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-You must be proud of this. -I'm hugely proud of it. | 0:00:02 | 0:00:06 | |
You know, it's a massive team effort. | 0:00:06 | 0:00:08 | |
The second Invictus Games coming up, | 0:00:08 | 0:00:10 | |
a lot of ex-military personnel taking part, | 0:00:10 | 0:00:14 | |
it's very clear when I see you with the military guys | 0:00:14 | 0:00:16 | |
that there's a very special bond there. | 0:00:16 | 0:00:18 | |
I've always viewed myself as Captain Wales first, Prince Harry second. | 0:00:18 | 0:00:22 | |
I spent ten years in the Army, wearing the same uniform | 0:00:22 | 0:00:24 | |
as these guys, as far as they're concerned, I'm one of them. | 0:00:24 | 0:00:27 | |
You share something, you share something very unique. | 0:00:27 | 0:00:30 | |
Some people come to the end of their service, | 0:00:30 | 0:00:32 | |
-like, you got to choose that you were actually moving on... -Yes. | 0:00:32 | 0:00:35 | |
..and so you had some time to prepare, but not everybody does. | 0:00:35 | 0:00:38 | |
They get sort of ripped from that service and | 0:00:38 | 0:00:40 | |
that's incredibly difficult for them to come to terms with, isn't it? | 0:00:40 | 0:00:44 | |
It is really difficult to be cut down literally in your prime. | 0:00:44 | 0:00:48 | |
Now you're being told you can't serve your country, you can't | 0:00:48 | 0:00:51 | |
do the career that you love, and you can't be with your mates. | 0:00:51 | 0:00:53 | |
Where does that leave anybody? | 0:00:53 | 0:00:55 | |
You are an individual that has chosen to serve your country, | 0:00:55 | 0:00:58 | |
that to me makes you worthy of being part of | 0:00:58 | 0:01:01 | |
something as amazing as the Invictus Games. | 0:01:01 | 0:01:03 | |
Invictus is... It's an opportunity for me to give something back. | 0:01:04 | 0:01:09 | |
This is the story of five ex-soldiers. | 0:01:12 | 0:01:15 | |
Each one has lost something. | 0:01:15 | 0:01:18 | |
For some that may be a limb, | 0:01:18 | 0:01:20 | |
for others it's their peace of mind or self-worth. | 0:01:20 | 0:01:24 | |
It's affected all of us, the whole family. | 0:01:24 | 0:01:26 | |
But what they haven't lost is their fighting spirit. | 0:01:27 | 0:01:30 | |
I want to win, I want to win gold. | 0:01:30 | 0:01:32 | |
Now their fight is for a place at this year's Games in Orlando. | 0:01:32 | 0:01:37 | |
The road will be tough, with highs... | 0:01:37 | 0:01:41 | |
and lows... | 0:01:41 | 0:01:42 | |
Oh, it's still fresh in my eyes. | 0:01:42 | 0:01:44 | |
..as they push themselves to the limit... | 0:01:44 | 0:01:47 | |
If you really want this, you've got to work hard! | 0:01:47 | 0:01:49 | |
..to prove they have what it takes to represent their country | 0:01:49 | 0:01:52 | |
at the Invictus Games. | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
-TV COMMENTATOR: -'Now, entering the square, the British Armed Forces!' | 0:02:09 | 0:02:13 | |
This was a laugh. | 0:02:13 | 0:02:15 | |
It's been well over a year since the last Invictus Games | 0:02:15 | 0:02:18 | |
and Prince Harry is meeting up with some of the champions of 2014. | 0:02:18 | 0:02:23 | |
Look at you in rig! I didn't know you own a uniform. | 0:02:23 | 0:02:26 | |
Don't try and drag me into it. | 0:02:26 | 0:02:27 | |
-What is that in your head? -What a hat! | 0:02:27 | 0:02:29 | |
THEY ALL LAUGH | 0:02:29 | 0:02:32 | |
This is where it all started, | 0:02:35 | 0:02:37 | |
this was one of the most amazing things ever, | 0:02:37 | 0:02:39 | |
but it was too small and it needed to be taken to a bigger stage. | 0:02:39 | 0:02:43 | |
And from my perspective it was important to get | 0:02:43 | 0:02:46 | |
the rest of the world watching people's lives being changed | 0:02:46 | 0:02:48 | |
through sport, literally there in front of you. | 0:02:48 | 0:02:51 | |
-PRESENTER: -'In London today for the first Invictus Games, | 0:02:53 | 0:02:56 | |
'the brainchild, of course, of Prince Harry.' | 0:02:56 | 0:02:58 | |
'Yes, and some of the competitors have actually lost limbs...' | 0:02:58 | 0:03:01 | |
That's a nice touch. | 0:03:01 | 0:03:03 | |
This was one of the points where | 0:03:03 | 0:03:04 | |
we started to get a feeling of how enormous this was going to be. | 0:03:04 | 0:03:07 | |
I was like, "Whoa, this is pretty serious now." | 0:03:07 | 0:03:10 | |
-Then you did it on Buckingham Palace as well. -Buckingham Palace as well. | 0:03:10 | 0:03:13 | |
-Just to really rub it in. -Did you call that favour in? | 0:03:13 | 0:03:15 | |
-That was a favour called in. -THEY ALL LAUGH | 0:03:15 | 0:03:18 | |
-TV COMMENTATOR: -'All eyes are on captain Dave Henson in this one.' | 0:03:18 | 0:03:21 | |
-Dave looking very serious there, actually. -I'm a serious man. | 0:03:22 | 0:03:25 | |
You used to be. | 0:03:25 | 0:03:27 | |
STARTING GUN FIRES | 0:03:27 | 0:03:29 | |
No, I don't think I was nervous at this point. | 0:03:29 | 0:03:31 | |
Yeah, I knew I had this. | 0:03:31 | 0:03:33 | |
'Look at how he's going here. | 0:03:34 | 0:03:36 | |
'Smooth as you like, | 0:03:36 | 0:03:38 | |
'and that's a great win. He's going to just hang onto this...' | 0:03:38 | 0:03:41 | |
"Get off me!" | 0:03:42 | 0:03:44 | |
So rank. | 0:03:44 | 0:03:46 | |
THEY ALL LAUGH | 0:03:46 | 0:03:48 | |
-That was a good little one, that. -What, the old classic... | 0:03:51 | 0:03:54 | |
Finish together, all get a gold. | 0:03:54 | 0:03:56 | |
-COMMENTATOR: -'And the three of them have decided that | 0:03:56 | 0:03:59 | |
'they will come across the line together here.' | 0:03:59 | 0:04:01 | |
You were in the middle, right? That was us both pulling you then. | 0:04:01 | 0:04:04 | |
-Were you even peddling at this point? -No. | 0:04:04 | 0:04:07 | |
I mean, going back to you, Vicey, you specifically asked me | 0:04:07 | 0:04:09 | |
-to design a competition/award specifically for mouth darts. -Yes. | 0:04:09 | 0:04:16 | |
And even then... even then you failed. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:18 | |
You came third out of three. | 0:04:18 | 0:04:20 | |
Every day was, like, upping, upping, upping, upping. | 0:04:26 | 0:04:28 | |
-By the time we got to the closing concert, I was an emotional... -Yeah. | 0:04:28 | 0:04:32 | |
-It was a very sandy environment. -Yes. -Sandy! | 0:04:32 | 0:04:36 | |
From the front to the back, | 0:04:37 | 0:04:39 | |
one, two, three... Go! | 0:04:39 | 0:04:42 | |
CHEERING | 0:04:42 | 0:04:44 | |
Welcome to the stage, Team Great Britain! | 0:04:46 | 0:04:49 | |
CHEERING | 0:04:49 | 0:04:51 | |
That was ridiculous. | 0:04:51 | 0:04:53 | |
This was another reason why we pushed for it in London that year, | 0:04:55 | 0:04:59 | |
in 2014, because we just knew that if anybody was going to catapult | 0:04:59 | 0:05:03 | |
this onto the international stage, it would be the British public. | 0:05:03 | 0:05:06 | |
And the British public came out and gave it everything. | 0:05:06 | 0:05:08 | |
Now the trials are coming up, | 0:05:08 | 0:05:10 | |
it's already starting to explode again like it did last time. | 0:05:10 | 0:05:13 | |
I'm really excited to see what kind of magic we get from this one now. | 0:05:13 | 0:05:17 | |
I think Orlando is going to be huge. | 0:05:17 | 0:05:18 | |
Even the medal winners of 2014 | 0:05:20 | 0:05:22 | |
will have to earn their place on this year's team. | 0:05:22 | 0:05:24 | |
At the upcoming UK trials they'll be joined by over 100 new faces. | 0:05:24 | 0:05:29 | |
It'll be three days of intense competition... | 0:05:31 | 0:05:34 | |
..covering ten sports, | 0:05:35 | 0:05:37 | |
with just 100 places up for grabs. | 0:05:37 | 0:05:40 | |
CHEERING | 0:05:43 | 0:05:44 | |
Without you guys here, our friends and our family, | 0:05:46 | 0:05:50 | |
we'd be in pieces at home. | 0:05:50 | 0:05:52 | |
With your support, we're here in front of you today, | 0:05:52 | 0:05:56 | |
kicking the arse out of life! | 0:05:56 | 0:05:58 | |
-Thank you! -CHEERING | 0:05:58 | 0:06:02 | |
Chris was just 20 years old when his life changed for ever. | 0:06:16 | 0:06:21 | |
ALARM BEEPS | 0:06:23 | 0:06:25 | |
I woke up that day and I knew something was going to happen, | 0:06:25 | 0:06:28 | |
but I was there to do the job so we had to go out and do it. | 0:06:28 | 0:06:31 | |
I stepped in the wrong place at the wrong time, | 0:06:31 | 0:06:33 | |
won the lottery that nobody wants to win. | 0:06:33 | 0:06:36 | |
Chris was serving in Afghanistan with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards | 0:06:39 | 0:06:44 | |
