The Invictus Games are set to kick off in Vancouver and Whistler on Saturday, and of the greater than 20 nations participating, there’s little doubt the prospect to compete means essentially the most to the one country currently at war.
The multi-sport tournament draws athletes who’re wounded, injured or sick military service personnel, each serving and veterans.
A few of those athletes, like Illia Haiduk, hail from Ukraine, which has been at energetic war since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
“It’s very great point to me,” Haiduk said of the games.
“I just don’t feel like I’m injured, like I’ve got some problems. I just live my life like I did before. It’s a really great project, this Invictus.”
Haiduk, who walks with a prosthetic after having his leg amputated, is competing in skiing, skeleton, rowing and wheelchair basketball.
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It’s a far cry from his former life.
The 34-year-old served as a police officer for greater than six years before the war, when he decided to enroll with the military to defend his country.
In the military, he served as a battle drone operator, flying UAVs armed with as much as a kilogram of explosives against enemy troops and tanks, and rising to the rank of unit commander.
That every one modified in October 2023, while he was away from the front lines.
“I used to be injured during a ceremony that gathered many soldiers, men and girls who had performed their duties, courage and dedication to guard our country,” he said.
“An enemy drone saw military units there… After they saw us, they sent an Iskander missile… A number of my fellow brothers died today.”
Haiduk lost a part of his leg to shrapnel within the attack and faced a protracted recovery afterward.
“Greater than eight months I used to be with no prosthetic. It was like operations possibly every month,” he said.
But during his recovery, he began to get into athletics.
It was there he tapped right into a community of veterans that he said helped him in immeasurable ways.
“If you find yourself training with other guys which have such injuries, which have the identical problems, it’s very motivational,” he said.
Now, in Canada for the primary time, he says he’s excited to represent his country and to explore the terrain.
“Probably the most I like is skiing. I’m so fall in love with this sport. Downhill skiing on one ski and one leg and two outriggers,” he said.
“Such great hills, great weather, great mountains. It’s very beautiful.”
Team Ukraine has 24 athletes on this yr’s games, which have attracted greater than 500 participants from around the globe.
“I stand here because I survived,” Haiduk said. “But I even have a responsibility to those that have their stories but can’t speak today.”
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