068A6985_820e028e-3170-4cd4-942c-73902fe7e0e4_20220419100527

Day 4: Tuesday April 19

An Olympic champion swimming that is impressed by the Invictus spirit in the swimming pool. A 19-year-old with PTSD finds her like-minded people in The Hague. And three Georgian participants who lost their legs in war situations, but now have the time of their lives. That’s the Invictus Games. Day 4 in eight stories.

Competitors

Competitors

Franz-Josef Schmitz (Team Germany)

Franz-Josef Schmitz (Team Germany)

Franz-Josef Schmitz is a part of Team Germany and competing in archery, rowing and sitting volleyball. He is joined by his wife and two children who are naturally very proud of him. It is the second time around for Franz-Josef because he also joined the IG2018 in Sydney.
Grigoli, Akhmed and Revaz (Team Georgia)

Grigoli, Akhmed and Revaz (Team Georgia)

Having made the ultimate sacrifice in conflict, Georgian double leg amputees Grigoli, Akhmed and Revaz believe in the power of sport in improving their health and keeping their spirits high. Last night they could be seen waving the Georgian flag and cheering in the front row for their fellow team members at the sitting volleyball finals.

Family & Friends

Family & Friends

Ranomi Kromowidjojo and her brother Chjanoy

Ranomi Kromowidjojo and her brother Chjanoy

The smell of the swimming pool is not only familiar to Ranomi Kromowidjojo (31), but also to one of her biggest fans, brother Chjanoy (35). At the ‘Hofbad’ both are witnessing that brotherhood and support from family members at the Invictus Games are even stronger than they were used to in what Ranomi calls her ‘swim family’.

Volunteers

Volunteers

Hannie Page

Hannie Page

You could call her first among equals. Hannie Page (54) can be found behind the Infodesk of the Nations Home five days per week. If you take a walk with her around the premises, many a person will recognise her or come up for a hug. Her face is ‘Facebook famous’. She caught the Invictus ‘virus’ in 2016 and hopes she will never get rid of it. She attended previous editions in Toronto (2017) and Sydney (2018) as an official volunteer as well.
Luna Slot

Luna Slot

Suddenly, she stands in front of me. Her name is Luna, Luna Slot. She has a story, as her foster father Patrick Ruben tells me. An impressive story, beautiful also. A story that fits in this setting; the setting of the Invictus Games. For two months Luna, only nineteen years old, knows she has PTSD. This week, at the Invictus Games, she was literally confronted with this. While working as a volunteer she froze. She couldn’t do anything anymore. She came to herself by writing down her story. Now she wanted to read it to someone.

Fanzone

Fanzone

Meet the Marines

Meet the Marines

One of the side events that take place this week during the Invictus Games, is ‘Meet the Marines’. At this side event there have been and will be different challenges for visitors. Young and old took up the challenge in a tough competition. They went on to see who could do the most pull-ups, push-ups and sit-ups. By taking on the challenge, one can learn to identify and set his or her boundaries under the guidance of (ex)marines.
Ottobock

Ottobock

Is this a day of horror for Ottobock? Niek Wondergem looks our way with a grin on his face. He gets the hint. After all, at no more than 50 meters from the stand of the manufacturer of, amongst other things, wheelchairs and (sports)prosthetics, is the Invictus Games stadium where the wheelchair rugby tournament is taking place. This means: a lot of hard crashes, many collisions, a lot of impact which means a big chance on damage.
This is Defence

This is Defence

You can find it all the way back in the Fanzone: the giant “Dit-is-Defensie’ (This-is-Defence) tent. This tent is all about the future: developments in areas such as robotics and energy transition. Just outside the tent one can learn more about the present. There is the vehicle commander who calls the nearby vehicle his ‘home’, for example.