when, out on a routine patrol, | 0:06:44 | 0:06:46 | |
he stepped on an explosive device. | 0:06:46 | 0:06:48 | |
'I felt I was in the air for a while | 0:06:48 | 0:06:51 | |
'and landed in the crater where the device was buried. | 0:06:51 | 0:06:54 | |
'Took out both my legs on impact.' | 0:06:54 | 0:06:56 | |
Good girl. | 0:06:59 | 0:07:01 | |
'My memories are crystal clear. | 0:07:02 | 0:07:04 | |
'I remember getting dragged out of the crater that I was in. | 0:07:04 | 0:07:07 | |
'I remember I tried to self tourniquet. | 0:07:07 | 0:07:09 | |
'It was all bloody, like bones was hanging out.' | 0:07:09 | 0:07:13 | |
'I remember waking up in hospital, | 0:07:15 | 0:07:17 | |
'my mam was in bits, my sister was in bits. | 0:07:17 | 0:07:20 | |
'So my dad, like, he didn't shed a tear as such, | 0:07:21 | 0:07:24 | |
but I knew, the look on his face, that it was bad. | 0:07:24 | 0:07:27 | |
At first the reaction was, "Why? Why my family?" | 0:07:30 | 0:07:34 | |
But then you're seeing some of the states that other soldiers were in | 0:07:34 | 0:07:38 | |
and you were just so thankful. | 0:07:38 | 0:07:40 | |
Nine days later I was 21. | 0:07:41 | 0:07:43 | |
Just knowing that I was a 21-year-old lad | 0:07:43 | 0:07:45 | |
who'd just been blown up, lost his legs, I thought that was it. | 0:07:45 | 0:07:48 | |
I was like, "What's the point living?" sort of thing. | 0:07:48 | 0:07:51 | |
And that was when I started drinking loads. | 0:07:51 | 0:07:53 | |
I was told by people, "You need to curb it, you need to stop it." | 0:07:54 | 0:07:58 | |
"What? Don't be stupid, I'm 21. I'm just being a 21-year-old." | 0:07:59 | 0:08:03 | |
I wasn't getting the physio or the rehab that I needed | 0:08:03 | 0:08:06 | |
because I was too hungover to go to those sessions. | 0:08:06 | 0:08:09 | |
It was when Chris got involved with a charity that introduces | 0:08:11 | 0:08:14 | |
injured soldiers to scuba-diving | 0:08:14 | 0:08:16 | |
that he started to get his life back on track. | 0:08:16 | 0:08:19 | |
I'm like, "Hang on a minute, I've just been blown up, | 0:08:19 | 0:08:22 | |
"I've just lost both my legs, and you want | 0:08:22 | 0:08:24 | |
"to take me out scuba-diving?" I went, "Are you mad?" | 0:08:24 | 0:08:26 | |
I went in, the pain stopped. | 0:08:31 | 0:08:33 | |
My head stopped just bothering me, | 0:08:35 | 0:08:37 | |
my feet weren't tickling, | 0:08:37 | 0:08:39 | |
I was swimming along with, like, fully able-bodied people. | 0:08:39 | 0:08:42 | |
I got out the water, I was in tears, | 0:08:45 | 0:08:48 | |
it just changed my life. | 0:08:48 | 0:08:50 | |
Yes, it dawned on me that I'm not dead until I'm dead, | 0:08:50 | 0:08:53 | |
and that is it. | 0:08:53 | 0:08:56 | |
Just getting you warm, mate, just getting you warm. | 0:09:09 | 0:09:11 | |
Wait! That was off. | 0:09:13 | 0:09:15 | |
Hole in your racket, mate. | 0:09:17 | 0:09:19 | |
I'm not breathing hard, don't worry. | 0:09:26 | 0:09:28 | |
Just as well I'm not wearing a pulse alarm. | 0:09:28 | 0:09:31 | |
You know, you come out to just play a fun game... | 0:09:31 | 0:09:33 | |
-CHRIS LAUGHS -Competitiveness, mate. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:35 | |
-You've got to win. -You've GOT to win. | 0:09:35 | 0:09:37 | |
Are you feeling that again now that you're going for the team? | 0:09:37 | 0:09:40 | |
Competition is fierce and I'll do my damnedest to get on the squad. | 0:09:40 | 0:09:43 | |
I want to win, I want to win gold. | 0:09:43 | 0:09:45 | |
Incoming! | 0:09:45 | 0:09:47 | |
Dropped it in the corner. | 0:09:52 | 0:09:54 | |
You've got that little smug little grin you've got as well, yeah! | 0:09:54 | 0:09:57 | |
You've also represented your country in the Warrior Games, haven't you? | 0:10:01 | 0:10:04 | |
Yeah, I done the Warrior Games last year | 0:10:04 | 0:10:06 | |
and just getting a taste for that, I was like, "I want more of this," | 0:10:06 | 0:10:09 | |
and then it just kept me on the straight and narrow. | 0:10:09 | 0:10:12 | |
At the American Warrior Games, Chris competed | 0:10:12 | 0:10:15 | |
in volleyball, basketball and rugby. | 0:10:15 | 0:10:18 | |
He plans to enter multiple sports again, | 0:10:18 | 0:10:21 | |
at this year's Invictus trials. | 0:10:21 | 0:10:23 | |
Right, let's go. | 0:10:23 | 0:10:25 | |
Medic! | 0:10:25 | 0:10:26 | |
Oh-oh! | 0:10:33 | 0:10:34 | |
-Aargh! -Yes! | 0:10:35 | 0:10:37 | |
-Yeah, that's where I look really nice. -Nice camera angle! | 0:10:39 | 0:10:42 | |
No power. | 0:10:42 | 0:10:44 | |
-Had you fixed this yet? -Fixed? | 0:10:44 | 0:10:47 | |
The whole head so far out of the water thing? | 0:10:47 | 0:10:49 | |
It's the waves! | 0:10:49 | 0:10:51 | |
Friends Jen and Nerys are also competing at the upcoming trials. | 0:10:52 | 0:10:56 | |
Nerys is going for wheelchair basketball | 0:10:57 | 0:10:59 | |
and Jen, wheelchair racing. | 0:10:59 | 0:11:01 | |
-It was amazing, wasn't it? -It was, yeah, my heart is in my race chair. | 0:11:01 | 0:11:05 | |
That's where I love to be. | 0:11:05 | 0:11:06 | |
Although both were medics in the British Army, | 0:11:06 | 0:11:09 | |
it was after injury that their paths crossed, | 0:11:09 | 0:11:12 | |
when they took part in the Arch To Arc challenge. | 0:11:12 | 0:11:15 | |
-NEWSREADER: -'24 wounded, | 0:11:17 | 0:11:19 | |
'injured and sick military personnel and veterans | 0:11:19 | 0:11:22 | |
'are taking part in what has been called the hardest triathlon | 0:11:22 | 0:11:25 | |
'anywhere in the world.' | 0:11:25 | 0:11:27 | |
'This is some effort, they've just finished nearly 90 miles | 0:11:27 | 0:11:30 | |
'from Marble Arch to Dover, | 0:11:30 | 0:11:32 | |
'and are currently swimming the English Channel.' | 0:11:32 | 0:11:34 | |
Jen has limited use of her legs | 0:11:34 | 0:11:37 | |
and Nerys is paralysed from the chest down, | 0:11:37 | 0:11:39 | |
but this didn't stop them becoming the first-ever women's team | 0:11:39 | 0:11:43 | |
to complete the 300 mile race. | 0:11:43 | 0:11:45 | |
It was. This must have been the jellyfish swim. | 0:11:46 | 0:11:48 | |
Evil little things. | 0:11:48 | 0:11:50 | |
I started singing to them, until I realised that when I sung to them | 0:11:50 | 0:11:53 | |
that one got in my mouth and stung the inside of my lip. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:56 | |
I was like, "No more singing." | 0:11:56 | 0:11:58 | |
I was just like, "I'm not letting floppy bits of jelly | 0:11:58 | 0:12:01 | |
"stopping me from getting to France." | 0:12:01 | 0:12:03 | |
I was like, "Get out of my way!" | 0:12:03 | 0:12:06 | |
-Loving the hills. -Awesome. -Loving the hills. -Yeah. | 0:12:06 | 0:12:10 | |
What is it about military people that they have to go off | 0:12:11 | 0:12:14 | |
and beast themselves, and even if they lose limbs, | 0:12:14 | 0:12:16 | |
they take it even more extreme? | 0:12:16 | 0:12:18 | |
I think it's about proving to yourself, "Right, | 0:12:18 | 0:12:21 | |
"I was the meanest," you know, "I was the meanest guy around, | 0:12:21 | 0:12:24 | |
"I was superfit, now look at me, I'm now stuck in a wheelchair. | 0:12:24 | 0:12:27 | |
"What can I do to prove to myself and prove to everybody else | 0:12:27 | 0:12:31 | |
"that I'm still the person that I used to be?" | 0:12:31 | 0:12:33 | |
So it's about redefining yourself. | 0:12:33 | 0:12:35 | |
CHEERING | 0:12:35 | 0:12:37 | |
Being part of the Arch To Arc, | 0:12:38 | 0:12:41 | |
just...it gave me confidence that I didn't actually know was in me. | 0:12:41 | 0:12:44 | |
CHEERING | 0:12:44 | 0:12:46 | |
It was just amazing. | 0:12:47 | 0:12:48 | |
I think for the first time I didn't feel like a disabled athlete. | 0:12:48 | 0:12:54 | |
Major Jen Warren dedicated her career to saving the lives | 0:12:59 | 0:13:04 | |
of those serving their country on the front line. | 0:13:04 | 0:13:06 | |
I loved being in the Army, I loved the challenges | 0:13:08 | 0:13:10 | |
and the sort of unpredictability, | 0:13:10 | 0:13:12 | |
and, you know, I still miss that. | 0:13:12 | 0:13:15 | |
I went out to Afghanistan in '06/'07 | 0:13:16 | 0:13:18 | |
as a general duties doctor. | 0:13:18 | 0:13:21 | |
It was amazing because it was great to kind of feel that you were | 0:13:21 | 0:13:26 | |
doing something to help the lads that were out there. | 0:13:26 | 0:13:29 | |
It's crazy to think I went through that experience unscathed, | 0:13:29 | 0:13:33 | |
