Meet the soldiers training for a medal

Here we profile two soldier-athletes who pursue their competitive dreams while serving and advancing their careers as active-duty soldiers, day in and day out.

Sergeant Colett Rampf Cribbs: Army radiologist and steeplechase runner

If there’s one thing Sergeant Colett Rampf Cribbs learned in college and the military, it’s that you never know where life will take you. You might start with a path in mind, only to realize that the road you’re on is winding and thousands of miles long, with some barriers and obstacles, literally.

Sergeant Colett Rampf Cribbs

Originally from Germany, Rampf Cribbs came to the United States in 2014 on a student visa to pursue a college degree and play soccer. As a freshman at a Florida university, she did just that. But when the track team needed more runners, she decided to give it a try. She was good at long distances, but most of the track events on offer seemed “pretty boring” (in her words), so she chose an event she’d never heard of before: the 3,000-meter steeplechase, an event in which runners race over 28 hurdles and seven water jumps.

“The track coach said, ‘We have this thing where you run and jump over barriers,’” Rampf Cribbs recalls. “And I said, ‘Yeah, that sounds like more fun, instead of just running around in circles.’ That’s how I got into steeplechase. It’s very random,” she laughs.

It’s safe to say that his risky decision paid off. Competing in numerous track and cross-country events over the next three years, Rampf Cribbs became a seven-time college All-American.

After graduation, she joined the Army in 2020, following in the footsteps of her husband, who had already been serving for 10 years. Rampf Cribbs began working as a 68P radiology specialist after completing basic training and quickly discovered that she enjoyed the structure of the Army lifestyle and the team atmosphere.

Two years later, while stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado, Rampf Cribbs was again recruited to be a runner. Her chain of command, knowing of her athletic background, nominated her for an Army 10-mile race, and she finished first. On the heels of her victory, she was introduced to WCAP as an opportunity to develop her running skills.

Rampf Cribbs officially joined WCAP in late 2023, with the goal of competing against the world’s best steeplechase runners. She was quickly impressed by the resources provided, access to dedicated facilities and expert coaching. While she appreciated the support and the opportunity to focus on her sport, Rampf Cribbs always considered herself a soldier before she was an athlete.

“You join the military knowing that at any moment you could be called to serve,” she said. “To me, being a soldier is always more important than being an athlete. That’s why I joined the military. In the WCAP program, you’re more of an athlete in terms of the day-to-day structure, but you’re still held to the same standards as a regular soldier.”

The Army offers Rampf Cribbs the opportunity to pursue two dreams at once: to become a world champion athlete and attend Army Officer Training School to become an officer and have the opportunity to serve in a military leadership role. “It’s a unique opportunity for me to be able to compete representing the United States,” she said. “It’s even more unique to do it while serving the country. But I definitely want to make the Army a career after I finish competing. I always try to focus not only on being an athlete, but also on advancing my military career.”

At the U.S. trials in June, Rampf Cribbs ran the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9 minutes, 51.67 seconds, putting her out of reach of qualifying for Paris. “Not many professional athletes, in any sport, can do both: be a professional athlete and be a soldier. Of course, that has its challenges, but I think that makes this experience even more special for me.”

Sergeant Benard Keter: Army supply specialist and track star

For U.S. Army Sergeant Benard Keter, America has been a land of opportunities he never imagined. A talented distance runner raised in Kenya, the epicenter of distance running, he came to the United States more than a decade ago on a college scholarship for track and cross country.

Sergeant Benard Keter

Kenyans competing in American college races is not new. It has been happening for decades. So Keter could have predicted this outcome himself. What he didn’t see coming were the opportunities he would discover beyond college, particularly in the military and as an elite athlete competing for the United States. “There’s more (opportunities) here than I thought — more than just coming here, a good college, getting my degree,” he says.

When he was a student, the Army needed linguists — one of several military jobs that can earn bonuses and other benefits — and accepted qualified noncitizens for the jobs. Keter was fluent in Swahili and English, so he was able to demonstrate his fluency and enlisted in the Army in 2016 as a reserve soldier while still in college. “Coming from Kenya, it was tough. Life was tough there,” he says. “I was really interested in the opportunity to be a linguist, so I thought, if I could do it in the Army, that would be great.”

After two years of service in the Army Reserve, Keter found another opportunity through an invitation to WCAP. Like Rampf Cribbs, his biggest event as a runner is the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and he met the WCAP qualifying standard in his second race. Since then, he has been able to train at Fort Carson in Colorado with other runners, logging up to 100 miles per week, all while fulfilling his duties as a supply specialist for Unit 92Y.

“I always have military obligations before or after training, so good time management helps me a lot,” he says. “When you get up in the morning to go running, you get up like a soldier knowing there’s a task to be done, while dedicating yourself to the effort like an athlete.”

Keter’s goal was to compete in Paris this year. He’s reached this level of international competition before, but this time it would have been more meaningful. (He finished in the top 10 at this year’s trials but didn’t make the team.) His best international finish to date was an 11th-place finish at the 2021 Games in Tokyo, but that was during the pandemic, without spectators. In 2024, he hoped to improve on his ranking by running in front of deafening crowds and friends and family, including his 1-year-old son. Although he didn’t make the team, Keter is aware and proud of how far he’s come. “Coming from a small country like Kenya, I’m blessed to have this opportunity,” he says. “Putting on the uniform, being a dad and being able to represent the country with ‘USA’ on your chest … it’s special.”

As a Soldier and world-class runner, Keter is proof of the Army’s motto, “Be all you can be.” “I’m living the American dream: going to college, joining the Army, running track,” he says. “Being in the Army with the support of the World Class Athlete program has given me the opportunity to push myself and become a better version of myself.”

Learn more about unexpected service opportunities at GoArmy.com.