This weekend wraps up the 2018 iteration of one of the world's most powerful annual displays of the unbreakable human spirit known as the Invictus games.
During this international event, wounded military members compete in various competitions, using the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for those who serve their country.
There is nothing “broken” about the military athletes taking part in the Invictus Games in Sydney, said Jane Horton, a senior advisor to the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
Horton was a member of the presidential delegation to the Invictus Games, which was led by Army Secretary Mark T. Esper. The other members of the delegation were Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; James Carouso, chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Australia; and Jacquelyn Hayes-Byrd, acting assistant secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The competitors are service members who have suffered wounds or debilitating illnesses as a result of their military service. They come together to test themselves against each other.
Invictus is Latin for Unconquered, and the athletes at the games take that very seriously, Horton said. “These athletes do not consider themselves broken, and I think they resent it when people say that about them,” Horton said. “I consider them empowered. I would say they have been through the worst that life could bring them and they are showing they are still the strongest people. They have earned the title of warrior and they are showing the world their strength through these games.”
Esper said competitors are the epitome of post-traumatic growth.
“These men and women have learned from their experiences and grown from them,” Horton said. “These warriors do not feel sorry for themselves, they continue to move ahead and test their boundaries.”
Prince Harry, a former captain in the British army, founded the Invictus Games in 2014, and remains the patron of the Invictus Games Foundation. The first games were in London, the second in Orlando, Florida, and the third in Toronto. The 2020 Invictus Games will be in the Netherlands.
The U.S. team’s 71 members competed alongside athletes from 17 other countries: Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
All told, more than 500 athletes participated in the games, which were held Oct. 20-27.