Invictus athlete thanks Prince Harry 'for saving my life'
Australian Navy veteran and Invictus Games gold medal winner Steve James has thanked the Duke of Sussex for saving his life.
The pair were part of an onstage discussion at the ISPS Sports Values Summit in Tokyo to raise awareness of the Sentebale charity which Harry co-founded.
Prince Harry set up the Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style sporting competition, in 2014 to aid the rehabilitation of injured and sick military personnel and veterans.
Mr James, who was hurt during a fall at sea and left with chronic pain, neurological issues and mental health challenges, said: "I needed Invictus, to teach me a very different approach to sport, it's enabling, it helps pain go away…
"I would like to thank Prince Harry for saving my life."
He competed at the Invictus Games in 2022, in athletics, wheelchair basketball, indoor rowing and wheelchair rugby and won gold in the discus.
Speaking to the panel, the Duke of Sussex shared his belief that sport has the power to heal the world.
He stressed the importance of teamwork, saying sport required having "a dream" and the "need for community".
"I have long believed that sport is a conduit for healing – not just for the mind and body but the world," the duke said.
"Sport requires having a dream and the need for community. Whether banded together in victory or showing up with respect in loss, no-one ever crosses a finish line or scores a goal without the help and belief of others.
"The lessons we learn on the field are often the same principles of philanthropy; that a mission, hard work, dedication, and partnership can make even the impossible, possible.
"That is what giving back requires, and we are all capable of creating or joining a team to do so."
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