Invictus Games: 'Sport has lifted me out of darkness after injury'

Jonny Ball competed in cycling, rowing and powerlifting at the Invictus Games

A competitor in the Invictus Games said sport lifted him "out of that darkness" following a traumatic leg injury.

Jonny Ball, an Army Staff Sergeant from Wellingborough, won a bronze in powerlifting at the event in Düsseldorf, Germany.

The Invictus Games was set up in 2014 by Prince Harry for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women.

Mr Ball said the week-long event was "something that's been so tremendously impactful for my life".

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The UK took a 59-strong team to Germany, alongside more than 500 competitors from 21 nations.

Mr Ball injured his leg in motorcycle crash in 2019, resulting in near-limb loss leading to four years of recovery.

As a result of the crash, he lost all the flesh, tissue, and muscle around his left ankle, and the sole of his foot fell off, which he had to have reattached using wires.

He has had seven surgeries in total to save the limb and create a functioning foot.

Jonny Ball won a bronze medal for powerlifting

Speaking to BBC Radio Northampton he said the Invictus Games, where he also competed in rowing and cycling, was "the human spirit at its best".

He said, apart from getting married and the birth of his daughter, it was "the greatest thing that's ever happened" to him.

"It came a point in my life where I'd been in some pretty dark times, both with my mental and physical health as a result of trauma.

"But I found sport has a way of lifting me out of that darkness and the Invictus opportunity was the bit that has given me the chance to showcase everything I've achieved through human endeavour over the last four years.

"To be able to go out there on the world stage and to stand on the stage and look across at my little girl and my wife with a medal around my neck and the Union flag draped over my shoulders is a memory that will stick with me for the rest of my life."