and then have an accident where you just... | 0:13:33 | 0:13:36 | |
kind of taken out by a kid. | 0:13:36 | 0:13:38 | |
Jen was on holiday after returning from Afghanistan, | 0:13:38 | 0:13:42 | |
when a group of skiers ran into her. | 0:13:42 | 0:13:44 | |
She was left with a badly broken leg, in need of a bone graft. | 0:13:44 | 0:13:48 | |
Complications led to severe nerve damage, | 0:13:48 | 0:13:50 | |
leaving Jen with limited use of her legs, | 0:13:50 | 0:13:53 | |
and chronic pain for the rest of her life. | 0:13:53 | 0:13:56 | |
All of a sudden, you know, I couldn't do my job in the Army | 0:13:57 | 0:14:00 | |
and I just...I felt really useless. | 0:14:00 | 0:14:02 | |
It took me a long time to come to terms with what had happened, | 0:14:02 | 0:14:06 | |
but I've never been someone to walk away from anything. | 0:14:06 | 0:14:10 | |
Sadly Jen's medical career in the Army was over, | 0:14:18 | 0:14:21 | |
but she was determined to continue her training | 0:14:21 | 0:14:24 | |
as an anaesthetist in the NHS. | 0:14:24 | 0:14:27 | |
With my chair, people assume that I'm a lost patient or, you know, | 0:14:28 | 0:14:32 | |
if I try and log-on one of the computers people will be like, | 0:14:32 | 0:14:35 | |
"Oh, what are you doing?" | 0:14:35 | 0:14:37 | |
And it's like, "My work!" | 0:14:37 | 0:14:38 | |
When I first started going into work I would find it quite difficult | 0:14:38 | 0:14:43 | |
talking to patients because it would remind me | 0:14:43 | 0:14:46 | |
of how I felt in that situation, but I genuinely believe that | 0:14:46 | 0:14:51 | |
I'm a better doctor because of what happened to me. | 0:14:51 | 0:14:54 | |
-Right, where's your shoesies? Can you find your shoesies? -Yeah! | 0:14:58 | 0:15:02 | |
'I don't think anyone finds being a parent easy.' | 0:15:02 | 0:15:06 | |
Come on, sausage, this way. | 0:15:06 | 0:15:07 | |
'For me it's quite hard.' | 0:15:07 | 0:15:09 | |
You've been a good girl, haven't you? | 0:15:09 | 0:15:12 | |
'I've got challenges that are different, but' | 0:15:12 | 0:15:15 | |
they're not necessarily bigger or harder, they're just different. | 0:15:15 | 0:15:18 | |
We're going over a bump, are you ready? | 0:15:18 | 0:15:20 | |
-Bump, bump! -Bump. | 0:15:20 | 0:15:22 | |
Yeah, let's go to the park. | 0:15:28 | 0:15:30 | |
'People say, "Oh, I'll just pop to the shops," or "I'll just pop out here," ' | 0:15:30 | 0:15:34 | |
and that's what I hate, I can't pop anywhere. | 0:15:34 | 0:15:39 | |
'When I try and walk places I find it incredibly difficult, | 0:15:40 | 0:15:43 | |
'I'm very slow.' | 0:15:43 | 0:15:44 | |
We're so late. | 0:15:45 | 0:15:47 | |
Yeah, we're often late, aren't we? | 0:15:51 | 0:15:53 | |
'I'm literally limited to sort of five to ten metres.' | 0:15:53 | 0:15:57 | |
You try and live your life where you can walk five to ten metres, | 0:15:57 | 0:16:00 | |
without getting tired. | 0:16:00 | 0:16:01 | |
-Whee! -THEY LAUGH | 0:16:01 | 0:16:03 | |
'It's quite scary having a toddler that can walk and I don't want | 0:16:04 | 0:16:09 | |
'to put her in danger, you know, taking her to a play park and having | 0:16:09 | 0:16:12 | |
'her fall off something because I wasn't there to catch her.' | 0:16:12 | 0:16:14 | |
Right, you must, must hold on. | 0:16:14 | 0:16:17 | |
Be very careful. | 0:16:17 | 0:16:18 | |
I was just frightened, really, it took quite a lot of confidence. | 0:16:19 | 0:16:22 | |
-Just frightened. -I was frightened. Yes, Mummy was frightened. | 0:16:22 | 0:16:25 | |
Whoosh! Are you holding on? | 0:16:26 | 0:16:29 | |
'I look at her legs and I feel quite jealous.' | 0:16:30 | 0:16:32 | |
It's funny cos, you know, she's a toddler, I shouldn't... | 0:16:33 | 0:16:36 | |
I shouldn't have those feelings, but I do. | 0:16:36 | 0:16:38 | |
Push, push, push. | 0:16:38 | 0:16:40 | |
Jen is in training for the wheelchair racing event | 0:16:59 | 0:17:02 | |
at the UK Invictus trials. | 0:17:02 | 0:17:05 | |
Sport is what started getting me out of the anger | 0:17:06 | 0:17:10 | |
and frustration of my life. | 0:17:10 | 0:17:11 | |
You can tap into that anger, channel it, | 0:17:16 | 0:17:19 | |
you know, beating the wheels. | 0:17:19 | 0:17:20 | |
I don't think about my injury, I don't think about anything | 0:17:25 | 0:17:28 | |
when I'm in this thing, other than, "Oh, my God, can I stop?" | 0:17:28 | 0:17:31 | |
It really just helped me change the way I view things | 0:17:33 | 0:17:37 | |
and see things as more positive. | 0:17:37 | 0:17:39 | |
-PRESENTER: -'The President and First Lady were treated to | 0:17:45 | 0:17:48 | |
'a royal visit at the White House.' | 0:17:48 | 0:17:49 | |
'Prince Harry is here to help kick off the run-up | 0:17:49 | 0:17:52 | |
'to the 2016 Invictus Games.' | 0:17:52 | 0:17:55 | |
APPLAUSE | 0:17:55 | 0:17:56 | |
-TANNOY: -'The First Lady, Michelle Obama!' | 0:17:58 | 0:18:01 | |
There's no official medals table in the Invictus Games, | 0:18:01 | 0:18:04 | |
but the UK finished top of it last time. | 0:18:04 | 0:18:06 | |
'His Royal Highness, Prince Harry!' | 0:18:06 | 0:18:09 | |
This year the Americans are looking to make the most | 0:18:09 | 0:18:11 | |
of their home advantage. | 0:18:11 | 0:18:13 | |
How's everybody doing? | 0:18:13 | 0:18:15 | |
All right, ladies, Prince Harry is here, | 0:18:15 | 0:18:18 | |
-don't act like you don't notice. -LAUGHTER | 0:18:18 | 0:18:20 | |
Come on, come on! | 0:18:20 | 0:18:22 | |
This is truly an amazing, wonderful event, | 0:18:22 | 0:18:25 | |
full of fierce competition, | 0:18:25 | 0:18:28 | |
incredible athleticism, | 0:18:28 | 0:18:30 | |
and truly inspiring stories. | 0:18:30 | 0:18:33 | |
We could not be more proud of all of you. | 0:18:33 | 0:18:36 | |
And now it is my pleasure to introduce our guest of honour, | 0:18:36 | 0:18:40 | |
and I guess I should also apologise to him in advance | 0:18:40 | 0:18:43 | |
for all the gold medals that America will win in Orlando. | 0:18:43 | 0:18:46 | |
CHEERING | 0:18:49 | 0:18:51 | |
Hello, everyone. | 0:18:52 | 0:18:54 | |
The Invictus Games seeks to change perceptions | 0:18:54 | 0:18:57 | |
of physical and mental injury. | 0:18:57 | 0:18:59 | |
One thing we have to talk about more is breaking down these barriers | 0:18:59 | 0:19:02 | |
around so-called invisible injuries, like post-traumatic stress, | 0:19:02 | 0:19:07 | |
just as we have for physical injuries like the loss of a limb. | 0:19:07 | 0:19:10 | |
This fear of coming forward as a result of the stigma which surrounds | 0:19:10 | 0:19:14 | |
mental health is one of the greatest challenges that veterans face today. | 0:19:14 | 0:19:18 | |
This is your brain, Tom? | 0:19:20 | 0:19:22 | |
Yeah, I was surprised there was one on there, to be honest, but... | 0:19:22 | 0:19:25 | |
there is one on there. | 0:19:25 | 0:19:27 | |
'Tom served with the RAF for 26 years. | 0:19:27 | 0:19:30 | |
'He was diagnosed | 0:19:30 | 0:19:32 | |
'with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2011.' | 0:19:32 | 0:19:35 | |
Can we see on there where Tom's brain has been affected by PTSD? | 0:19:35 | 0:19:40 | |
Yeah, around this area here is the amygdala, and that's a fuse box, | 0:19:40 | 0:19:44 | |
that's where the facts, sensations and emotions | 0:19:44 | 0:19:48 | |
get put together into a short-term memory, | 0:19:48 | 0:19:51 | |
and then normally all that goes into one place in the brain, | 0:19:51 | 0:19:55 | |
which is the memory bank, as it were. | 0:19:55 | 0:19:57 | |
What happens with PTSD is that the fuse box blows, | 0:19:57 | 0:20:00 | |
it doesn't work properly, | 0:20:00 | 0:20:02 | |
and your mind doesn't do any filing in memory. | 0:20:02 | 0:20:04 | |
Later on, the rule is that the mind will try to file, | 0:20:04 | 0:20:07 | |
so that's why you get intrusive memories, you get nightmares | 0:20:07 | 0:20:10 | |
and flashbacks, which initially at least are replays, actual replays | 0:20:10 | 0:20:13 | |
of what happened, and that's what PTSD is, it's like a stuck record. | 0:20:13 | 0:20:16 | |
So, when an episode happens, you actually get clear visual... | 0:20:16 | 0:20:20 | |
The images do, they drop in, it's like a... | 0:20:20 | 0:20:23 | |
literally like a photograph dropping in. | 0:20:23 | 0:20:25 | |
And it's intense, it affects your body, you tense up, | 0:20:25 | 0:20:28 | |
it's sweats, um, and you're shaking, it's like a fear reaction. | 0:20:28 | 0:20:33 | |
Then you come out of it and you're absolutely devastated. | 0:20:33 | 0:20:37 | |
