Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, are in Vancouver Friday to meet with Invictus Games athletes at a local curling rink, one year ahead of the competition.
The pair spent the past two days at an Invictus Games training camp in Whistler, where Harry, who founded the Games for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans, about a decade ago, tried out sit-skiing and skeleton sledding alongside competitors.
Rasmus Penno is an Invictus Games athlete and a bilateral leg amputee from Estonia who previously competed at the 2018 Games in Australia in rowing.
He says taking part in the Games has been “awesome” and allowed him to connect with other military service personnel who have had similar life experiences.
Penno, who was in Canada trying snow sports for the first time, says he plans to take part in nordic sit-skiing and perhaps alpine skiing events next year.
He says he met and skied with Prince Harry on Wednesday, and that the Duke and Duchess asked him about his training.
“They support us more than anybody knows,” Penno said in an interview Thursday. “They are very kind people and they support us to try new sports like I did yesterday and the day before that. It was really nice to meet them.”
Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 will host about 500 competitors from 23 nations from Feb. 8 to 16, 2025.
It will be the first Games to feature alpine skiing, nordic skiing, skeleton and wheelchair curling, but it will also host indoor rowing, sitting volleyball, swimming, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball events as it has previously.
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