SALUTE

This past week, October 20-27, the Invictus Games took place in Sydney Australia. For those of you who don’t know what this event is, the games are an international multi-sport contest, created by the United Kingdom’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, in which wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and veterans take part in sports including wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, and indoor rowing.









Inspired by the Warrior Games in the United States, athletes from 18 countries compete in 11 sports over a period of eight days. While every single athlete is nothing short of inspiring, a display of good-sportsmanship and fraternal camaraderie stole the show this year.

During his tennis doubles match at the Sydney Olympic Park on Monday, October 23, British mine warfare specialist Paul Guest was visibly shaken when a helicopter flew overhead. The 54-year-old, who has suffered from PTSD since being wounded while on duty with the British army in 1987 shut down mid-match. It didn’t take long, however, for his Dutch teammate, Edwin Vermetten, to comfort Guest, in an exchange that left some spectators in tears.









According to the BBC, Vermetten said he helped calm his teammate by recalling the Disney film, Frozen. “I took him by the face and said: ‘Look at me. We are a team so let it go,'” he said, according to a post on the Games’ website. After the exchange, both players returned to the court claiming victory in their match.

The Daily Mail noted that Guest served in Northern Ireland for the British Armed Forces before ultimately suffering injuries to his neck and spine while on duty in 1987. “Following his medical discharge, the former Navy servicemen has attempted suicide four times and has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder” as mentioned above. In an article from the Clacton Gazzete in August of 2017, Guest was quoted as saying “the Invictus Games has given me something to aim for. Pulling on the Invictus Games uniform is like pulling on my Navy uniform. I feel part of a team again like I belong. I’m proud to be representing my country once again.”









We salute Paul Guest who serves as a visible reminder that PTSD impacts so many of those around us, and we thank him for his will to compete and find hope after such a tumultuous past. We also salute his Dutch teammate, Edwin Vermetten, who put the wellbeing of another person, from another country, above the competition. It’s an inspiring story from two men overseas.

Speaking of the Netherlands, the fifth Invictus Games will be held in May 2020 and will be hosted in The Hague. According to the website, The Invictus Games The Hague 2020, will bring together over 500 competitors from 19 nations to compete in a series of adaptive sports. Events will be held across the city over the course of a week, with further details to be announced later this year.

For more information about Invictus Games The Hague 2020, please visit: www.invictusgames2020.nl