Tom's job during his tour in Afghanistan | 0:20:37 | 0:20:40 | |
was to repatriate British soldiers killed in action. | 0:20:40 | 0:20:44 | |
At the time, you cope with it, because you're doing a job. | 0:20:47 | 0:20:50 | |
and it's such an important role that you do your best. | 0:20:50 | 0:20:54 | |
Being in that military environment, which was, you know, | 0:20:56 | 0:20:58 | |
a tough environment to be in, you didn't show any emotion... | 0:20:58 | 0:21:01 | |
..and so, I became emotionally numb. | 0:21:03 | 0:21:06 | |
But when Tom returned home, these experiences caught up with him. | 0:21:06 | 0:21:10 | |
He started suffering flashbacks. | 0:21:14 | 0:21:17 | |
Seeing repatriations on TV would cause an emotional reaction. | 0:21:20 | 0:21:24 | |
Maybe it might be music I might hear that reminded me | 0:21:24 | 0:21:27 | |
of being back in, you know, Iraq or Afghanistan. | 0:21:27 | 0:21:30 | |
It's a bit like a lightning strike, you know, you never know | 0:21:32 | 0:21:35 | |
when they're going to happen. | 0:21:35 | 0:21:38 | |
And just the isolation that you go through. | 0:21:38 | 0:21:40 | |
I couldn't have love, I couldn't have happiness, | 0:21:40 | 0:21:43 | |
all these normal emotions that you have. | 0:21:43 | 0:21:45 | |
And that's the really scary bit. | 0:21:45 | 0:21:48 | |
Tom's distinguished career included tours in the Falklands, Iraq | 0:21:50 | 0:21:56 | |
and Afghanistan. He was awarded an MBE for his exemplary service. | 0:21:56 | 0:22:00 | |
I'd been very sporty as a child and also then | 0:22:02 | 0:22:05 | |
joining the military, I had done a number of sports. | 0:22:05 | 0:22:07 | |
I've run the London Marathon, I used to do some boxing. | 0:22:07 | 0:22:10 | |
And all of a sudden, I stopped. | 0:22:10 | 0:22:13 | |
Tom's condition worsened as he started suffering seizures | 0:22:13 | 0:22:16 | |
triggered by his PTSD. | 0:22:16 | 0:22:19 | |
I had the diagnosis, put onto strong medication, | 0:22:19 | 0:22:23 | |
and it did nothing, it did absolutely nothing. | 0:22:23 | 0:22:27 | |
It was probably two to three years that I was, you know, | 0:22:27 | 0:22:29 | |
really not functioning, I was just existing. | 0:22:29 | 0:22:32 | |
But now, Tom has set his sights on a place in this year's UK team. | 0:22:34 | 0:22:38 | |
At the upcoming trials, he'll be trying out for shot put, | 0:22:43 | 0:22:45 | |
discus and rowing. | 0:22:45 | 0:22:48 | |
And the long road back to fitness begins in Tom's outdoor gym. | 0:22:50 | 0:22:55 | |
The Invictus Games is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. | 0:22:55 | 0:22:58 | |
So I'm determined to get myself fitter and stronger | 0:23:00 | 0:23:03 | |
so that I can be the best that I can on the day. | 0:23:03 | 0:23:06 | |
One method Tom uses to process images related to his PTSD | 0:23:17 | 0:23:21 | |
is art therapy. | 0:23:21 | 0:23:23 | |
-Doing the first one is the key, I think. -Yeah. | 0:23:29 | 0:23:31 | |
That's what helped me, I think, was getting that first painting down. | 0:23:31 | 0:23:34 | |
It was like opening a door in the brain, you know, | 0:23:34 | 0:23:37 | |
-it was like a key... -Yeah. -..opening the door, | 0:23:37 | 0:23:39 | |
then all of a sudden, it's just... | 0:23:39 | 0:23:41 | |
You know, it was five, then I did ten | 0:23:41 | 0:23:43 | |
and then 15 and 20, you know, | 0:23:43 | 0:23:45 | |
then 30 and 40, and I think it's about 70 canvases I've done so far. | 0:23:45 | 0:23:49 | |
-HE CHUCKLES -Yeah. | 0:23:49 | 0:23:51 | |
Tom's been painting for two years now. | 0:23:51 | 0:23:54 | |
But for air trooper Chris Jones, today is his first time. | 0:23:54 | 0:23:58 | |
I expect you're going to tell me that you haven't done art | 0:23:58 | 0:24:01 | |
since you were six? | 0:24:01 | 0:24:03 | |
-No, 16. -16? -Yeah. | 0:24:03 | 0:24:05 | |
That means you're an expert, then. | 0:24:05 | 0:24:08 | |
Not according to the F that I got, no! | 0:24:08 | 0:24:11 | |
You can just paint something straight out of your mind, | 0:24:11 | 0:24:14 | |
just paint straight onto the canvas. | 0:24:14 | 0:24:16 | |
-I wouldn't paint out of MY mind! -No? | 0:24:16 | 0:24:18 | |
Chris left the Army in 1998. | 0:24:21 | 0:24:24 | |
He is one of the many veterans who suffers from both physical | 0:24:24 | 0:24:28 | |
and psychological scars. | 0:24:28 | 0:24:30 | |
The initial injury was caused whilst I was on a training exercise. | 0:24:33 | 0:24:37 | |
I broke my left foot and tore the Achilles tendon. | 0:24:37 | 0:24:41 | |
And that, compounded by the other injuries that | 0:24:44 | 0:24:46 | |
I sustained subsequently, has left me | 0:24:46 | 0:24:49 | |
with having somewhere between 40% and 50% reduced mobility in my legs. | 0:24:49 | 0:24:54 | |
For me, the physical injuries, you just accept them, you know | 0:24:55 | 0:24:59 | |
what your limitations are and aren't and you just crack on. | 0:24:59 | 0:25:02 | |
But when this isn't working properly, you don't know | 0:25:02 | 0:25:04 | |
where you're going to be, one minute from the next. | 0:25:04 | 0:25:07 | |
I absolutely loved being a soldier, | 0:25:09 | 0:25:11 | |
it was all I'd ever wanted to do since I was a tiny little chap. | 0:25:11 | 0:25:14 | |
Once I was a soldier and I was serving, I couldn't get enough. | 0:25:14 | 0:25:18 | |
The military spend a lot of time and money | 0:25:20 | 0:25:23 | |
training you to be a soldier and stop being a civilian. | 0:25:23 | 0:25:28 | |
To then go from being a soldier to a civilian... | 0:25:28 | 0:25:33 | |
-HE SNAPS HIS FINGERS -..in a single day, | 0:25:33 | 0:25:37 | |
that pride was just wiped away, it was gone. | 0:25:37 | 0:25:40 | |
But at the same time, you feel like you're still that, you know, | 0:25:42 | 0:25:46 | |
supremely fit, phenomenally capable, highly trained individual. | 0:25:46 | 0:25:50 | |
You get that clash in your head, | 0:25:50 | 0:25:53 | |
it's a very difficult thing to live with. | 0:25:53 | 0:25:55 | |
-TOM: -And that's your first time you've painted...? | 0:25:55 | 0:25:58 | |
Yeah, it's the first time. | 0:25:58 | 0:26:00 | |
-I've surprised myself. -Yeah. | 0:26:00 | 0:26:01 | |
-You know, to capture, you know, the way the waves fall in and... -Yeah. | 0:26:01 | 0:26:05 | |
..then the colours, is stunning. | 0:26:05 | 0:26:07 | |
This was the first painting I did. | 0:26:09 | 0:26:12 | |
So, that was me on tour. | 0:26:12 | 0:26:14 | |
Doing the re-pats. | 0:26:14 | 0:26:15 | |
It was a very humble experience, so, you know, to have to do that job. | 0:26:15 | 0:26:20 | |
-Yeah. -You know... | 0:26:20 | 0:26:23 | |
-You all right, mate? -TEARFULLY: -Yeah, good. | 0:26:27 | 0:26:29 | |
-TEARFULLY: -Yeah. | 0:26:39 | 0:26:40 | |
HE EXHALES | 0:26:43 | 0:26:45 | |
Still can set my emotions... You all right? Oh, dear. | 0:26:49 | 0:26:53 | |
That's what it's all about, brother. | 0:26:53 | 0:26:55 | |
Oh, it's still fresh, still fresh in the eyes. | 0:26:59 | 0:27:02 | |
You know what I mean? | 0:27:02 | 0:27:04 | |
Yeah, it's the first one, and like I say, from that, | 0:27:07 | 0:27:10 | |
-I just kept going and going. -Yeah. | 0:27:10 | 0:27:11 | |
So, for you, doing your first one, you know, doing a wave, | 0:27:11 | 0:27:14 | |
that's a wave of emotion that's here, innit, you know? | 0:27:14 | 0:27:17 | |
SEABIRDS CALL | 0:27:17 | 0:27:19 | |
WAVES CRASH | 0:27:20 | 0:27:21 | |
It was my only sanctuary. | 0:27:28 | 0:27:30 | |
Because I knew that I could go out there and there weren't going | 0:27:30 | 0:27:34 | |
to be that many people that would come out there with me. | 0:27:34 | 0:27:37 | |
That became a safe place. | 0:27:37 | 0:27:39 | |
Chris started surf kayaking after being discharged from the Army. | 0:27:44 | 0:27:48 | |
Psychologically, I was not in a good place at all. | 0:27:48 | 0:27:52 | |
And being able to go out on the water, | 0:27:53 | 0:27:55 | |
it was like clearing my mind out and giving me my sanity back. | 0:27:55 | 0:27:59 | |
And giving me the strength to carry on dealing with what | 0:28:01 | 0:28:04 | |
I was having to deal with every day. | 0:28:04 | 0:28:07 | |
But when his condition deteriorated, | 0:28:07 | 0:28:10 | |
it became too dangerous for Chris to continue. | 0:28:10 | 0:28:13 | |
When I had to give that up, I went into quite a bleak place, | 0:28:16 | 0:28:21 | |
and I struggled a lot. | 0:28:21 | 0:28:23 | |
There's no question that both the physical | 0:28:24 | 0:28:27 | |
