Alexander Colle | Sports Editor
Featured Image: Prince Harry with medal winners Sabrina Daulaus (left), Sarah Rudder (center), and Christy Wise (right) at York. | Courtesy of Dan Pearce
York was given the royal treatment last Sunday afternoon, as Prince Harry visited campus to hand out medals to Invictus Games athletics competitors at the York Lions Stadium.
550 athletes from 17 nations visited Toronto for the international event for wounded, ill, and injured servicemen and servicewomen, both those currently serving and veterans. Created by Prince Harry in 2014, the purpose of the games are to “use the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation, and generate a wider understanding of and respect for those who serve their country,” according to their website.
With Harry, thousands of supporters were on hand in the Stadium cheering on the athletes, braving the uncommonly intense September heat. The events for the two-day span included a 100-metre, 200-metre, 400-metre, 1,500-metre, and four-by-100-metre track; shot put; and discus.
Along with awarding medals and cheering on the competition, Prince Harry also visited each athlete in York’s Track & Field Centre during training and warm-ups.
The night prior, Prince Harry applauded the athletes during the opening ceremonies in a packed Air Canada Centre.
“In a world where so many have reasons to feel cynical and apathetic,” spoke Prince Harry during the ceremony, “I wanted to find a way for veterans to be a beacon of light, and show us all that we have a role to play.”
Prince Harry recalled his time in Afghanistan in 2008 while on deployment, and how on a flight he saw multiple British soldiers in medically induced comas, missing multiple limbs from battle.
It was in 2013 during his visit to Colorado’s Warrior Games, a multi-sport event for wounded, injured, or ill service personnel and veterans organized by the United States Department of Defence, that Harry discovered the inspirational healing powers that sport had on the veterans’ physical, psychological, and social health.
“That’s why we created Invictus. Not only to help veterans recover from their physical and mental wounds, but also to inspire people, to follow their example of resilience, optimism, and service in their own lives.”
The games ended on Saturday night in the same place it began—a crowded Air Canada Centre, filled with thousands of fans, hundreds of coaches, and 550 proud athletes. However, this time around, there was a major difference in comparison to one week prior: a community of people that were one step closer to rehabilitation.
