M. Clay, a 24-year old military athlete. From a young age, she learned to enjoy the hard work and competitiveness she found in the pool, something that would later earn her two All-American titles at St. Charles North High School near Chicago.
“In middle school and high school, I was a really intense swimmer; my dream was to become an Olympic swimmer.” said Clay a native of South Elgin, Ill. “Swimming was the center of my life.”
In spite of her talent and success as a nationally ranked swimmer, Clay’s life changed dramatically when her center of gravity was shifted by an unforeseen medical condition in middle school.
“I was sick with a thyroid disorder,” she said calmly. “I went from top-five national swimmers to a non-nationally ranked one.”
The condition, which affects the body’s ability to regulate metabolism, not only affected her physical performance, it influenced her decision to continue competing in the sport she loved.
Through her struggle in choosing to quit swimming, she discovered a new endurance challenge to restore confidence in herself as an athlete - triathlons.
“In high school we had the triathlon team for kids that a few other swimmers called multi-sport madness kids triathlon team.” said Clay. “It was a very intense competitive team with top runners at the time. Looking back now, it was the coolest experience because I was surrounded by such phenomenal athletes who are now some of the best in the U.S.”
Although triathlons were a route she never planned on taking, it allowed her to once again focus her physical energy via a combination of swimming, cycling, and distance running.
Her remarkable results as a triathlete opened many doors for future educational and athletic opportunities, including a recruitment offer for the cross-country and track programs at the United States Military Academy at West Point – which she happily accepted.
“The military was not something initially I was planning on doing,” said Clay. “I started to look into the military more and I saw it was really unique. It gave you a different perspective from other people in civilian world.”
Despite her original recruitment, Clay dropped both cross-country and track her freshman to focus exclusively on the academy’s triathlon team. She found success in many of her competitions as a freshman and sophomore cadet, including a first-place finish at the Key West Triathlon in 2010 with a time of 2:16:02.
In attempt to get back into competitive swimming, Clay spent her junior year as a member of the varsity swim team before deciding to pursue other interests during her senior year. Throughout her remaining two years, she continued to be a valued competitor on the Black Knight’s triathlon team.
After graduating from the academy in 2014, she was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant and assigned to her first duty station at Camp Casey, South Korea. As one of the Army’s few female artillery officers, she took on the critical task of building partner relations as a civil military liaison for the 6th Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Field Artillery Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division/ROK-U.S. Combined Division.
Having been part of numerous teams throughout her life, Clay converted her experiences as an athlete to improve her leadership as an officer in her unit. Every day she sets the example for her Soldiers and peers while building positive teams within the organization.
“I think Lieutenant Clay has an ability as an athlete, but more importantly, she acts as a coach for other Soldiers to achieve their maximum potential,” said Maj. Elijah Ward, a Greenville, Va. native and operations officer for the “On the Minute” Battalion. “She uses her athletic experiences and transfer them into leadership.”
Even with the unit’s high operational tempo and demanding time requirements, Clay still managed to train and compete as a military triathlete. It was through her constant dedication, focus, and positive attitude that landed her the opportunity to represent the U.S. military Oct. 10 as a competitor in the Conseil International du Sport Militaire 6th Military World Games in Mungyeong, South Korea.
The games, which closely resemble the Olympics, are held in a different country ever four years and feature the world’s best military athletes in 16 sporting events – many of whom are Olympic-caliber.
Clay’s initial strategy for the triathlon was to swim both loops with the first pack of swimmers, but failed to maintain her position due to the sea’s rolling waves.
As she made her way out of the water in the third pack, she immediately ran to the transition area and cycled off as a group with a U.S and German competitor.
Roughly two minutes behind the front pack, Clay left her group in an attempt to close the distance between herself and the lead. The gap between packs, however, did not close enough and forced Clay to save her energy for the 10-kilometer run.
Clay endured her physical exhaustion and completed the final event to place 28th overall and earned her title as the top U.S. female elite finisher with a time of 2:17:16.
Although she didn’t do as well as she hoped, she was grateful for the experience to compete on the international level.
“In the end, I was not in the top ten but I was happy to have finished the course,” said Clay. “It motivated me to try harder for the next time and gave me unique opportunity to see where I stand.”
| Date Taken: | 11.20.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.20.2015 02:01 |
| Story ID: | 182413 |
| Location: | CAMP CASEY, KR |
| Hometown: | GREENVILLE, VA, US |
| Hometown: | SOUTH ELGIN, IL, US |
| Hometown: | WEST POINT, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 153 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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