Prince Harry unveils UK team for Invictus Games 2016
Prince Harry has unveiled the UK’s team for the second Invictus Games, which will take place in Orlando.
I could not be prouder to captain the UK teamDavid Wiseman
David Wiseman will captain a 110-strong team of wounded, injured and sick serving military personnel and veterans.
The team came together for the first time on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace and met Prince Harry.
The selection process was based on the benefit the Games will give an individual in their recovery, performance and commitment to training.
Wiseman was commanding a small British Infantry team embedded within the Afghan National Army in Nad-e Ali district, Helmand province, in 2009 when he was shot in the chest whilst conducting a fighting patrol that came into contact with the Taliban.
The round entered his shoulder and travelled the length of his torso, ricocheting on his ribs before coming to rest in his right lung, where it still is.
He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2012, a condition which he says is now manageable thanks to the treatment he has received.
"I have a huge emotional attachment to the Invictus Games and could not be prouder to have been selected to Captain the UK Team at Orlando 2016,” he said.
“The Invictus Games is a shining example of what this community can achieve: a group of individuals from around the world coming together in order to show everyone that beyond injury, they can achieve the extraordinary."
The event also marked the official handover of the Invictus Games flag from Prince Harry to US Team captain Will Reynolds. London was the host city of the 2014 Invictus Games.
Over 60% of this year's team are new to the Invictus Games. They will compete in 10 sports: athletics, archery, wheelchair basketball, road cycling, powerlifting, indoor rowing, wheelchair rugby, swimming, sitting volleyball and a new sport for 2016, wheelchair tennis.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: "Everyone selected for the UK team can be proud of what they have achieved as they prepare for success in Orlando.
“The Ministry of Defence is once again backing this superb event and I look forward to being there to see our personnel and veterans demonstrate their fighting spirit."
