Prince Harry, right, and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, speak with a skeleton athlete while attending an Invictus Games training camp, in Whistler, B.C., on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, are in Vancouver today to meet with Invictus Games athletes at a local curling rink, one year ahead of the competition. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
VANCOUVER – Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, are in Vancouver today 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 or 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 in the 2018 Games in Australia in rowing.
He says taking part in the Games has been “awesome” and has allowed him to connect with other military service personnel who have had similar life experiences.
Penno, who was in Canada and 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 had 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.
Reporters from international publications that focus on celebrity news, including Hello magazine, People magazine and the Daily Mail, have been in B.C. this week to cover their visit.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2024.
