Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, are back in Whistler, B.C., this morning at the Invictus Games training camp.
The Games will be the first to feature alpine skiing, nordic skiing, skeleton and wheelchair curling, but it will also host indoor rowing, sitting volleyball, swimming, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball events as it has previously.
The prince, who founded the Games for wounded, injured or sick service personnel and veterans about a decade ago, met with athletes on Whistler mountain Wednesday, some of whom were trying the winter sports for the first time.
American Ivan Morera, a single-arm amputee who was wounded in a combat zone in Afghanistan, says he is “very appreciative” to the prince for creating the Games and giving service members an opportunity to find purpose after injury.
He previously competed in rowing, seated volleyball, archery and field sports at the 2023 Games in Germany, which he says was an “incredible” experience.
Though Morera still serves as an active-duty medic, he says he is attending the training camp this week with plans to compete next year in skeleton, nordic skiing and the biathlon.
“I’m continuously recovering from this injury, maybe not physically, but emotionally, mentally,” he said in an interview. “A big catastrophic event like that affects you, so adaptive sports is my way of dealing with that.”
Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 will host about 500 competitors from 23 nations from Feb. 8 to 16, 2025.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2024.
The Canadian Press
