MWO Garrett Powers, a member of the 4 Wing Fire Service, competes in the Shot put at the Invictus Games held in the Netherlands last April – Supplied Photo

An athlete that currently calls 4 Wing home is back from representing Canada at the Invictus Games.

MWO Garrett Powers competed in several events at the games in The Hague back in April. The 4 Wing Fire Service member took home a pair of medals at the competition.

“I received a bronze medal in the Shot put and a silver medal in the 4×100 Relay. It takes a while to skink in, it was the first day of the competition, and the events happened within two days so it was quite hectic. Some of the medals, they don’t present until the end of the day, so you’re left wondering if you were disqualified or something else happened.”

Powers trained for the competition both at 4 Wing with Personnel Support Programs (PSP) Reconditioning Specialist Sarah Barber as well as taking part in a three-day training camp in Ottawa, before heading to the Netherlands for the games.

“[The organizers] put a lot of money into the competition. It was just like any professional athletic event you’d see on TV. The opening ceremonies, the concerts, the intros for all the teams; It was all very impressive.”

MWO Garrett Powers poses with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and other members of Team Canada at the Invictus Games – Supplied Photo

While competing, Powers had the opportunity to meet with Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, one of the founders of the games, and spoke with him as well as posed for a picture.

“He’s a good guy, really down-to-earth. You can tell he’s ex-military as he has that military demeanor.”

“The biggest thing for me was, after my amputation, finding an excuse to get out and start training and get back into athletics and the Invictus games gave me that reason,” adds Powers. “Being surrounded by so many other people with similar situations, I didn’t look at myself as having a disability because everyone was on an even playing field.”

Powers is back to working full-time with the 4 Wing Fire Service when he isn’t competing. He says he’s also received an invite to take part in the Warrior Games, set to take place at the Walt Disney World Resort in August of this year.

“It’s similar to the Invictus Games with many of the same sports but it’s hosted by the United States Department of Defense. It’s been running longer than the Invictus Games.”

Powers says he’s leaving soon for Edmonton for a one-week Training Camp to prepare for his next challenge.

“I’ll be able to take my family down with me and they’ll get to go on roller coasters while I’m tossing rocks.”