Four Alberta athletes to compete during Invictus Games in Toronto
The Invictus Games flag stopped at CFB Edmonton Thursday as Canada prepares to host 550 wounded warriors who will compete against each other in 12 adaptive sports. The Games, which started in London in 2014, will feature ill, injured and wounded servicemen and servicewomen competing under the banners of 17 nations.
The games will take place in Toronto from Sept. 23 to 30. Leading up to the Games, the Invictus flag is touring the country.
It will visit 22 Canadian Forces bases, 15 Legions and more than 50 communities from coast to coast.
“I hope it’s going to raise awareness for what we’re doing in Toronto in September,” said Sgt. Lorne Ford, who served as one of the local flag-bearers along with Master Cpl. Joel Gagne.
Ford is competing in the Games as part of Team Canada.
“I feel very honoured that I’m one of the 90 (Canadian) athletes that are competing,” he said. “I had grown up playing sports my whole life, so it was a big part of what I did in my off-time before I got hurt.”
In 2002, in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan, four members of the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry were killed and eight members — including Ford — were injured.
The Canadian Armed Forces’ Soldier On program helped prepare Team Canada for the Games. The program helps active members and veterans overcome physical or mental illness or injuries through physical activity and sport.
“It’s to help them get through the dark times that they’re going through but to remain active through sport, through competition,” Ford said.
Toronto Invictus Games chief marketing officer Steve Wallace said he’s excited to share the stories of the soldiers and veterans competing with the world.
“These stories are phenomenal,” he said. “They are heart-wrenching, they are stories of people overcoming obstacles, of sharing, and really reconnecting.”
Ford said the shared experiences of those competing in the Games creates a great sense of camaraderie among the athletes.