Warrior Games

From Inside World Parasport:

It is sometimes difficult for followers of the Olympic Games to think of the Olympic Movement as more than a biennial sporting spectacle that showcases the world's best athletes.

On display recently at the US Olympic Training Center here in Colorado Springs was the true spirit of the Olympic Movement and the power of sport.

Right here, in our hometown, 187 servicemen and women from all five military branches came together to participate in the inaugural Warrior Games, proving the healing power that sports can have.

In a joint effort between the US Department of Defense and the USOC, with tremendous assistance from Deloitte and El Pomar Foundation, and with the overwhelming support of the people of this great community, these Games were part of an effort to inspire recovery, capitalise on physical fitness, and promote new opportunities for growth and achievement for wounded, ill and injured service members.


Servicemen like Marc Esposito of the Air Force, who won three medals at the Warrior Games, relished in the significance of competition. Not so long ago, an Afghan insurgent's homemade bomb shattered his lower legs, broke his back and knocked him unconscious for four days. Torn away from his teammates on the battlefield, Esposito joined a new battle with his Air Force comrades in friendly, albeit intense, competition thanks to the Warrior Games.

"The Warrior Games are a great tool to help facilitate recovery and motivation," Esposito said. "These games are a new battlefield where no one is getting hurt and we come back stronger. You have to be motivated to get better because medicine can only help so much."

For Esposito (pictured) and the other competitors in attendance, sport has become an outlet for physical and emotional recovery.

It was evident throughout that the event had an incredible impact on the athletes and ignited a spark in them. Perhaps nowhere was that more obvious than in the hand-cycling event where two competitors turned back on a snow-covered course to help an Army competitor reach the finish; brothers-in-arms indeed.

The Warrior Games, however, represent just one small step in a long journey. In fact, the true impact of this effort will be felt only by ensuring that our service members continue to stay active in their communities, and in our community here in Colorado Springs, the other 360 days of the year.

As sports fans, we see the best and the worst in the games we watch and the teams we follow. And while the Warrior Games may stand as only a small moment on the national sports landscape, we can learn a great deal from the servicemen and women who competed, particularly about the power of sport and the role it can play in our community.

In this time and place, the 187 men and women who competed in the 2010 Warrior Games, and each of whom made a life changing sacrifice in the name of duty, stand as a testament to the essence of sport. There is joy and meaning in being the best we can be.

Scott Blackmun is the chief executive of the United States Olympic Committee