and mental injuries haven't affected just me, | 0:28:27 | 0:28:31 | |
there's been a big impact on my wife and my son as well. | 0:28:31 | 0:28:35 | |
It's affected all of us, the whole family. | 0:28:35 | 0:28:38 | |
EXCITED SHOUTING | 0:28:40 | 0:28:42 | |
Chris's passion for kayaking was something that he shared | 0:28:43 | 0:28:46 | |
with his son Max. | 0:28:46 | 0:28:48 | |
SHOUTING AND LAUGHTER | 0:28:48 | 0:28:50 | |
-MAX: -I do miss it. | 0:28:52 | 0:28:54 | |
Something that brought us close together as a father and son. | 0:28:54 | 0:28:57 | |
In 2009, Chris was diagnosed with a long-term neurological condition. | 0:28:59 | 0:29:04 | |
His last sea kayaking trip with Max nearly cost them their lives. | 0:29:04 | 0:29:09 | |
My brain did exactly what they'd told me it would do, | 0:29:10 | 0:29:13 | |
it got overloaded and so it just started shutting down... | 0:29:13 | 0:29:16 | |
..to the point where I wasn't actually able | 0:29:17 | 0:29:19 | |
to even hold the paddle. | 0:29:19 | 0:29:21 | |
My arms were completely cramping, | 0:29:21 | 0:29:23 | |
it was like somebody had gaffer-taped my arms to my chest. | 0:29:23 | 0:29:26 | |
I'd dropped my paddle, that was gone, | 0:29:26 | 0:29:29 | |
I was probably about that close to blinking out. | 0:29:29 | 0:29:33 | |
It was just a case of trying to keep my balance enough for the boat | 0:29:33 | 0:29:37 | |
to gently drift onto this beach. | 0:29:37 | 0:29:40 | |
It was just pure luck that there happened to be | 0:29:41 | 0:29:43 | |
a couple on the beach who were able to come down, | 0:29:43 | 0:29:46 | |
because poor old Max, bless him, wouldn't have been able | 0:29:46 | 0:29:48 | |
to do anything, I think he was only ten at the time, | 0:29:48 | 0:29:51 | |
he wouldn't have been able | 0:29:51 | 0:29:52 | |
to actually do anything himself to help me. | 0:29:52 | 0:29:54 | |
I think it only really hit me, precisely what was going on, | 0:29:56 | 0:29:59 | |
once the coastguard arrived, | 0:29:59 | 0:30:00 | |
and that's when I went, "OK, this is serious." | 0:30:00 | 0:30:02 | |
If my dad wasn't the man he is, | 0:30:04 | 0:30:06 | |
then I don't think we'd have got the happy ending we did. | 0:30:06 | 0:30:08 | |
And I'd hope that if he gets to the Invictus Games, | 0:30:10 | 0:30:13 | |
he can really show everyone what I see in him as my dad. | 0:30:13 | 0:30:18 | |
'When I first met Chris, | 0:30:24 | 0:30:25 | |
he was much more mobile than he is these days.' | 0:30:25 | 0:30:29 | |
They've spread out! Where's he gone? | 0:30:29 | 0:30:32 | |
'We used to do so much together.' | 0:30:32 | 0:30:34 | |
It's been really hard. We've missed our days out. Family time. | 0:30:35 | 0:30:41 | |
Sport is a way to go out and | 0:30:46 | 0:30:48 | |
do something together, to share, | 0:30:48 | 0:30:50 | |
and that's really, really | 0:30:50 | 0:30:52 | |
good for you and it's good for your psychology as well. | 0:30:52 | 0:30:57 | |
And without having that and without being able to go out | 0:30:57 | 0:31:00 | |
and do those things, it's quite a dark place to be. | 0:31:00 | 0:31:03 | |
I miss him. | 0:31:05 | 0:31:06 | |
Chris has swapped his kayak for a hand bike, | 0:31:09 | 0:31:12 | |
which he'll be racing at the UK team trials. | 0:31:12 | 0:31:15 | |
I do think he has something to prove to himself, | 0:31:16 | 0:31:18 | |
because his career was cut short. | 0:31:18 | 0:31:21 | |
Invictus is like achieving something, | 0:31:21 | 0:31:24 | |
that he can still do something awesome, really. | 0:31:24 | 0:31:29 | |
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE | 0:31:31 | 0:31:34 | |
-COMMENTATOR: -'The noise level here in the Copper Box, | 0:31:34 | 0:31:38 | |
'well, it is positively visceral! | 0:31:38 | 0:31:40 | |
'Breakthrough, breakthrough!' | 0:31:44 | 0:31:47 | |
I've watched the basketball final, I don't know how many times. | 0:31:47 | 0:31:50 | |
Well into double digits. | 0:31:50 | 0:31:52 | |
The first time I watched it, | 0:31:56 | 0:31:58 | |
I felt overwhelmed - just the stunning play. | 0:31:58 | 0:32:02 | |
It made me want to put in the hours, so that I could be there | 0:32:02 | 0:32:05 | |
and be part of that. | 0:32:05 | 0:32:07 | |
'..as they get ever closer to having the gold medal hang | 0:32:07 | 0:32:11 | |
'proudly from their necks...' | 0:32:11 | 0:32:13 | |
Nerys only picked up a basketball a year ago, | 0:32:16 | 0:32:20 | |
but now she spends every spare minute on the court. | 0:32:20 | 0:32:23 | |
Yes! Ohhh! | 0:32:24 | 0:32:27 | |
'I've put in 12 hours straight on the basketball court | 0:32:27 | 0:32:30 | |
'a week for the last four months.' | 0:32:30 | 0:32:32 | |
'I really want this. | 0:32:32 | 0:32:34 | |
'I've given up family time - | 0:32:36 | 0:32:38 | |
'I used to have Sunday dinner every Sunday with my family. | 0:32:38 | 0:32:41 | |
'They don't see me now, cos I've got three hours of basketball training.' | 0:32:41 | 0:32:44 | |
I spent six years thinking that I wasn't worth anything. | 0:32:46 | 0:32:50 | |
What turned it around for me was rediscovering sport. | 0:32:50 | 0:32:54 | |
Growing up, I was always on the more kind of boy-ey kind of sports side. | 0:32:59 | 0:33:04 | |
Proper geek, nerd, science and maths are my thing, | 0:33:04 | 0:33:09 | |
hence the medical path that I took. | 0:33:09 | 0:33:12 | |
My fitness was pretty amazing at that point. | 0:33:12 | 0:33:15 | |
I'd think nothing of going to the Brecon Beacons | 0:33:15 | 0:33:18 | |
and running 19 miles with 40 kilos on a weekend, | 0:33:18 | 0:33:22 | |
so the Army was the choice for me. | 0:33:22 | 0:33:24 | |
In the Army, I was a combat specialist medic. | 0:33:26 | 0:33:28 | |
I was last based with the guys down in Portsmouth. | 0:33:28 | 0:33:33 | |
It was fast paced and I loved that, | 0:33:33 | 0:33:35 | |
so, yeah, I wouldn't have changed it. | 0:33:35 | 0:33:38 | |
But it was just four years after joining the Army | 0:33:40 | 0:33:42 | |
that Nerys's career was cut short. | 0:33:42 | 0:33:44 | |
As a front-line medic, you know, | 0:33:49 | 0:33:51 | |
you're really aware that you could get injured, you know, | 0:33:51 | 0:33:53 | |
or worse, and I think you accept that, | 0:33:53 | 0:33:56 | |
because it's part of your job and you love what you do. | 0:33:56 | 0:34:00 | |
But I wasn't expecting my life to get changed by doing | 0:34:01 | 0:34:04 | |
less than 10mph on the motorbike back here in the UK. | 0:34:04 | 0:34:07 | |
On the 23rd of October 2008, I got on my motorbike, | 0:34:08 | 0:34:12 | |
just to pop out and do a couple of things. I was on a straight road. | 0:34:12 | 0:34:17 | |
A car reversed off a kerb from behind a bus stop | 0:34:17 | 0:34:20 | |
and took me and the bike under the car. | 0:34:20 | 0:34:22 | |
SIREN WAILS | 0:34:24 | 0:34:25 | |
I got crushed. | 0:34:33 | 0:34:35 | |
Ended up eventually completely paralysed from the chest down. | 0:34:35 | 0:34:39 | |
I feel like I let the military down, because I didn't get blown up. | 0:34:41 | 0:34:47 | |
And at that point, there were | 0:34:47 | 0:34:49 | |
so many people coming back with horrendous injuries, I felt guilty. | 0:34:49 | 0:34:55 | |
I felt guilty about getting anything from the military, | 0:34:55 | 0:34:58 | |
so I cut myself off. | 0:34:58 | 0:35:00 | |
It was a good three years where I just didn't ever leave the house. | 0:35:01 | 0:35:06 | |
Half the time, I didn't even get up, you know, I just couldn't see any... | 0:35:06 | 0:35:11 | |
..worth in myself, in even trying. | 0:35:12 | 0:35:15 | |
When I was in the dark space, | 0:35:17 | 0:35:18 | |
I just didn't think that I had anything to offer anybody, | 0:35:18 | 0:35:24 | |
or that anybody would ever want me in any way. | 0:35:24 | 0:35:28 | |
Nerys hid herself away for three years, | 0:35:29 | 0:35:32 | |
until she finally accepted help from a charity for injured veterans. | 0:35:32 | 0:35:36 | |
Before that trip, I questioned whether I could even get on a plane. | 0:35:40 | 0:35:44 | |
Whenever you're ready. | 0:35:44 | 0:35:46 | |
-I got your saddle, OK? -Yeah. | 0:35:46 | 0:35:48 | |
Right, start out by going right. | 0:35:48 | 0:35:51 | |
The first ski run, ohh! | 0:36:03 | 0:36:06 | |
The feeling of achievement - | 0:36:06 | 0:36:08 | |
that, for me, just was a life-changing point. | 0:36:08 | 0:36:13 | |
That I could actually be OK, | 0:36:14 | 0:36:18 | |
for the first time since the accid...accident that I... | 0:36:18 | 0:36:21 | |
