Canadian Armed Forces veteran Natacha Dupuis golden at Invictus Games
Canadian Natacha Dupuis won two gold medals on the track at the Invictus Games, a sporting event for servicemen and women, in Orlando, Fla. this week.
The second-ever Invictus Games, an international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veterans, wrapped up on May 12 in Orlando, Fla. Canada returns with 22 medals from the event including two gold medals from Natacha Dupuis in athletics.
“The strength and perseverance our athletes have shown throughout the 2016 Invictus Games are a true testament to the character of our past and present service men and women,” says Minister of Veteran Affairs Kent Hehr.
Canada sent a 28-person team, which included five members of the Canadian Armed Forces and 23 veterans, and won 10 gold medals, eight silver and four bronze.
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Dupuis won gold in the IT7 100m and 200m, both of which included preliminary heats and finals. She added a third medal, a bronze, in weightlifting. The Chelsea, Que. resident is a retired master corporal and previously served with the Canadian Army.
The IT7 category is for those with slight or non-permanent physical disabilities, other psychological or unseen conditions such as post traumatic stress disorder.
Below is Dupuis and teammate Christine Gauthier celebrating their medals in the weightlifting competition.
Prince Harry and Michelle Obama spoke at the event’s opening ceremonies. Toronto was recently announced as the host of the 2017 Invictus Games, which will be held Sept. 27-30. The inaugural event was held in 2014 at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
More than 500 competitors were part of the 2016 Invictus Games. Prince Harry launched the annual event in 2014 after serving in the British military. The competition, in addition to athletics, includes cycling, rowing, weightlifting and swimming.
The Invictus Flag has officially been passed to Canada for @InvictusToronto 2017! See you in Toronto ? #InvictusGames
— Invictus Games 2016 (@InvictusOrlando) May 13, 2016
Before the start of the Invictus Games, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau got athletes excited with a motivational message and some post-speech pushups.
Athletics results can be found here.
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