This year the co-captain for the Invictus Games held in Vancouver was retired Army Master Sgt. Ivan Morera, a recovering Green Beret who lost his hand during combat operations in Afghanistan.
The Invictus Games features adaptive sports in which active duty service members and veterans who are injured, recovering, or ill are able to participate. Invictus was founded in 2013 by Prince Harry, inspired by his own military service and by the American Warrior Games. He set out to create an international version, which became known as Invictus.
Morera lost his left hand when a suicide bomber caused his vehicle to crash in Afghanistan in August of 2013. He recovered and returned to work as the first one-handed medic in the Army. This year Morera will compete in the skeleton, the biathlon, and seated volleyball. The skeleton is a downhill winter sled event, similar to the loge in the Olympics, but the skeleton has the participant facing head first.
This winter he co-captained the U.S. team with retired Air Force Col. Jacquelyn Marty. Marty suffered from a terrible car accident in 2015 which afflicted her with a traumatic brain injury. This February Marty will compete in Alpine ski, skeleton, indoor rowing, and swimming.
"It’s an absolute honor for me to represent my country. Whether as a Green Beret or an adaptive military athlete, it’s an absolute honor," Morera said in a recent Army press release.
Marty spoke about how important the Invictus Games have become to her, saying, "It seems like society is telling you all these things you can no longer do, but here are adaptive sports that show you what you can do! It’s a completely new take on everything and extremely liberating."