Sports festival
Invictus Games competitions started
The teams of France (white) and Great Britain (blue) compete in wheelchair rugby. photo
© Christoph Reichwein/dpa
War-disabled soldiers are currently competing in various disciplines in Düsseldorf. However, this competition is not about medals.
The competitions have begun at the international sports festival for disabled soldiers, the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf. Athletics, bench press and wheelchair rugby are on the program on Sunday.
Archery, indoor rowing, sitting volleyball, swimming, cycling and wheelchair basketball competitions are also scheduled for the following days. Table tennis is related to Düsseldorf in the program for the first time.
More than 500 participants from 21 countries compete in one or more of the ten disciplines. In addition, more than 1,000 family members and carers traveled to the sports festival.
Prince Harry, who was an officer in the British Army in Afghanistan, founded the Invictus Games after encounters with seriously injured people. The son of King Charles III. and Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD), who also traveled there, spoke to the participants of the sports festival and the numerous spectators on Saturday evening in Düsseldorf during the opening event.
Return to normal life
Both were back in Düsseldorf on Sunday. Pistorius visited the German team and sports facilities and also observed athletics competitions. The minister also tried his hand at wheelchair curling, which, however, is not one of the competitive disciplines. Prince Harry watched a wheelchair rugby match.
Prince Harry stays in Düsseldorf. With his wife Meghan he will take part in the final event next Saturday (September 16th). The organizers expect a total of around 100,000 spectators including the events at the beginning and end of the festival.
The German team includes 31 men and seven women, most of whom are active or former soldiers in the Bundeswehr. You have suffered mental or physical injuries during deployment or in accidents. As some of them made clear in the run-up to the Invictus Games, their main concern is a return to normal life and greater attention for disabled soldiers, including in Germany. For the first time, the German team also includes two women and two men from the police, federal police and fire department.