21 June 2022
Invictus Games 2022 The Hague – by Scott Reynolds
The Invictus Games use the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for wounded, injured and sick Servicemen and women.
Photo credit: Australian Defence Force
Founded by The Duke of Sussex, Invictus Games brought together over 500 competitors from 20 nations to compete in a series of adaptive sports. Competitors arrive at the games from all walks of life with vast ranging injuries including physical and mental health which form the basis of their competitor classification
When I applied for my second games in The Hague (the Netherlands), I set the goal of wanting to thrive in my personal performance, winning to me was not about medals even though that would have been pretty great. At the end of the Games I wanted to look back on my Invictus Games journey knowing that I supported my mates and improve my physical and mental health
The swimming made for some fierce but friendly competition, the stands were electric and I am absolutely stoked with my performance in The Hague. With the amazing support of my former Olympic swimming coach, Narelle Simpson and personal support from Speedo with racewear to our entire team I significantly improved personal swimming performance with PBs in every event; I swam in the 50m freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and 100m freestyle. At the age of 42 (and four years older from my last games) to be swimming significantly quicker than in the 2018 games – I attribute this to consistency of training effort and amazing support. The funny thing is I “fell” back into swimming after 20 something year hiatus from my school days, because of the Invictus Games, swimming training and competing with the Manly Diggers Swimming Club is part of my weekly routine now and going forward.
The Invictus Games has also inspired me to look beyond my own personal circumstances and to seek ways to support other veterans. My passion project called Saltwater Veterans (saltwaterveterans.org) aims to provide free monthly aquatic health & wellness opportunities, including squad swimming to our military veterans and their families.
This is my competitor profile https://www.defence.gov.au/events/invictus-games-hague-2020-aus-team-members/scott-reynolds
There are so many inspiring stories at the games you definitely want to check out this little story about Chris https://invictusaustralia.org/power-of-the-pool-to-heal-invictus-games/
So, Speedo Australia! I would love to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude for both support towards our Saltwater Veterans swimming program and on behalf of my fellow competitors of Team Australia Team for 2022 Invictus Games. This is my second Invictus Games, I competed in Sydney 2018 and now The Hague in 2022. I first meet Suki from the team Speedo, poolside at the Sydney Invictus Games where she was literally saving the day for many competitors that didn’t have a race suit or goggles! Now who would go to a major swim meet without these???
