Photo By Alexia Gaines | U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) participants SSG Samuel Kosgei (left) and...... read more read more
LANSING, Mich. – A dreary gray sky didn’t slow down elite runners Staff Sergeant Samuel Kosgei and Sergeant Ednah Kurgat as they paced a group of local high-school track athletes around the 400-meter track. After a final sprint down the straight-way, feet pounding in a staccato rhythm, they slowed to a jog before stopping to cool down and chat with near-by students.
This track practice capped off a 3-day trip touring Michigan, where they visited local schools and colleges as part of a joint recruitment effort between the U.S. Army’s World Class Athletes Program (WCAP) and Great Lakes Recruiting Battalion on April 1-5, 2025.
WCAP allows top-ranked Soldier-athletes to perform at the national and international level while also serving their nation in the Army. Participants train and compete year-round with the ultimate aim of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
For both SSG Kosgei and SGT Kurgat, the Olympics is closer to a lived reality than a far-fetched goal. Sergeant Kurgat, who works as a 91D – Tactical Power Generation Specialist in the U.S. Army, specializes in 5K & 10K running events. Since beginning her running career in 2017, she has placed in multiple high-profile races, like the 2023 Pan American Games, and was a 2021 Olympic Trials Qualifier for the 5k event. 68W – Army Medic SSG Kosgei, who currently coaches her, was a 2024 U.S. Olympic Coach (Marathon) and qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic trials.
Although it required a lot of sacrifice, neither seemed to mind.
“If you enjoy what you do, every time you give 100%,” says SSG Kosgei. “You’ll always find time. As a regular medic, and even now as a WCAP [athlete], I keep up with my MOS to stay competitive. It’s challenging but I use those challenges to make me better and make me more resilient in what I do.”
“Life is pretty unpredictable,” agrees SGT Kurgat, “and you have to have what it takes when life doesn’t give you what you expect. Resilience is one of the tools you are able to use during those times. Through training, your body goes through a lot of breakdowns…and those are some of the setbacks that enable resiliency.”
By visiting local schools, talking to students, and participating in local track practices, they hope to inspire the next generation to consider how they can “Be All You Can Be”, both inside and out of the U.S. Army.
“My purpose is to serve people,” says SGT Kurgat, “and the military has given me that platform, [one] where I can influence the world.
“Running is part of me,” says SSG Kosgei. “[It] got me into the Army and opened more opportunities for me in the Army and to pursue the dream of becoming an Olympian.”
As WCAP Soldiers they desire to be positive role models, to motivate their fellow Soldiers, and to give Americans another reason to get excited about the Army.
| Date Taken: | 04.15.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.15.2025 15:22 |
| Story ID: | 495380 |
| Location: | LANSING, MICHIGAN, US |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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