..that I could actually be back to being a, or that I was still, | 0:36:26 | 0:36:30 | |
a decent person. | 0:36:30 | 0:36:32 | |
Sport's a magical thing. | 0:36:35 | 0:36:37 | |
And it was my life before, | 0:36:37 | 0:36:40 | |
so, you know, why shouldn't it be my life again? | 0:36:40 | 0:36:43 | |
-Have you got balls? -Yeah. | 0:36:53 | 0:36:55 | |
With the UK Invictus trials only a few days away, | 0:36:57 | 0:37:01 | |
Chris is getting some last-minute practice in. | 0:37:01 | 0:37:04 | |
-Don't made me look bad! -Sorry! | 0:37:04 | 0:37:07 | |
He's playing James Shaw, the reigning GB national champion. | 0:37:08 | 0:37:13 | |
Ah-ha-ha! Good shot. | 0:37:13 | 0:37:15 | |
-Ah-ha! -Who is this guy?! | 0:37:19 | 0:37:22 | |
Sorry, mate! | 0:37:23 | 0:37:25 | |
A lot better than I thought you'd be. I mean... No, honestly, | 0:37:26 | 0:37:29 | |
you obviously haven't been playing long and you still... | 0:37:29 | 0:37:32 | |
You've got a good forehand crosscourt, | 0:37:32 | 0:37:34 | |
you kept hitting me with that. | 0:37:34 | 0:37:35 | |
-Yeah, you're playing well. -Sweet. Awesome, mate, cheers. | 0:37:35 | 0:37:38 | |
-Carry on with it. -Yeah, definitely stick at it. | 0:37:38 | 0:37:40 | |
For me to go up against him, | 0:37:40 | 0:37:42 | |
and have him struggling to reach some of my return shots | 0:37:42 | 0:37:45 | |
from his serve, yeah, man, it's all looking good, fingers crossed. | 0:37:45 | 0:37:50 | |
I'm off, see you in a bit! | 0:37:51 | 0:37:53 | |
HE GRUNTS | 0:37:57 | 0:37:59 | |
I didn't want that to happen! | 0:37:59 | 0:38:01 | |
Yeah, sweet, that's all right, that's good. | 0:38:01 | 0:38:03 | |
The trials have finally arrived. | 0:38:09 | 0:38:12 | |
Over the next three days, more than 200 new | 0:38:12 | 0:38:15 | |
and returning athletes will fight for just 100 team places. | 0:38:15 | 0:38:20 | |
MUSIC: She Sells Sanctuary by The Cult | 0:38:20 | 0:38:24 | |
-NEWSREADER: -'Former servicemen and women who've been injured on | 0:38:25 | 0:38:29 | |
'active service came together in Bath today, | 0:38:29 | 0:38:31 | |
'hoping to be chosen for this year's Invictus Games.' | 0:38:31 | 0:38:34 | |
'They were watched by Prince Harry, who set up the Games two years ago.' | 0:38:37 | 0:38:41 | |
There's a hell of a lot of new faces here. | 0:38:45 | 0:38:47 | |
They know that they've got to fill some big boots. | 0:38:47 | 0:38:50 | |
The shirts that we haven't washed since 2014, because of the epic | 0:38:50 | 0:38:54 | |
win that we had, is now being handed over to these guys. | 0:38:54 | 0:38:57 | |
242 competitors, we're going to select a team of 100. | 0:38:58 | 0:39:03 | |
Two competitors for every place, so it's going to be tough. | 0:39:03 | 0:39:06 | |
And of course, we want a team which is going to go and compete well, | 0:39:08 | 0:39:11 | |
and we'd love to beat the Americans in their own back yard. | 0:39:11 | 0:39:13 | |
Yeah! | 0:39:17 | 0:39:19 | |
HE GRUNTS | 0:39:24 | 0:39:25 | |
Competing at trials in the shot put and discus is Tom. | 0:39:27 | 0:39:31 | |
But for him, | 0:39:31 | 0:39:32 | |
just making it here today has been an achievement in itself. | 0:39:32 | 0:39:36 | |
I was taken into hospital only last week with a number of seizures. | 0:39:36 | 0:39:40 | |
You know, it's been a tough couple of weeks. | 0:39:40 | 0:39:43 | |
For a lot of guys, they are not mentally fit. | 0:39:44 | 0:39:48 | |
I think sport naturally plays such an important part to | 0:39:48 | 0:39:51 | |
the recovery of both mental and physical health. | 0:39:51 | 0:39:54 | |
Jen's long hours of training are now behind her. | 0:39:54 | 0:39:58 | |
Today is her chance to prove that she deserves a place on the team. | 0:39:58 | 0:40:03 | |
It's always difficult. | 0:40:03 | 0:40:04 | |
You know, you want to put your all into everything, | 0:40:04 | 0:40:06 | |
and then you suddenly find that there's nothing left | 0:40:06 | 0:40:09 | |
for your family and your job and things, | 0:40:09 | 0:40:11 | |
so, erm, juggling everything has always been a bit tricky. | 0:40:11 | 0:40:14 | |
I've been waiting for this day for 18 months. I really want it. | 0:40:14 | 0:40:19 | |
Set! | 0:40:19 | 0:40:20 | |
STARTING GUN FIRES | 0:40:21 | 0:40:23 | |
Jen wins the 100 metres. | 0:40:32 | 0:40:35 | |
But to secure her place on the team she'll have to | 0:40:35 | 0:40:38 | |
impress in the 200 and 400 metres as well. | 0:40:38 | 0:40:41 | |
Three, two, one, go! | 0:40:44 | 0:40:47 | |
Trials for the basketball team are well under way. | 0:40:48 | 0:40:51 | |
Hands up, hands up, hands up! | 0:40:51 | 0:40:53 | |
The UK won gold in 2014, beating the Americans in an epic final | 0:40:53 | 0:40:58 | |
at the Copper Box Arena in London. | 0:40:58 | 0:41:01 | |
Coach Scott is determined to retain the title... | 0:41:01 | 0:41:04 | |
SHOUTING | 0:41:04 | 0:41:05 | |
..and Nerys has her sights set on one of the coveted team places. | 0:41:07 | 0:41:11 | |
There are a lot of people here and a lot of really great players. | 0:41:11 | 0:41:15 | |
Really looking forward to it, see how it goes. | 0:41:15 | 0:41:18 | |
-Good luck, I'll let you crack on. -Nervous. Thank you. Thank you. | 0:41:18 | 0:41:20 | |
OK, this is the selection | 0:41:20 | 0:41:24 | |
to become part of the championship holding team. | 0:41:24 | 0:41:27 | |
I've got 12 slots to fill. | 0:41:27 | 0:41:29 | |
If you want to be one of those, | 0:41:29 | 0:41:30 | |
you have to give me absolutely everything. | 0:41:30 | 0:41:32 | |
You've got to show me that you want it now. | 0:41:32 | 0:41:34 | |
Don't leave here thinking, "I could have done more." | 0:41:34 | 0:41:37 | |
OK, let's hit it, let's get to the baseline, we're onto sprints! | 0:41:37 | 0:41:40 | |
If you really want this, you've got to work hard! | 0:41:45 | 0:41:47 | |
Nerys is relatively inexperienced, got into the sport quite recently. | 0:41:53 | 0:41:58 | |
She's hitting it with passion and she's doing it with enthusiasm, | 0:41:58 | 0:42:01 | |
'but I've only got 12 slots.' | 0:42:01 | 0:42:03 | |
Let's step it up! | 0:42:03 | 0:42:05 | |
Catch her up, Nerys, catch her up! | 0:42:07 | 0:42:09 | |
Let's go, Nerys! | 0:42:09 | 0:42:11 | |
Get that ball in the hoop! | 0:42:11 | 0:42:13 | |
Nice! | 0:42:15 | 0:42:16 | |
MUSIC: How You Like Me Now? by The Heavy | 0:42:16 | 0:42:18 | |
I really don't know if I've done enough. | 0:42:27 | 0:42:29 | |
I'm really pleased to still be here at the end of the trials | 0:42:29 | 0:42:32 | |
in the final 20, but out of that he has 12 places. | 0:42:32 | 0:42:36 | |
I'm nervous, really nervous. | 0:42:37 | 0:42:38 | |
It's Day 2 of the trials. | 0:42:45 | 0:42:48 | |
After a shaky start yesterday because of his illness, | 0:42:48 | 0:42:51 | |
Tom is focused on his last chance to make the team - | 0:42:51 | 0:42:54 | |
indoor rowing. | 0:42:54 | 0:42:56 | |
-Go on, drop it down! -Unfortunately, yesterday I was a bit unwell, | 0:42:56 | 0:42:59 | |
so I could be crying at the end of this! | 0:42:59 | 0:43:02 | |
Let's go! | 0:43:02 | 0:43:03 | |
We've got ambulance on call, haven't we?! | 0:43:03 | 0:43:06 | |
This is Tom's first time ever competing in this style of event. | 0:43:09 | 0:43:13 | |
That's it, Tom. | 0:43:13 | 0:43:15 | |
Good man, good! | 0:43:15 | 0:43:16 | |
It's a four-minute performance test. | 0:43:16 | 0:43:19 | |
Go flat out, as fast as you can, as hard as you can. | 0:43:19 | 0:43:24 | |
20 seconds! Keep it going, keep it going. All the way, all the way! | 0:43:24 | 0:43:27 | |
Yeah, well done! | 0:43:27 | 0:43:29 | |
Nice. | 0:43:29 | 0:43:30 | |
Tom puts in a heroic effort, but he won't know if it's enough | 0:43:30 | 0:43:34 | |
until the team is announced. | 0:43:34 | 0:43:36 | |
Good man, good. You OK? | 0:43:37 | 0:43:39 | |
TOM BREATHES HEAVILY | 0:43:39 | 0:43:41 | |
That's it, keep it slow. | 0:43:41 | 0:43:43 | |
While some people are focusing on their strongest event, | 0:43:46 | 0:43:49 | |
others are taking a different approach to the competition. | 0:43:49 | 0:43:52 | |
I'm doing the 100 metres in the wheelchair racing, | 0:43:54 | 0:43:57 | |
200 metres, 400 metres, and 1,500 metres, | 0:43:57 | 0:44:00 | |
wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball... | 0:44:00 | 0:44:02 | |
..wheelchair rugby, and a little bit of swimming. | 0:44:05 | 0:44:08 | |
I'm shattered! | 0:44:11 | 0:44:12 | |
Character, big character, er, | 0:44:19 | 0:44:21 | |
lots of laughs, lots of jokes, | 0:44:21 | 0:44:23 | |
