Australian Invictus Games Competitor Quits After Drug Charges Revealed

Prince Harry with Tyrone Gawthorne, 2017 (Picture: Tyrone Gawthorne/Facebook).

Invictus Games competitor Tyrone Gawthorne has quit the Australia team after it was revealed that he faces charges for drugs and weapons offences.

The 36-year-old former Australian Army rifleman was charged last month with possessing cocaine and steroids.

He also faces criminal action for having a rifle that was not properly secured.

In a statement to ABC, he insisted he had not taken "any substance that would unfairly enhance my sporting performance at the Games".

"I cannot express how sorry I am for not disclosing to the team that I had been arrested," he said.

"I have let down my family and friends and my teammates, and my actions are not in keeping with the spirit of the Games.

"I would like to sincerely apologise to everyone who has been affected by my actions."

Mr Gawthorne joined the Australian Army in 1999 as a rifleman and was deployed in East Timor and Afghanistan before being medically discharged in 2011.

He won silver in an Invictus Games powerlifting event on Tuesday night.

The former rifleman was also scheduled to compete in were discus, shotput and swimming.

A profile on the Australian Government's Department of Defence Invictus Games team page was taken down on Wednesday.

Mr Gawthorne is due to appear in court in December.