Prince Harry has handed out awards to the first medal winners at the Invictus Games, and it’s clear to see that being given an opportunity to represent their country has had a profound effect on its competitors.
The Invictus Games were founded by Prince Harry, and are recognised as the world’s biggest international adaptive sporting event for wounded, ill and injured servicemen.
The first event of the Games was the driving challenge, in which teams from 13 nations tackled an off-road and agility driving challenge, completing two time-trials in both a Land Rover Discovery and Jaguar F-TYPE SVR.
Prince Harry joined the finalists at the specially-constructed driving course as they contended for the medals and then presented them with their medals.
The team from The Netherlands took gold, the UK team came second and Denmark claimed the bronze.
Prince Harry with girlfriend Meghan Markle at the Invictus Games.
The teams’ pride in representing their country was clear when they shared their stories on camera:
“This past year was kind of rough on me with depression and things of that nature so the Invictus Games gave me a sense of hope,” shares a member of the United States driving team.
“Being able to represent the country again, after being medically discharged, I thought I’d never get that feeling back, that brotherhood” says an Australian driving challenge team member.
“I never ever thought I’d be involved in anything as awesome as this, especially after being sick. It’s just helped so much and changed so much in my life,” says Paulette Doctor from the New Zealand driving team – who also points out that her team is the only all-female team.
Yesterday photos of Prince Harry attending the Games with girlfriend Meghan Markle went viral – as the pair happily laughed and chatted together amongst the crowd of spectators.
The Invictus Games, of which Prince Harry is also a patron, are on until 30 September.
