Cyclists took to the track for day six of Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023, across a number of categories.
A team of 10 Aussies battled it out with 20 other countries on a picture-perfect day in Germany, kicking off with time trials in the morning.
For two-time Invictus Games competitor, Colleen Swifte, it was a relief to finally be able to jump on the bike after a long, tiring lead-up.
“It’s been a really big week,” said Colleen, who formerly served in the Army before being medically discharged in 2006.
“It’s been about trying to balance the commitment to other sports but knowing you’ve got something else you need to do – particularly for me with cycling being my primary sport.”
Competing in three sports at the Games, including sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball, meant Colleen had to make some hard decisions.
“I should have been playing sitting volleyball today, but it clashed with cycling,” she said.
“We had a big game against the Netherlands last night that we won, which was just amazing. So coming home at 9pm, hyped up from that and knowing I had to get to bed, get a good rest and get up really early to be here and prepare; it’s not easy. The pro cyclists, they’re just cycling. But here you’re doing different sports. It’s a big effort to balance things out.”
Prioritising cycling paid off for Colleen, placing third in the women’s IRB3 (M) time trial final in
2m 41.590s, just seven seconds behind Australian teammate, Able Seaman Taryn Dickens’
2m 34.468s gold-medal winning performance.
Brisbane girl, Colleen, backed the ride up in the afternoon in the women’s IRB3 (M) criterium race where she blew away the competition with a 22m 41.00s ride to take out first place and the gold.
It was an emotional win for Colleen, who suffers from a knee injury and post traumatic stress and was inspired to take on cycling after Invictus Games Sydney 2018.
“I thought the Games were just about people who had physical injuries but I saw other people and they were cycling,” she said.
“That’s when I decided to join a local club so my journey has always been alongside other veterans. That helped me get into the cycling community where I’ve made a lot of friends.
“It became quite a passion and that’s the idea of recovery through sport. It’s not just the physical aspect of it, but also connecting to community as well.”
Taking part in the Invictus Games journey may have paid off today, but it wasn’t always an easy decision. Applying to be part of the 2020 Australian team at The Hague came with a degree of publicity, something that can be difficult to deal with for those struggling with injuries that aren’t external.
“People are going to know you, and that can be really hard, particularly if you’ve had mental health issues,” Colleen said.
“There’s still stigma, particularly coming from the military where being hard of mind is so important.”
In other cycling results, Lenny Redrose placed second in both the men’s IHB1 time trial final and criterium, earning him two silver medals. Brad Mazzaferri, Able Seaman Jamie McGlinchey, Shaun Hillman, James Barker, Justin Donnelly and Daniel King recorded strong results in their respective categories.
Walking to the medal ceremony to be presented with her bronze medal, Colleen was stopped by international members of the cycling community. Hugs from Team Denmark; words of support from the Germans. It’s one of the aspects that sets Invictus Games apart from other worldwide sporting events.
“At the volleyball last night, I had a bit of a moment with a girl because I’d seen her in the morning and she was upset,” Colleen said.
“Then we played against each other and I said to her, ‘I’m really glad I got to play against you because I saw you upset this morning and you know, I’ve felt like that, too’.
“And we were just hugging and crying. You just have that immediate connection with people who understand.”
Meanwhile, after two tight sitting volleyball games yesterday, Team Australia lined up for a quarter-final match against Georgia this morning. Losing the first set 21-18, the Australians were eliminated from the competition at the close of the second set, scoring nine points to the Georgians’ 21.
On the archery field, our seven-competitor team looked sharp. Top-performing green and gold competitor, Karney Armstrong, progressed through a number of shoots to the women’s open recurve bronze medal match, where she lost against the UK.
