Sixteen Naval Service sportsmen and women have been named in the UK team for the Invictus Games taking place in Florida next month.
Patron of the games, Prince Harry, joined nearly all of the 110 athletes selected for the second Paralympics-style sporting spectacle at Buckingham Palace today.
Former Royal Navy Leading Hand Gemma Dacey, who is in the archery team, suffers from back and leg pain as a result of complex regional pain syndrome, which developed from an ankle injury.
She is in constant pain which often leaves her unable to walk. She also faces a daily battle against hidden wounds; anxiety and depression.
She said: “When participating in archery, I become a totally different person. I am confident and liberated.
“It unscrambles my brain and allows me to focus on the person I used to be before getting injured.”
Former Royal Marines Lance Corporal Joseph Humphrey, who lost the lower part of his left leg following an injury in Afghanistan, and will compete in powerlifting, rowing and cycling, said: “The Invictus Games will give me a goal to train for, keep me out of my comfort zone and give me extra focus.
“Most importantly, it will make me a better athlete and hopefully inspire others to continue pushing their limits.”
The team also includes Royal Marine Fergus Hurst, Petty Officer Sean Gaffney, Lance Corporal Jon Flint, Chief Petty Officer Sarah Claricoates, Lt Col Mark Bowers, Mne Sam Stocks, Major Brian Usher, Corporal Paul Vice, Lt Kirsty Wallace, RN Senior Nursing officer Susan Warner, former Sub Lt Zoe Williams, Royal Marines veterans Alexander Krol, Alan Le Sueur and Chris Macfayden.
More than 180 personnel and veterans tried out for one of the places available on the UK team, which will be skippered by former Army captain David Wiseman, injured in Afghanistan in 2009.
He said: “I think the Invictus Games is a shining example of what this community can achieve, a group of individuals from around the world coming together in order to show everyone that beyond injury, they can achieve the extraordinary.”
The Invictus Games, which take place from May 8-12, will see the UK team compete in ten sports: athletics, archery wheelchair basketball, road cycling, powerlifting, indoor rowing, wheelchair rugby, swimming, sitting volleyball, and a new sport for 2016, wheelchair tennis.
The team launch also marked the official handover of the Invictus Games flag from Prince Harry to US team captain, Will Reynolds, signifying the handover from London to Orlando.
