Prince Harry meets athletes ahead of Games
TORONTO Wounded soldiers from several countries shook hands, conversed and shared a laugh with Prince Harry on Friday as the royal readied to launch the Invictus Games in Toronto this weekend.
The Games, a multi-sport event for injured and sick soldiers, including current and veteran members of the forces, run until Sept. 30 and are being hosted in Canada for the first time.
Harry founded the Games in 2014 as a way to inspire and motivate wounded soldiers on their paths to recovery. For participants training at a Toronto arena on the eve of the event, the royal’s approach appears to be working.
“We’re using the Games to get out of dark holes and back into life — and without Harry, we wouldn’t be here having fun and enjoying the camaraderie, which is what you miss from the army days,” said Charlie Walker, a coach of the United Kingdom’s sitting volleyball team.
Walker, who was with the British army’s bomb disposal unit, lost both his feet after contracting meningitis. He got a chance to have a solo chat with Harry for five minutes on Friday.
They spoke about the team, the sport, the Games, and how Walker was doing, he said.
Nearby, Canadian athlete Gaetan Lortie made eye contact with the prince as he walked through the sports centre. The two nodded at each other briefly, he said.
Lortie, a veteran of the Canadian Forces and a retired civil servant with the Department of National Defence, came to the court early to catch a glimpse of the royal.
“These games got me going again, got me active,” said Lortie, who is also competing in swimming.
He has had major surgeries on both knees, has trouble with his hearing and struggles emotionally at times.
“I think the Games give us the opportunity to push ourselves, to prove to ourselves we are still capable, still able people,” Lortie said.
As Harry moved between groups of athletes training for various sports, he stopped at one point by a pool, beside Poppy Pawsey, a swimmer from the United Kingdom. The royal leaned over to watch her leap off the blocks into the pool and applauded after her dive.