Challenges accepted
Ex army driver to tackle three sports at Invictus Games
When Ainsley Hooker was growing up, she never dreamt she would one day be an athlete representing Australia on the world stage.
But this September she will do exactly that when she flies to Dusseldorf, Germany, to compete in track and field events, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby at the Invictus Games.
The former army truck driver had her right leg amputated below the knee after a devastating ankle injury during her time in service.
“I tore all the ligaments, and needed to have them reattached but things didn’t go so well,” Hooker said.
“There were a lot of complications and then a couple of surgeries later it was dying.
“I tried to keep the foot for as long as I could, but when 14 surgeons turned me down as too high risk, too complicated to try anything, I had a lovely surgeon here in Townsville who said my only option was amputation.”
Hooker debated the pros and cons for another couple of years before going through with the procedure that would start her journey to the Invictus Games.
Then the Townsville mum found out about a James Cook University (JCU) program helping veterans overcome adversity and thrive mentally and physically.
The brainchild of JCU Lecturer in Exercise Physiology and Army veteran Brian Heilbronn, the Veterans Physical Activity and Sports Performance Program offered general health and performance testing, individualised training programs, one-on-one training sessions, and access to state-of-the-art training facilities at the University’s Per
formance Science Hub in Townsville.
“After my amputation, I was feeling embarrassed. I didn’t know how people would accept it or how I’d feel about it in public,” Hooker said.
“My husband heard about the program on the radio and said I needed to do this. He’s been my big push.
“Just having that set time with the students and Brian every week to get in there and just work out has been amazing.”
A former coach for Australian Invictus Games teams himself, Heilbronn said he looked forward to giving Hooker some valuable guidance ahead of the event later this year.
“Ainsley is a great athlete and very grounded so I think she is already very prepared for what the Games will throw at her,” Heilbronn said.
“We will probably have a couple of chats about how to approach a couple of things, but I am 100 per cent confident she will smash it over there.”