Rachel Williamson

Mar 02, 2023
5 Min read
Recovery Stories

Former RAF veteran Rachel Williamson almost gave up on fitness and using sports for recovery after learning to live without mobility in one of her arms but her sporting passion was reignited after taking part in the Invictus Games Sydney 2018.

She swam competitively in her youth and narrowly missed out on a place in the UK Swim Team for the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 and fell out of love with sports entirely after injuring her thumb in a rugby match, an injury that would slowly affect the mobility in her entire arm.

Rachel said that competing in the Invictus Games gave her back her confidence and made her love sports again and allowed her to further her recovery journey.

She went on to serve as the Captain of Team UK at the Hague 2020 and now works for the Royal British Legion, the charity responsible for delivering Team UK to the Games, as a Recovery Support Officer.

She stated that she now feels like herself again and enjoys helping the next generation of Invictus competitors on their recovery journey.

I stopped swimming in 2008, my family thought they would never see me in a pool again. That was the moment that we all realized: it’s good again. I can now tell them without a doubt: you can look at me when I’m doing sports again. I didn’t want that for a while.

Rachel Williamson

Invictus Games Sydney 2018 and The Hague 2020 - Competitor & Team Captain of Team UK

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