lots of banter. Good for morale. | 0:44:23 | 0:44:26 | |
Most things would get a giggle out of Chris. | 0:44:26 | 0:44:28 | |
Chris puts in a strong performance on the tennis court, | 0:44:34 | 0:44:37 | |
but for him the Invictus Games is about more than just the sport. | 0:44:37 | 0:44:40 | |
It's just good to see all the boys again. | 0:44:40 | 0:44:43 | |
You feel kind of healed when you're here | 0:44:43 | 0:44:45 | |
because you're still having banter, giving the odd little dig, | 0:44:45 | 0:44:48 | |
stuff like this brings you all back together, | 0:44:48 | 0:44:50 | |
and then leave after the weekend | 0:44:50 | 0:44:52 | |
somewhat of a better person than when you came. | 0:44:52 | 0:44:55 | |
Hi, I'm helping! | 0:44:55 | 0:44:56 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:44:56 | 0:44:58 | |
These guys pushing me over, out of my chair, they think that's funny. | 0:44:58 | 0:45:01 | |
-It is. -Yeah, just to watch me try and get off the floor. -Yeah. | 0:45:01 | 0:45:05 | |
I mean, she throws herself on the floor anyway, why not help her? | 0:45:05 | 0:45:08 | |
So, it takes me, like, five minutes | 0:45:08 | 0:45:09 | |
to roll from my front to my back, so I get halfway there | 0:45:09 | 0:45:12 | |
and they just nudge me back onto my front, | 0:45:12 | 0:45:14 | |
because that's helping(!) | 0:45:14 | 0:45:16 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:45:17 | 0:45:19 | |
On the way home from the Warrior Games in America, | 0:45:19 | 0:45:22 | |
Chris provided some in-flight entertainment. | 0:45:22 | 0:45:25 | |
CHRIS GROWLS | 0:45:27 | 0:45:29 | |
Just shut the thing! | 0:45:29 | 0:45:30 | |
CHRIS ROARS | 0:45:30 | 0:45:31 | |
WOMAN SHRIEKS | 0:45:31 | 0:45:33 | |
LAUGHTER AND CLAPPING | 0:45:33 | 0:45:35 | |
If you don't look on the bright side of things, | 0:45:36 | 0:45:38 | |
you're just going to get yourself in a deeper hole so, the saying is, | 0:45:38 | 0:45:41 | |
"If you're not laughing, you're crying somewhere." | 0:45:41 | 0:45:44 | |
Everyone's crying somehow but if you laugh it off you can, er, | 0:45:44 | 0:45:47 | |
you can smile and carry on. | 0:45:47 | 0:45:48 | |
It's the final day of trials, | 0:45:53 | 0:45:55 | |
and Chris Jones is on his way to compete in the track cycling event. | 0:45:55 | 0:45:59 | |
He's brought his own trusty hand-built bike along with him. | 0:46:03 | 0:46:08 | |
Cycling was one of the most popular events in the last Invictus Games. | 0:46:10 | 0:46:14 | |
The large turnout this year means some stiff competition for places - | 0:46:14 | 0:46:19 | |
and some serious equipment on show. | 0:46:19 | 0:46:22 | |
Invictus gold medallist Paul Vice knows the wisdom of having | 0:46:22 | 0:46:26 | |
a good set of wheels. | 0:46:26 | 0:46:27 | |
When I first started training, I borrowed a bike from Headley Court, | 0:46:29 | 0:46:32 | |
it was, erm, well, I called it the Scaffold, | 0:46:32 | 0:46:34 | |
right, cos that's what it was, and it weighed 30 kilos, | 0:46:34 | 0:46:37 | |
it was an absolute beast. | 0:46:37 | 0:46:39 | |
And I was way off the pace, I was thinking, "Ohhh!" | 0:46:39 | 0:46:42 | |
So I took the plunge and did buy a high-performance bike, | 0:46:42 | 0:46:45 | |
and then the difference is huge. | 0:46:45 | 0:46:47 | |
If you just rock up on your Sunday morning, you know, | 0:46:47 | 0:46:49 | |
basket on the front, you're not going to do very well. | 0:46:49 | 0:46:52 | |
I think the bottom bracket's on its way out, | 0:46:52 | 0:46:54 | |
it's making a hell of a racket. | 0:46:54 | 0:46:57 | |
Chris has clocked up over 2,000 off-road kilometres | 0:46:57 | 0:47:00 | |
on his beloved bike, | 0:47:00 | 0:47:02 | |
and more than a few dents and bruises. | 0:47:02 | 0:47:04 | |
But this will be the first time he's used it at a track race. | 0:47:07 | 0:47:10 | |
..four, three, two, one, go! | 0:47:10 | 0:47:14 | |
I'm hoping that if I get selected and if I go to Orlando, | 0:47:20 | 0:47:25 | |
it will allow me to have a sense of peace, | 0:47:25 | 0:47:29 | |
being able to finish my relationship with the British military | 0:47:29 | 0:47:34 | |
on a positive note, with things a little calmer in here. | 0:47:34 | 0:47:40 | |
-BELL RINGS -Last lap! | 0:47:44 | 0:47:46 | |
And it's only on the final lap that the leaders pull away from Chris. | 0:47:48 | 0:47:53 | |
-Amazing effort, Chris, amazing. -Well done! | 0:48:08 | 0:48:11 | |
I was doing my damnedest, | 0:48:12 | 0:48:14 | |
but they lapped me literally just on that last...that final straight, | 0:48:14 | 0:48:18 | |
so, erm, yeah, it was a shame cos I would have liked to have | 0:48:18 | 0:48:22 | |
crossed the line on the same lap as them. | 0:48:22 | 0:48:25 | |
I couldn't have done any more than I did today. | 0:48:25 | 0:48:28 | |
BELL RINGS | 0:48:28 | 0:48:29 | |
With the hard graft and trials behind them, each of our | 0:48:31 | 0:48:34 | |
Invictus hopefuls now just has to write a personal statement... | 0:48:34 | 0:48:39 | |
..150 words explaining what the Invictus Games means to them. | 0:48:42 | 0:48:47 | |
The final decision of who will be on the plane to Orlando | 0:48:50 | 0:48:53 | |
is down to the Selection Committee. | 0:48:53 | 0:48:56 | |
They'll take into account the performance data from trials | 0:48:56 | 0:48:59 | |
but also how being selected for the team would benefit each individual. | 0:48:59 | 0:49:05 | |
It is a big day. | 0:49:05 | 0:49:06 | |
It's really important to us, as the panel, to do the athletes justice. | 0:49:06 | 0:49:10 | |
There's performance data, | 0:49:10 | 0:49:12 | |
which is how they performed in the trials, plus coach input, | 0:49:12 | 0:49:14 | |
and then there's the really important element of | 0:49:14 | 0:49:17 | |
their own personal statement, | 0:49:17 | 0:49:18 | |
and that carries considerable weight in our selection. | 0:49:18 | 0:49:21 | |
We have Jen Warren, 224. | 0:49:23 | 0:49:26 | |
Major Warren. | 0:49:26 | 0:49:27 | |
Her strongest suit is her wheelchair racing. | 0:49:29 | 0:49:32 | |
In her personal statement she really talks very powerfully | 0:49:32 | 0:49:36 | |
about not being defined by her disability. | 0:49:36 | 0:49:40 | |
"Sport enables me to channel my frustration into | 0:49:40 | 0:49:43 | |
"something more positive. | 0:49:43 | 0:49:44 | |
"My training has made me physically stronger, | 0:49:44 | 0:49:47 | |
"enabling me to look after my daughter more independently." | 0:49:47 | 0:49:51 | |
But Jen's got a lot of competing demands on her time. | 0:49:51 | 0:49:54 | |
Seems to have a lot on her plate. | 0:49:54 | 0:49:56 | |
We need to really think very, very hard about whether | 0:49:56 | 0:49:58 | |
she's being overloaded, | 0:49:58 | 0:49:59 | |
that might cause this to be a negative | 0:49:59 | 0:50:01 | |
rather than the positive experience that we want it to be. | 0:50:01 | 0:50:04 | |
-Who's next? -Air Trooper Jones. | 0:50:04 | 0:50:06 | |
He obviously did OK in the cycling. | 0:50:08 | 0:50:11 | |
Is he the one that didn't have a new bike when he did the trials? | 0:50:11 | 0:50:14 | |
Yeah, that's right. | 0:50:14 | 0:50:16 | |
I'm impressed that he managed to survive the day | 0:50:16 | 0:50:18 | |
and get round the course on that bike, actually. | 0:50:18 | 0:50:21 | |
But we've got some strong cyclists. | 0:50:21 | 0:50:23 | |
Tennis. | 0:50:24 | 0:50:26 | |
Middleton was someone the coach was impressed with. | 0:50:26 | 0:50:29 | |
He was such a character. | 0:50:29 | 0:50:31 | |
Never stopped getting stuck into everything that was going on. | 0:50:31 | 0:50:34 | |
Great athletic ability, he goes off, not only plays well, but he also, | 0:50:34 | 0:50:38 | |
er, his energy's infectious and he inspires the rest of the team. | 0:50:38 | 0:50:42 | |
-Wheelchair basketball? -Competition for the team's tough. -It is. | 0:50:43 | 0:50:48 | |
We've now got Pearce to consider. | 0:50:48 | 0:50:50 | |
-She's come a long way in a couple of years, hasn't she? -She has. | 0:50:50 | 0:50:54 | |
She was quite sort of lost, looking for a bit of a focus. | 0:50:54 | 0:50:58 | |
And fiercely competitive. | 0:50:58 | 0:51:00 | |
-I wouldn't like to get between Nerys and the ball, that's for sure. -No. | 0:51:00 | 0:51:03 | |
But is she good enough? | 0:51:03 | 0:51:05 | |
She's got some attributes | 0:51:05 | 0:51:06 | |
which I think will certainly bring a lot to the team. | 0:51:06 | 0:51:09 | |
