Harry saved life of injured Navy veteran who became gold medal-winning athlete
Prince Harry has been thanked by a Navy veteran for saving his life.
Steve James, who served in the Australian Navy and is an Invictus Games gold medal winner heaped praise on the Duke of Sussex while appearing together at a sports summit in Tokyo.
Harry took part in an onstage discussion at the ISPS Sports Values Summit in the Japanese capital today to raise awareness for the Sentebale charity he co-founded. He also talked about the Invictus Games - a Paralympic-style sporting competition he set up in 2014 to aid the rehabilitation of injured and sick military personnel and veterans.
Prince Harry with the other panelist at the ISPS event today. They are, from left, former All Blacks player Dan Carter; Sophie Chandauka, chair of Sentebale; Invictus Games gold medalist and veteran Steve James; Prince Harry; Haruhisa Handa, CEO of the ISPS; Argentine polo player Nacho Figueras and Wim de Villiers, rector and vice-chancellor of Stellenbosch University (AP)And Mr James, who was injured during a fall at sea and left with chronic pain, neurological issues and mental health challenges, said: "I needed Invictus, to teach me a very different approach to sport, it's enabling, it helps pain go away… I would like to thank Prince Harry for saving my life."
Mr James competes in athletics, wheelchair basketball, indoor rowing and wheelchair rugby and won gold in the discus at the Invictus Games in The Hague in 2022. The next Invictus Games takes place in Dusseldorf, Germany, next month.
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Prince Harry smiles as he speaks at the sport summit organised by ISPS (AP)The veteran's comments came after Harry shared his belief that sport has the power to heal the world as he joined panellists to discuss the power of sports, community and philanthropy.
Harry, accompanied by friend Nacho Figueras, stressed the importance of teamwork, saying sport required having "a dream" and the "need for community".
He said: "I have long believed that sport is a conduit for healing – not just for the mind and body but the world. Sport requires having a dream and the need for community. Whether banded together in victory or showing up with respect in loss, no-one ever crosses a finish line or scores a goal without the help and belief of others.
"The lessons we learn on the field are often the same principles of philanthropy; that a mission, hard work, dedication, and partnership can make even the impossible, possible. That is what giving back requires, and we are all capable of creating or joining a team to do so."
Meanwhile, the duke, who moved from the UK to the US in 2020 after stepping down as a senior working royal, praised Japan's "unique" and "very special" culture, adding: "I would happily live here if you’d have me."
The King's youngest son's trip to East Asia comes ahead of his annual fundraising polo match, being staged in Singapore on Saturday, in aid of disadvantaged young people affected by HIV/Aids in Lesotho, southern Africa.
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