London. (News of The South) – Prince Harry on Monday welcomed the Team Captains of the 13 nations taking part in the Invictus Games to London.
The international sports event for ‘wounded warriors’, presented by Jaguar Land Rover, is just days away with limited last-minute tickets available at www.invictusgames.org
They received a guard of honour from some of the 130-strong British Armed Forces team at their central London hotel before the Team Captains kept a Royal appointment this morning. Prince Harry set aside his home support to wish them and their teams the best of luck.
Extending the welcome on behalf of the home nation was British Armed Forces Team Captain Dave Henson. The 29-year-old former Royal Engineers Captain from Southampton was clearing a compound in Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2011 when he stood on an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) and lost both legs at the knee. On Thursday he goes for Gold in the 100m and 200m at Lee Valley Athletics Centre before taking his place on the Sitting Volleyball Court in the Copper Box Arena, at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP), on Sunday.
Dave Henson, who shares a 30th birthday with Prince Harry the day after the Closing Concert, says: “There’s a whole international community of ‘brothers in arms’ who refuse to be beaten by their injuries and we want to show people what we can do. The unique thing about the Invictus Games is that we’ve got guys and girls from 13 nations doing just that and it’s great they’re now here and ready to go. There are some familiar faces but most of us are meeting for the first time. There’s already been some friendly banter; the competition is well and truly on!”
Henson’s US counterpart is Sergeant Major Chris Self. The 47-year-old from Clarksville, Tennessee was serving with the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Baghdad on his third tour of Iraq when, three days after Christmas 2005, he was shot in both legs. Nerve damage caused the loss of function of his right foot and he later chose to have his lower leg amputated. He returned to active duty and made a further two tours of Iraq before retiring in 2013 after a 27-year Army career. He hopes to kick-start a US medal-haul when he competes in the 1500m at Lee Valley Athletics Centre on Thursday ahead of Road Cycling at the Lee Valley VeloPark on QEOP this Saturday.
Sergeant Major Chris Self, Captain of the US Armed Forces team, says: “Prince Harry has been the driving force behind this so it was awesome to meet him today. He wished us all the best of luck, so I hope he doesn’t mind too much when we take plenty of medals back with us! There’s a real buzz now; it’s great to finally be here in this amazing city and to weigh-up the competition. We can’t wait for the chance to take on the Brits and others on the global stage that hosted the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
The US is one of the home nation’s biggest rivals. Not only do they too have 100+ competitors in action but it was during a visit last year to the ‘Warrior Games’, a domestic event on a Colorado military compound, that Prince Harry decided to bring the concept of a sports contest for wounded, injured and sick Service personnel to the UK.
The Army Captain has since teased he “stole the idea from the Americans” and is doing it “bigger and better”.
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