The Invictus Games are set to kick off in Vancouver and Whistler on Saturday, and of the more than 20 nations taking part, there’s little doubt the chance to compete means the most to the one country currently at war.
The multi-sport tournament draws athletes who are wounded, injured or sick military service personnel, both serving and veterans.
Some of those athletes, like Illia Haiduk, hail from Ukraine, which has been at active war since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
“It’s very great thing to me,” Haiduk said of the games.
“I just don’t feel like I am injured, like I’ve got some problems. I just live my life like I did before. It’s a very great project, this Invictus.”
Haiduk, who walks with a prosthetic after having his leg amputated, is competing in skiing, skeleton, rowing and wheelchair basketball.
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It’s a far cry from his former life.
The 34-year-old served as a police officer for more than six years before the war, when he decided to sign up with the military to defend his country.
In the army, he served as a battle drone operator, flying UAVs armed with up to a kilogram of explosives against enemy troops and tanks, and rising to the rank of unit commander.
That all changed in October 2023, while he was away from the front lines.
“I was injured during a ceremony that gathered many soldiers, men and women who had performed their duties, courage and dedication to protect our country,” he said.
“An enemy drone saw military units there… When they saw us, they sent an Iskander missile… A lot of my fellow brothers died this day.”
Haiduk lost part of his leg to shrapnel in the attack and faced a long recovery afterward.
“More than eight months I was without a prosthetic. It was like operations maybe each month,” he said.
But during his recovery, he began to get into athletics.
It was there he tapped into a community of veterans that he said helped him in immeasurable ways.
“When you are training with other guys that have such injuries, that have the same problems, it’s very motivational,” he said.
Now, in Canada for the first time, he says he’s excited to represent his country and to explore the terrain.
“The most I like is skiing. I am so fall in love with this sport. Downhill skiing on one ski and one leg and two outriggers,” he said.
“Such great hills, great weather, great mountains. It’s very beautiful.”
Team Ukraine has 24 athletes in this year’s games, which have attracted more than 500 participants from around the world.
“I stand here because I survived,” Haiduk said. “But I have a responsibility to those who have their stories but can’t speak today.”
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