Adam Popp

Adam is a 12-year combat veteran of the Air Force with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team leader. In 2007, while working to disarm a roadside bomb (IED) in Afghanistan, Adam was injured by a secondary IED resulting in the amputation of his right leg above the knee.

In the years following his injury, Adam endeavored to find meaning and purpose. Ultimately, he found that running, sports, and advocacy work was his path to fulfillment and self-actualization.

In December 2016, eight years after losing his leg and a year and a half after his first run as an amputee, Adam became the first above-knee amputee to complete a 100-mile ultramarathon within the 30-hour cutoff. He later lowered his 100-mile trail time to 18hrs 52min 11sec at the 2021 Tunnel Hill 100-miler. He placed 2nd at the 2021 Boston Marathon’s inaugural Para Elite division (T61-64), running a world best time for the T63 category of 3h13m25s. In 2017, Adam was the first-ever amputee to complete the JFK 50-miler (also known as America's Oldest Ultramarathon and the World's Oldest Annually Run Footrace) and has five consecutive finishes at this race. Adam is not only first, but sometimes he’s also fastest: in 2019 he set the men’s course record for the trail marathon at the Colorado Kickers for Kids Endurance Run and came in first overall against able-bodied athletes.

In search of more challenges, Adam began competing in Paratriathlon in 2016. In his short Paratriathlon career, Adam has racked up nine podium finishes in fifteen races on the World Triathlon stage, including wins at the 2021 and 2022 Americas Triathlon Championships and the 2018 International Triathlon Union (ITU) Paratriathlon World Cup in Sarasota, Florida. In 2019, Adam finished 5th overall in the ITU Paratriathlon World Championship in Lausanne, Switzerland.

These accomplishments would not have been possible without countless mentors and organizations along the way. During the 18 months in which Adam was recovering from his injuries, he was able to meet and learn from others recovering from a wide range of traumatic injuries and individual challenges. He saw the myriad ways that people handled the process of recovery, many using sport to not only overcome their new adversity, but to rise to a higher level of functioning in the aftermath of trauma. Adam learned, above all, just how instrumental mentors are in this process. By the end of his stay at Walter Reed Medical Center, he made a pledge to himself that he would utilize his experience, understanding, and compassion to help others overcome their individual physical and emotional challenges to reach their maximum potential.

To that end, in his life outside of sports, Adam completed a master’s degree in Rehabilitation and Clinical Counseling from George Washington University and a second master’s degree in Sport & Performance Psychology from the University of Denver. He has served on the Board of Directors of the EOD Warrior Foundation for the past 13 years, and on the VA Veterans' Advisory Committee on Rehabilitation for the past three years. He is a certified peer-mentor and peer-mentor trainer through the Amputee Coalition of America and assists amputees and other individuals with disabilities to successfully pursue athletic and other personal endeavors. Additionally, he was featured in Alive, a documentary featuring veterans who have turned to athletics to heal both physically and emotionally from their battle wounds. He has given numerous presentations and speeches on using sport and other innovative wellness interventions to improve mental health, including among others: the 2022 Association for Applied Sport Psychology Southwest Regional Conference, the 2018 American Counseling Association National Conference, the 2017 Maryland Counseling Association Conference, guest speaker at the 56th Annual JFK 50-Mile Legends dinner, and the 2019 keynote speaker for the Hagerstown True Grit Awards (which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated the ability to overcome hardship to become or remain a member of an athletic team).

Adam currently lives and trains in Golden, Colorado, with his wife Amanda and their son.