2016 Invictus Games Selection Honour For Student Laura

A Year 0 student who studies at The Sixth Form College has been awarded the honour of a place in the Great Britain team for the 2016 Invictus Games in Orlando.

Laura Knowles flies out to Florida in just over a week’s time to compete in the second Invictus Games, which are being staged at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort, after London hosted the inaugural event in 2014.

The Games were established under the leadership of Prince Harry in 2014 to support Service men and women who have suffered injuries both visible and invisible while serving their country, and ‘harness the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for those whom serve their countries’.

Laura, who is on the Foundation to Health & Veterinary Studies (Year 0) pre-degree course leading directly to the University of Liverpool, joins a team of 110 Britons in the USA and will compete in the Powerlifting, Rowing, Archery and Field categories between 8^th and 12^th May.

Laura served in the Welsh Guards and is among the athletes whose injuries are less visible.

She said: “A lot of the team have physical injuries which people can obviously see, but a huge part of the Games is about mental health. I’m doing a lot of work at the moment to try to raise awareness of the whole issue. Earning a place on the team isn’t just about your performance: it’s about how you get on with others and with the media, and how it would aid your recovery.”

Laura has been doing extensive work with the mental health charity Mind and was due to run in last Sunday’s London Marathon to raise yet more money - a plan which has been postponed until next year due to the Invictus Games selection.

A versatile athlete, 24-year-old Laura has high hopes to return home with medals around her neck in at least one event.

She said: “I don’t want to jinx it but I’m fairly confident about the rowing. The trials were about producing a one minute best effort, then a four minute best effort (as far as you can row in the set times) about 15 minutes after each other. That may not sound a lot but when you’re putting everything into it, it absolutely wipes you out. A girl who did it in the 2014 Invictus Games got a distance of 274m in the one minute trial. I managed to get 298m and she came up to me to tell me that she’d never seen anyone beat her time before, so that was pretty pleasing!”

 

 

While rowing may be her strongest asset, the Year 0 student is pragmatic about her chances in other areas: “Powerlifting is judged just on the bench press, as a lot of the competitors will be amputees. If I have a good day, I’d hope to win a medal, but I’m not going to win because there’s a girl that’s been paralysed from the waist down so set about training her upper body and she’s just incredible! She’s got to win it.”

“Archery is more of a hobby for me. I like to do it to chill out because, unlike the other activities, the more power you put in isn’t going to help you, so you have to stay calm!”