This weekend, the All-Ukrainian competition of the Invincible Games took place in Lviv. This selection for the national team to travel to the Invictus Games International Veterans Competition in the fall was the largest in years, with 2 competition days, 4 locations, 9 sports and 223 military/veterans with combat injuries. The Invincibles Games are not about sports competition or medals, but about victory over yourself, and the Lviv national team proved it once again.
For security reasons, it was impossible to cover the Invincibles Games in real time, so we are publishing a report on the competition after its completion.
A year ago, on April 28, 2022, the Ukrainian national team returned home from the Invictus Games in The Hague (Netherlands), where they won 16 medals. And exactly one year later, the national selection for the Invictus Games 2023, which will take place in Dusseldorf (Germany), began in Lviv. A record number of participants came to Lviv for the national selection – 223 military personnel or veterans from 24 regions of Ukraine.
“Two hundred girls and boys who are strong in spirit and body have come to Lviv and are choosing their right to represent Ukraine at international competitions in Düsseldorf. We hold these competitions and already have the ambition that one of the next Invictus Games world championships will take place in Lviv. We are worthy to hold such competitions. Our goal is for Lviv to be welcoming to every veteran, every wounded person, that is why we are building an ecosystem of UNBREAKABLE humanity, which includes a large sports component. I have very cool impressions and emotions from the Games, because I have the honor to communicate with very cool people,” said Andriy Sadovy, the mayor of Lviv.
For the first time, Ukraine joined the Invictus Games in 2017. As the national coordinator of the Invictus Games, Ilona Voloshina, notes, the most important achievement of the competition participants over the years is not medals or victories, but the unique friendly community they created, which carries the values of the Invictus Games into civilian life: courage, respect, mutual support.
“Fighters whose will is stronger than their body – this is about all the participants of the Invincible Games. From the moment you made the decision to compete in the Invincible Games, you are all winners. You have overcome your pain and decided to recover. I am proud that the community is growing and you are joining the competition. But, unfortunately, there are those unconquered who will never be able to perform again. During the years of war, Ukraine lost 10 members of the invincible team,” Yulia Laputina, Minister of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, said at the opening ceremony, after which all participants of the Games honored their fallen comrades with a moment of silence.
It is symbolic that at the opening of the Games an empty table was placed in the hall with T-shirts with the names of athletes who died for Ukraine. Anyone who knew the deceased participants of the Invincible Games could sign them. After that, the t-shirts will be given to the relatives of the victims. This proves once again: the community of the unconquered does not forget its brothers. At the same time, the organizers wanted to draw attention to the fact that thousands of Ukrainian soldiers continue to risk their lives every minute to protect the Motherland.
During the two days of the all-Ukrainian competition, the participants tested themselves in 9 sports. On the first day, the unconquered competed in powerlifting, athletics, rowing on simulators, and wheelchair basketball. The majority (about 60%) took part in the Invincibles Games for the first time this year, so before each competition, the judges conducted a short briefing, familiarizing themselves with the rules and equipment.
One of the “first-timers” was 26-year-old Oleksandr Budko from Rivne (call sign “Teren”), who immediately tried himself in the maximum number of sports: bench press, running, rowing, wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball.
“I entered the army in May 2022. Fought in Kharkiv Region, Izyum direction. In August, something flew into the trench, I don’t even know what it was, and it happened that two of my legs were amputated.
I knew right away that I was going to compete in the Invincible Games, so I started training even before I had prosthetics. I always played sports and understood that I wanted to continue it, despite the injuries. With prostheses, even more opportunities appeared and he began to train in various sports. I really wanted to test my strength and spirit.
The Invincible Games exceeded all expectations. Everything here is so united and team-oriented, the atmosphere is incredible, there is no competition. Here there is the same spirit of the unconquered,” the boy emphasizes.
Interestingly, the last competition of the first day was a team game, namely wheelchair basketball. This game is almost the most impromptu, because almost all the boys sat in special carts for the first time and played this type of basketball. However, this did not prevent the boys’ cohesion, team spirit and fun.
The second competitive day consisted of archery, cycling, swimming and table tennis. The most spectacular of these competitions was cycling. This is the only part of this year’s Invincible Games that took place at an open location in the center of Lviv, so Lviv residents could watch the competition and cheer for the participants.
60-year-old Lviv native Mykola Siplivy (call sign “Sokil”) also took part in cycling. The man says that he is participating in the Games for the third year in a row, because he really likes this “youthful” atmosphere.
“I have been a volunteer since 2014. After the full-scale invasion, he first served in Lviv’s 103rd brigade, and then transferred to Luhansk’s 111th. He was wounded several times by landmines.
I have been participating in the Invincible Games since 2019. My main sport is cycling, but this year for the first time I decided to try rowing on the exercise machine (although I had never even sat on it before). In general, I like winter sports, but there are none here, but there is a desire to “train” with young people, so I register for the Games every year. Here are my brothers, here is team spirit,” the soldier shares.
Each participant of the Invincible Games has his own unique story, but each of them inspires others by his example, shows by his actions that the impossible is possible, and by his actions proves to the whole world that no combat injury can break a strong spirit. The extent to which all participants support each other is very valuable: not a single undefeated one was left without fans at the competition (even if he came to the Games without family or friends).
“Dear warriors, participants of the Invincible Games! I want to thank you for your strength! Ukrainians are a great nation, because our people have gone through terrible trials, fought for freedom, independence and proper Ukrainianness for children. It is thanks to the stability, strength and power of people like you that we will win.
I wish the Ukrainian team to represent our country in a dignified manner as always at this year’s Invictus Games in Germany. I wish you all success. Always be true to yourself, your dreams and our beautiful Ukraine,” Volodymyr Zelenskyi, the President of Ukraine, said in his video address to the invincible.
The All-Ukrainian Invincible Games in Lviv were organized by the Sports Department of the Lviv City Council, for which it was important to preserve the values of these competitions (if these friendly sports games can be called that).
“The path of this project is three months. There has never been such a level of national selection. We thoroughly prepared for these competitions, analyzed the entire philosophy of holding the Invincible Games. It was important for us to emphasize the equality of all participants, so medals were awarded to all the unbeaten. We designed them to be of the same type and, symbolically, made of stainless steel. After all, the spirit of each participant is as strong as steel. They are fighters whose will is stronger than their body,” noted Anton Nikulin, head of the sports department of the Lviv City Council.
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The Invictus Games were launched in 2014 by Prince Harry and were first held in London (UK). About 300 athletes from 13 countries who fought alongside the United Kingdom in recent military campaigns took part in them. The Invincibles 2023 Games will be held in Düsseldorf (Germany) from September 9 to 16 under the motto “HOUSE FOR RESPECT”.
Ukraine joined the Invincible Games in 2017, making its debut at the competition in Toronto, Canada. The second Games took place in 2018 in Sydney, Australia. In May 2020, the event was supposed to take place in The Hague, but due to quarantine restrictions caused by COVID-19, it was postponed to 2021, and later to 2022. Finally, in April 2022, the Ukrainian national team performed in The Hague (Netherlands). Some members of the national team returned to the service again.
The national team of Ukraine in 2023 will be represented by 24 athletes from among military personnel and war veterans who received injuries, illnesses and injuries while performing official duties in the combat zone.