Devon veterans prepare for Invictus Games

Two veterans from Plymouth are preparing to travel to Canada to compete in the Invictus Games.

RAF veteran Stephen Hooper, who was selected as UK team captain by the Royal British Legion, will compete in wheelchair rugby, snowboard slalom and indoor rowing.

Royal Navy veteran Dan Bennet, who has an arthritic condition, will compete in wheelchair basketball, indoor rowing and biathlon.

Speaking to BBC Radio Devon, Mr Bennet said: "I want to do this to help other people, to be an inspiration like other people were for me".

Mr Bennet, who served as a weapons engineer before suffering an ankle injury, said it would be his first Invictus Games.

The veteran said he suffered an accident which led to a psoriatic arthritis diagnosis, which "very, very, nearly" left him "wheelchair-bound".

He said: "My accident ended up giving me psoriatic arthritis; that is an arthritic condition with an autoimmune disease.

"I used to be a very athletic person and I was an ultra-athlete, I used to love running.

"I went from that to all of a sudden being injured and being down. I lost all confidence, I lost everything."

Mr Bennet said the Invictus Games journey taught "acceptance".

"They teach you and they let you recognise and accept who you are now, rather than who you used to be."

Mr Hooper served in the RAF as a mechanical transport driver.

The veteran, who was diagnosed with PTSD and went on to serve all the way up to 2021, competed in the games in Dusseldorf in 2023.

"Now, I'm sat here as a captain of Team UK, it just shows the power of what sport can do with the right support," he said.

The Invictus Games take place between 8 and 16 February.

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