A roaring crowd cheered on as Team Australia claimed victory in the wheelchair rugby tournament at the Invictus Games Sydney 2018 presented by Jaguar Land Rover:
“This team never gives up. And that joy that you get from it, that’s why we do it and that’s what it’s all about. I had cycling on day one and I didn’t get a medal. I didn’t get sad about it because I gave as much as I had.”
Cavell Simmonds, Canadian competitor and oldest competitor at Invictus Games Sydney 2018:
”The Games just make me feel alive. PTSD can be really isolating. At the Invictus Games you are among like-minded people and they can identify with you. The cruelty of war is unimaginable.”
Kelly Naughton, Community Engagement Coordinator at Beyond Blue:
“Kids have more of a grasp of self-care than adults at times.”
Elle Holtham, Partnerships Manager at Beyond Blue:
“It’s a really good point that sometimes, what we would do for others, we don’t do for ourselves.”
Padre Darren O’Callaghan, NZ competitor and one of the people who was instrumental in composing New Zealand’s Invictus Games-themed Haka.
“When I first heard about the Invictus Games I wasn’t sure what that spirit meant. But when you get here you really understand it. My head is bloodied but it’s unbowed’. It means, we’ve gone through our adversities, but our heads are not bowed because of them.”
Aaron Boulanger, Canadian competitor:
“I just figured it would be a challenge and it would be fun to learn to do it with no vision. And just the reaction I get when I tell people I’ve entered archery in the Invictus Games.”
Jason Robinson, English fullback:
“In rugby we used to talk about going into battle before our matches, but after my experience with the Invictus Games, I don’t feel justified to say that every again.”
Ryan Major, USA competitor:
“Sport motivated me to better myself, get stronger and regain my health. Mental Health is the toughest to regain and yet it is the most important and it underpins everything I do.”
Doru Hamzu, Romanian competitor on Romania’s Armed Forces Day:
“We know that with Invictus happening on this day, we can inspire the civilian boy and old men at home. They see what we are doing here and if we can do that, then they can do more and be better.”