Olympic gold-medal swimmer Ian Thorpe arrives as ambassador for Invictus Games
8 May 2016
Ian Thorpe, a five-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming, arrived Sunday at Disney World as one of the Invictus Games' ambassadors.
He surprised U.S. Invictus Games swimmer Michael Roggio of Oviedo and members of the Australian swim team competing in the games for wounded service members. The Invictus Games will begin officially with the opening ceremony Sunday night (8-10, ESPN2) at Disney World's Champion Stadium and run through Thursday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
"We hear all of these things and all of the horrors of the injuries and all of the trauma that people may come back [with] from war zones and being in that kind of environment,'' said Thorpe, 33. "To show that these people are still prepared to be able to deliver and enjoy themselves, it is a transition that gives a positive side to all of this.''
Australia is one of 14 nations competing in the Invictus Games, which were founded by Prince Harry and first held in 2014 in London.
8 May 2016
Ian Thorpe, a five-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming, arrived Sunday at Disney World as one of the Invictus Games' ambassadors.
He surprised U.S. Invictus Games swimmer Michael Roggio of Oviedo and members of the Australian swim team competing in the games for wounded service members. The Invictus Games will begin officially with the opening ceremony Sunday night (8-10, ESPN2) at Disney World's Champion Stadium and run through Thursday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
"We hear all of these things and all of the horrors of the injuries and all of the trauma that people may come back [with] from war zones and being in that kind of environment,'' said Thorpe, 33. "To show that these people are still prepared to be able to deliver and enjoy themselves, it is a transition that gives a positive side to all of this.''
Australia is one of 14 nations competing in the Invictus Games, which were founded by Prince Harry and first held in 2014 in London.
