Swimmers, coaches and parents from a York club will be cheering on Team UK with extra pride as the 2016 Invictus Games opens in Orlando, USA, on Sunday 8th May 2016.
York City Baths Club swimmer David Wiseman, will be leading out the UK Team, as Captain, in the opening ceremony. The 33-year-old, who swims with the Club’s Masters section, is leading a 110-strong team of wounded, injured and sick serving military personnel and veterans over the week long competition.
David and Team UK will take on 500 competitors from 15 countries in 10 adaptive sports. The Tadcaster-based swimmer is a former Captain with the Yorkshire Regiment and was shot in the chest whilst conducting a fighting patrol that came into contact with the Taliban. The round entered his shoulder, where it ricocheted around before coming to rest in his right lung, where it resides to this day.
Alongside his physical rehabilitation, the father of two was treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which he says is now manageable.
Ahead of his departure to Orlando, David said:
The UK Team for this year’s Invictus Games is full of incredible examples of individuals who have refused to be defined by their injuries but who have instead decided to show that beyond injury, one can still achieve the extraordinary. This is why I am immensely proud to lead them as Team Captain here in Orlando.
The 6”7” sportsman has had to fit his training around his job with the London-based Endeavour Fund. Set up in 2012, this organisation helps other wounded soldiers fulfil their ambitions to use sport as a vehicle for recovery.
Training with YCBC, at Tadcaster Pool and at Team UK training camps, means David is in good shape for his first event, the swimming heats on Saturday morning, 7th May 2016. He will have his eye on a spot in the Finals next Wednesday morning, 11th May 2016, whilst also competing in the Indoor Rowing event on Monday afternoon, 9th May 2016.
Steve Creighton, Chairman of York City Baths Club wished David well:
We are all very proud of the Club’s connection to David and his role in the Invictus Games. Everyone at the York City Baths Club wishes David and the UK Team the best of luck. The Americans might ‘bring it’ to the competition but we are sure that David and his team will ‘deliver it!
Television highlights of the 2016 Invictus Games will be shown on BBC1 every evening from Monday 9th May 2016 to Thursday 12th May 2016. If you want to learn more about David and his teammates journey to Orlando then tune in to the BBC1 documentary, The Road to the Games, on Sunday afternoon, 8th May 2016, at 14.45.
Good Luck David!
If you would like to find out more about David and his role in the 2016 Invictus Games, please watch this video: