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The Duke of Sussex has spoken about the positive impact exercise can have on mental wellbeing during a video call with several former Invictus Games competitors.
The Invictus Games is a sporting event created by Prince Harry, in which individuals in the armed services who are wounded, injured or sick compete in several different sports, including wheelchair basketball and indoor rowing.
The first Invictus Games took place in London in 2014, with subsequent Games taking place in the US, Canada and Australia.
The 2020 Invictus Games was due to take place in The Hague, Netherlands in May 2020, but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In light of the event’s postponement, several former Invictus Games competitors decided to team up to take part in a virtual challenge called the At Home Superhero Tri, challenging themselves to complete a triathlon of 2020km distance in honour of the 2020 postponed Invictus Games, with an extra 1km added on to mark the Games being moved to 2021.
Prince Harry recently took part in a video call with the team, which included Jen Warren from the UK, Bruno Gruevremont from Canada, Mark Reidy from Australia and JJ Chalmers from the UK, who was their team captain.
During their conversation, the duke praised the team on their "resilience" while emphasising how their decision to take part in the triathlon challenge during lockdown gave them an opportunity to work on both their physical and “mental fitness”, and to have a “goal and a purpose and to some extent a distraction from the day to day life”.
He highlighted how setting an exercise goal, whether a person does their workout inside our outside, can help “reduce stress”, as “you can actually pedal it or sweat it out of you”.
“It’s not just being part of the Invictus Games and on a global stage, it is the simplest of things but the things that anyone can do, grab a bike, grab a machine, go for a run, whatever it is.”
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1/18
A competitor from the U.K. (L) hits the ball to Canada during a seated wheelchair game at the Invictus Games in Orlando
Reuters
2/18
Royal Marine Fergus Hurst (left) and Luke Sinnott (ex-Army) are defeated in their first round of wheelchair tennis against New Zealand at the Invictus Games 2016 in Orlando
PA
3/18
United Kingdom swimmer Mike Goody takes part in the Invictus Games 100m Freestyle heats at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando
PA
4/18
The UK team taking on the New Zealand team in the heats for wheelchair basketball at the Invictus Games 2016 in Orlando
PA
5/18
Prince Harry shakes hands with a sitting volleyball competitor during the Invictus Games in Orlando
Reuters
6/18
Prince Harry meets a USA supporter at the sitting volleyball at Invictus Games Orlando 2016 at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando
Getty Images
7/18
Prince Harry poses with UK Armed Forces Team members ahead of Invictus Games Orlando 2016 at ESPN Wide World of Sports
Getty Images
8/18
Athletes and their families watch a musical performance during the opening ceremony for the Invictus Games
AP
9/18
Members of the US Marines Silent Drill Platoon perform during opening ceremonies for the 2016 Invictus Games in Orlando
Getty Images
10/18
Prince Harry meets children of servicemen and women during the Opening Ceremony of the Invictus Games Orlando 2016 at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando
Getty Images
11/18
Members of the Netherlands team parade into the stadium during opening ceremonies for the 2016 Invictus Games in Orlando
Getty Images
12/18
Britain's Prince Harry, actor Morgan Freeman and first lady Michelle Obama listen to speakers during the opening ceremony for the Invictus Games
AP
13/18
Former President George W. Bush, honors Air Force MSgt. Israel Del Toro, along with Del Toro's wife Carmen (L) and son Isreal Jr. during the opening ceremony for the Invictus Games
AP
14/18
Athletes from Australia enter the stadium during the opening ceremony for the Invictus Games in Kissimmee
AP
15/18
Flags of some of the participating nations are displayed during the opening ceremony for the Invictus Games in Kissimmee
AP
16/18
Prince Harry meets athletes taking part in the 2016 Invictus Games, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando
PA
17/18
Britain's Prince Harry smiles after dropping the puck with Toronto Mayor John Tory (L) and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the Invictus Games in Toronto
Reuters
18/18
Daniel Grobler, a member of the UK's 2016 Invictus Games team, trains for archery with his daughter Megan, 10, at Whitehall Archers in Whitehill
Getty Images
1/18
A competitor from the U.K. (L) hits the ball to Canada during a seated wheelchair game at the Invictus Games in Orlando
Reuters
2/18
Royal Marine Fergus Hurst (left) and Luke Sinnott (ex-Army) are defeated in their first round of wheelchair tennis against New Zealand at the Invictus Games 2016 in Orlando
PA
3/18
United Kingdom swimmer Mike Goody takes part in the Invictus Games 100m Freestyle heats at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando
PA
4/18
The UK team taking on the New Zealand team in the heats for wheelchair basketball at the Invictus Games 2016 in Orlando
PA
5/18
Prince Harry shakes hands with a sitting volleyball competitor during the Invictus Games in Orlando
Reuters
6/18
Prince Harry meets a USA supporter at the sitting volleyball at Invictus Games Orlando 2016 at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando
Getty Images
7/18
Prince Harry poses with UK Armed Forces Team members ahead of Invictus Games Orlando 2016 at ESPN Wide World of Sports
Getty Images
8/18
Athletes and their families watch a musical performance during the opening ceremony for the Invictus Games
AP
9/18
Members of the US Marines Silent Drill Platoon perform during opening ceremonies for the 2016 Invictus Games in Orlando
Getty Images
10/18
Prince Harry meets children of servicemen and women during the Opening Ceremony of the Invictus Games Orlando 2016 at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando
Getty Images
11/18
Members of the Netherlands team parade into the stadium during opening ceremonies for the 2016 Invictus Games in Orlando
Getty Images
12/18
Britain's Prince Harry, actor Morgan Freeman and first lady Michelle Obama listen to speakers during the opening ceremony for the Invictus Games
AP
13/18
Former President George W. Bush, honors Air Force MSgt. Israel Del Toro, along with Del Toro's wife Carmen (L) and son Isreal Jr. during the opening ceremony for the Invictus Games
AP
14/18
Athletes from Australia enter the stadium during the opening ceremony for the Invictus Games in Kissimmee
AP
15/18
Flags of some of the participating nations are displayed during the opening ceremony for the Invictus Games in Kissimmee
AP
16/18
Prince Harry meets athletes taking part in the 2016 Invictus Games, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando
PA
17/18
Britain's Prince Harry smiles after dropping the puck with Toronto Mayor John Tory (L) and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the Invictus Games in Toronto
Reuters
18/18
Daniel Grobler, a member of the UK's 2016 Invictus Games team, trains for archery with his daughter Megan, 10, at Whitehall Archers in Whitehill
Getty Images
The Duke of Sussex added that amid the coronavirus pandemic, “what better time” to place focus on the former Invictus Games competitors “to say, ‘This is what happened in my life, that was the dark place that I was in, but look where I am now’.”
He also praised the teammates on the banter they share with one another and the support they demonstrate to each other, as they know they have “at least a handful of people that you can each out to” if they are in need of help and comfort.
“You know that if you haven’t heard from someone fo a while that the first thing you need to do is check in on them, because just because your life is sort of on track and everything’s going according to plan, there’s other people that you may not have heard of and you check in, you might get the answer of ‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ but you guys are the ones that are going to dig a little bit deeper and say, ‘Fine is not the answer that I was looking for. I’m actually asking how you are’,” he said.
“It’s stressful. The injuries that you guys have sustained anyway is one part of it, but then how everybody’s being forced to live now, it’s really really different.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex recently set up a new permanent home in Santa Barbara, California, having been previously living in Los Angeles.