Castle Hill RSL hosts Invictus Games ‘Make Your Mark’ Breakfast ahead of 2018 Sydney games
Passion and pride stirred as Castle Hill RSL hosts Invictus Games ‘Make Your Mark’ Breakfast ahead of this year’s games in Sydney
Hills Shire
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It was two months into a 2012 tour of Afghanistan that young soldier Curtis McGrath’s life changed forever.
The then-24 year-old combat engineer was on patrol in Taliban-rife territory when he stepped on an Improvised Explosive Device and lost both his legs in the blast.
Speaking last week at the Invictus Games’ Make Your Mark Breakfast at Castle Hill RSL Club, McGrath vividly recalled his memories of the incident.
“I remember … opening my eyes from the flat of my back, looking up at the sky dazed and confused about what had happened.
“I could see the blood coming out of me, I knew I was in trouble.”
Fortunately, the rest of McGrath’s patrol was able to apply first aid just in time to save his life.
After months of recovery, he was fitted with legs that enabled him to regain the ability to walk.
A keen white water canoeist, rugby player and swimmer before the incident, McGrath was determined to compete in the Paralympics and in 2016 claimed gold in the canoe sprint men’s KL2 event in Rio.
He has also represented Australia in the 2014 and 2016 Invictus Games and is an ambassador for the 2018 event, to be held in Sydney in October.
McGrath, a bilateral amputee, says the Invictus Games will be an event unlike any other.
“You will see things that will defy what you think is humanly possible. Where courage is the essence of what you are witnessing.
“The healing power of sport is something that cannot be dismissed.”
Castle Hill RSL Group is an official club partner of the Invictus Games Sydney.