The Skeleton Is An Instant Hit With The Invictus Community

"I felt like I was skydiving, I got such an adrenaline rush, all I wanted to do was go faster, go faster, go faster." - Ivan Morera

The participants of the One Year To Go Training Camp for the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 presented by ATCO and Boeing got their first taste of the sport of Skeleton and it was universally loved by the everyone in attendance.

The Whistler Sliding Centre prides itself on being the "fastest sliding course in the world" and has it's track maintained and adjusted on a daily basis to ensure maximum speed for those brave enough to slide.

And brave everyone was, as the participants of the Winter Training Camp embraced the sport of skeleton; travelling at speeds up to 100km, passing through 6 turns and getting the crowd roaring in support, bringing members of the Invictus community even closer together during a fantastic of winter adaptive sports recovery.

"I felt like I was skydiving, I got such an adrenaline rush, all I wanted to do was go faster, go faster, go faster." - said Ivan Morera of Team USA.

Ivan has been on his recovery journey since 2013 and has been embracing the new winter sports offered by the upcoming winter edition Invictus Games and reached a top speed on his skeleton run of 99.8km.

It's not scary at all, I just listened to the instructors and it was awesome! I love speed," he said with glee immediately after finishing his second run.

The Whistler Sliding Centre is the only place in Canada where the public can experience the adrenaline rush of skeleton and we at the Invictus Games Foundation are delighted to see this sport come to the Invictus Games and have such an immediately positive impact on the small group of participants that got to try at the Winter Training Camp.

Tony Sten managed to be the sole skeleton participant to break the coveted 100km barrier, reaching a top speed of 100.4km.

Tony competed at the Invictus Games Toronto 2017 and Sydney 2018 and now gives back to the Invictus community and Team Australia as a sports coach and is excited to return home and educate the Australian team that will be competing at Vancouver Whistler 2025.

Martin Colclough OBE is the Technical Sports Director for the upcoming Games in Canada and is the person responsible for Skeleton's inclusion on the IG25 sports programme.

While competitors might have fears of travelling at such high speeds or think that the Skeleton is too daunting a task, Martin has been a reassuring presence letting everyone know that "a sack of potatoes" could complete the course and that the track is designed in a way that allows gravity to do all the work and that all you need to do is simply hold on and relax on the board.

"Skeleton is an incredible sport and one that will be incredibly beneficial to the Invictus community as you can see that transformation almost instantly," Martin said.