But as the coaches always told me, "You can't teach height," | 0:51:09 | 0:51:12 | |
and so in terms of being a natural basketball player, erm, | 0:51:12 | 0:51:15 | |
she's going to struggle from the get-go. | 0:51:15 | 0:51:18 | |
Can she get up to speed in time? | 0:51:18 | 0:51:20 | |
OK, so, next up we've got Tom Stimpson. | 0:51:22 | 0:51:25 | |
He was one of the ones that seeing 2014 has brought him to us. | 0:51:27 | 0:51:30 | |
In terms of athletic ability, he's in the middle range of performance. | 0:51:30 | 0:51:34 | |
Definitely some potential for improvement, | 0:51:34 | 0:51:37 | |
but he's got a lot of work to do. | 0:51:37 | 0:51:39 | |
D'you want to pop the statement up? | 0:51:40 | 0:51:43 | |
-Oh, yeah, he's had a difficult year, hasn't he? -Oh, yeah. | 0:51:43 | 0:51:46 | |
"I watched the 2014 Invictus Games | 0:51:48 | 0:51:49 | |
"that gave me the inspiration to go and try new sports. | 0:51:49 | 0:51:52 | |
"The Invictus Games will build more confidence, strength, | 0:51:52 | 0:51:55 | |
"and help with body image, coping with PTSD and seizures. | 0:51:55 | 0:51:58 | |
"But being able to wear a GB Team vest..." | 0:51:58 | 0:52:00 | |
Whoo! | 0:52:01 | 0:52:03 | |
Wow... | 0:52:08 | 0:52:09 | |
"GB Team vest..." | 0:52:15 | 0:52:16 | |
Cor, bloody hell, didn't expect that, erm... | 0:52:18 | 0:52:21 | |
"Being positive and having a smile is important with the team | 0:52:24 | 0:52:27 | |
"and supporting each other. | 0:52:27 | 0:52:29 | |
"It would make my wife and children proud. | 0:52:29 | 0:52:31 | |
"I've struggled feeling..." | 0:52:31 | 0:52:33 | |
"..feeling a failure." | 0:52:36 | 0:52:37 | |
Just thought my days of sport were finished, as you would, you know! | 0:52:40 | 0:52:44 | |
The Selection Committee has made their decision, | 0:52:51 | 0:52:55 | |
and each competitor has been on tenterhooks waiting for news. | 0:52:55 | 0:52:59 | |
It's been really difficult waiting, | 0:52:59 | 0:53:01 | |
and I've learned that I really am not as patient as I thought I was! | 0:53:01 | 0:53:04 | |
Hoping sometime today they'll put us out of our misery and let us know! | 0:53:04 | 0:53:08 | |
Nerys, hello, it's David Richmond from Help For Heroes. | 0:53:16 | 0:53:19 | |
Oh, hello, how are you, sir? | 0:53:19 | 0:53:21 | |
'We sat on the Selection Committee...' | 0:53:21 | 0:53:23 | |
..erm, and we considered 228 competitors, | 0:53:23 | 0:53:28 | |
and, er, I'm absolutely delighted to say, Nerys, | 0:53:28 | 0:53:31 | |
'that you are one of the selected 100.' | 0:53:31 | 0:53:34 | |
Thank you very much, sir. That's amazing, absolutely amazing. | 0:53:34 | 0:53:37 | |
-Oh, brilliant news. -'Congratulations.' | 0:53:37 | 0:53:39 | |
PHONE RINGS | 0:53:40 | 0:53:42 | |
'Jen, it's Martin Colclough.' | 0:53:48 | 0:53:50 | |
-OK. -'How are you?' -Hmm, I'm bricking it. | 0:53:50 | 0:53:54 | |
I'm not sure how to tell you this but, erm... | 0:53:54 | 0:53:57 | |
'you are going to Orlando, you've been selected for the team.' | 0:53:57 | 0:54:00 | |
-SHE SQUEALS -Yay! | 0:54:00 | 0:54:03 | |
Thank you! | 0:54:03 | 0:54:04 | |
Chris has had some good news and wants to share it with his family. | 0:54:04 | 0:54:09 | |
-You all right, mate? -Hello! -Congratulations! -Thank you. | 0:54:09 | 0:54:12 | |
-Thank you. -Well done, son. -Thank you, Mam. | 0:54:12 | 0:54:17 | |
-Well done, buddy. -Cheers, big man! | 0:54:19 | 0:54:21 | |
CHEERING | 0:54:23 | 0:54:24 | |
Does anyone want it, then? | 0:54:24 | 0:54:26 | |
-Give us the bottle! -Cheers. | 0:54:26 | 0:54:29 | |
-Thank you. -Well done, Chris. -Cheers. -Let's win some gold. | 0:54:29 | 0:54:32 | |
He's representing something that he believes in. | 0:54:35 | 0:54:38 | |
He was lost for two, three years, | 0:54:38 | 0:54:41 | |
and now he's got something to look forward to all the time, | 0:54:41 | 0:54:44 | |
something to aim for, so that, you know, that gives him | 0:54:44 | 0:54:50 | |
a sense of achievement and makes me feel so proud. | 0:54:50 | 0:54:53 | |
Every son wants to make their parents proud. | 0:54:53 | 0:54:56 | |
Knowing the fact that my parents are proud of me and they're | 0:54:56 | 0:54:59 | |
getting their little boy back who they raised in the right way... | 0:54:59 | 0:55:03 | |
I went down a slippery patch but they've got their little Chris back. | 0:55:03 | 0:55:06 | |
I'm not going to be happy if I don't come back with a medal, | 0:55:07 | 0:55:10 | |
but I'm competing, and it's the start of a new story, | 0:55:10 | 0:55:13 | |
a new chapter in my life, so bring it on. | 0:55:13 | 0:55:15 | |
Let's do it. | 0:55:16 | 0:55:17 | |
-NEWSREADER: -'Prince Harry has named the British team that'll take part | 0:55:22 | 0:55:26 | |
'in the Invictus Games in Orlando. | 0:55:26 | 0:55:29 | |
'All the UK athletes came together for the first time today.' | 0:55:29 | 0:55:32 | |
Prince Harry has invited all the successful athletes | 0:55:35 | 0:55:38 | |
to Buckingham Palace. | 0:55:38 | 0:55:40 | |
Each individual has earned the right to wear their country's flag | 0:55:40 | 0:55:44 | |
on their chest once more. | 0:55:44 | 0:55:46 | |
Everyone's really excited cos now we can finally reveal that we're | 0:55:48 | 0:55:51 | |
going to be on the team. | 0:55:51 | 0:55:52 | |
Hang on, you should be in this. | 0:55:52 | 0:55:54 | |
D'you want me to take one for you? Go on, get in. | 0:55:54 | 0:55:56 | |
I've been telling my little girl that we're going to go to Orlando | 0:56:00 | 0:56:03 | |
in May, and she's like, "Orlando? Plane! Orlando!" | 0:56:03 | 0:56:07 | |
And it's like, "Yeah, you're going to go on a plane with Daddy!" | 0:56:07 | 0:56:10 | |
The last two successful athletes to join the celebrations are... | 0:56:10 | 0:56:14 | |
..Chris... | 0:56:15 | 0:56:16 | |
..and Tom. | 0:56:18 | 0:56:19 | |
-You should be proud of yourself. -Yeah. | 0:56:20 | 0:56:23 | |
-You are, aren't you? -I am proud but it... | 0:56:23 | 0:56:25 | |
it's only recently that you... be able to accept that. | 0:56:25 | 0:56:28 | |
You know, it's a massive, sort of difficult challenge inside here, | 0:56:28 | 0:56:31 | |
but once you do accept here and here, | 0:56:31 | 0:56:33 | |
that helps you in recovery, so I'm proud and it's great to be here. | 0:56:33 | 0:56:36 | |
I'm pleased to hear it. | 0:56:36 | 0:56:38 | |
Very happy to be here and glad I made the team. | 0:56:38 | 0:56:41 | |
Worth all that effort on that scaffold pole of a bike? | 0:56:41 | 0:56:45 | |
Although I like to think that maybe it got me a bit of a pity vote! | 0:56:45 | 0:56:48 | |
-When they formed up just now, I wanted to get up and march! -Did you? | 0:56:51 | 0:56:54 | |
Yeah, I really did, I thought, "Oh, man, that's great!" | 0:56:54 | 0:56:57 | |
Given what you've all been through, how good a day is today? | 0:56:59 | 0:57:02 | |
It's the fact that we're all there | 0:57:02 | 0:57:04 | |
and we're all building each other up, you know, | 0:57:04 | 0:57:06 | |
pushing and encouraging each other to move forward in everything. | 0:57:06 | 0:57:09 | |
Being able to put this on, know what I mean? The shirt, the kit, the... | 0:57:09 | 0:57:12 | |
You know, we're fighting for the country again. | 0:57:12 | 0:57:14 | |
DOG BARKS | 0:57:15 | 0:57:17 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:57:17 | 0:57:19 | |
Where's your uniform?! | 0:57:19 | 0:57:20 | |
But no team is complete without a team photo. | 0:57:22 | 0:57:25 | |
-Hip-hip... -ALL: Hooray! | 0:57:25 | 0:57:27 | |
-Hip-hip... -ALL: Hooray! | 0:57:27 | 0:57:29 | |
-Hip-hip... -ALL: Hooray! | 0:57:29 | 0:57:30 | |
When people are unhappy they use the expression, "What's the point?" | 0:57:33 | 0:57:36 | |
Because we all need to feel valued, | 0:57:36 | 0:57:37 | |
we need to feel we have some purpose in life. | 0:57:37 | 0:57:39 | |
Of course, these guys and girls, | 0:57:39 | 0:57:41 | |
when they were part of the military, knew what their purpose was. | 0:57:41 | 0:57:44 | |
They felt truly valued as a team. | 0:57:44 | 0:57:45 | |
And after serious injury they've had to rediscover that. | 0:57:45 | 0:57:48 | |
But you can see it in their eyes now, they do feel valued, | 0:57:48 | 0:57:51 | |
they genuinely feel it. | 0:57:51 | 0:57:53 | |
Why? Because they're on a mission once more, | 0:57:53 | 0:57:55 | |
a mission to bring back gold for the UK. | 0:57:55 | 0:57:58 | |
The Invictus Games, on BBC One, all next week. | 0:57:58 | 0:58:01 | |
Why not tune in and cheer these people on? | 0:58:01 | 0:58:03 |