Three of Nottinghamshire’s medallists at the Invictus Games have told how they all overcame injury and found the mental strength to succeed outside of life in the forces.
The games are a paralympic-style event created by Prince Harry for wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel.
Earlier this year more than 100 athletes from Great Britain – including several from Notts – took part in the 2016 edition of the event in Orlando, Florida.
And there was gold for Michael Westwell, a Nottingham PE teacher and former RAF weapons systems operator, who won the time trial cycling event.
There was also success for Mansfield’s Luke Wigman, who won a gold medal in the 1500m and Beeston’s Gareth Patterson, who achieved novice recurve gold in archery.
All three appeared on the July 27 edition Notts TV’s Sports Week, where they explained how sport has helped them rebuild their lives after serious injuries.
Michael was injured in 2006 on a flying operation in Afghanistan, suffering a neck injury which paralysed his left arm.
“Cycling was always something I loved and sport has always been something that I love,” he said.
“It gives you something to focus on – in a morning when it’s pouring down with rain I can just get out on my bike and I’ve got no restrictions – I’ve found I can just melt away and just cycle to my heart’s content.”
Gareth, who has a rheumatological condition which causes his spine to fuse together, is a former soldier-turned champion archer.
He said: “I went from being a fit and healthy soldier to having something which caused me to be laid up – being able to go out and train just by myself and concentrate on the sport itself, is just so relieving because I forget about everything that has happened.”
Luke is a former RAF man and now a paramedic for East Midlands Ambulance Service, and was injured in 2011 when he stepped on an explosive device in Afghanistan and badly damaged a leg.
He said: “I’ve always been in to running and wanted to get back in to it. It gives you something to get up for an focus on.
“I trained hard and worked towards it. It ended up as the perfect race for me.”
For more on Nottinghamshire’s success at the Invictus Games, watch Sports Week tonight (July 27) from 7.30pm on Notts TV.
