December 15, 2025
Where Are They Now? How Invictus Games Alumni Spent Their 2025
For many veterans, the Invictus Games or Warrior Games mark a pivotal chapter in their recovery. But it is what happens beyond the Games for alumni that can have the biggest impact.
Findings from the Beyond the Finish Line report, led by Dr Celina Shirazipour and commissioned by the Invictus Games Foundation and Forces in Mind Trust, confirmed this idea, explaining that while events like the Invictus Games can be a powerful catalyst, the greatest long-term benefits come when participants remain supported and engaged in sport well beyond competition week.
In 2025, that truth has been on full display. Across Australia, alumni have continued to build lifelong sporting habits, deepen community connections and pursue new challenges, proving that the impact of the Games doesn’t fade when the competition ends. Here are just a few ways Team Australia alumni have remained connected to sport this year.
Danielle Hale: A Year of Family, Fitness and Finding Community
For Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 competitor Danielle Hale, 2025 has been a year defined by movement across basketball courts, rugby halls, volleyball courts and, most meaningfully, alongside her own family.
“I’ve had a really good year being involved in wheelchair basketball, rugby and AFL and sitting volleyball,” she said. “Being able to partake in sport and share these experiences with a team which also includes my son and husband has been the best part.”
Danielle played in both the wheelchair rugby and basketball national leagues and was even part of a history making moment for South Australia, fielding an all-female wheelchair basketball team for the first time.
She and her husband Wayne also joined a wheelchair footy team at the AFL Open Nationals, a team made up of veterans from multiple states that met for the first time on day one of competition.
“There is a different but special feeling when you bring veterans together to play on a team,” Danielle reflected. “We will never give up… the harder we have to fight, the better team we become and the more we learn of ourselves and our teammates.”
Her year of connection didn’t stop there. Danielle also took part in the Australian Sitting Volleyball Championships as part of Team Veteran, another opportunity to compete, learn and reconnect with the wider veteran sporting community.
Diane Jackson: Pursuing New Pathways
Warrior Games 2024 alumna Diane Jackson has used this year to dive deeper into two high-performance pathways: powerlifting and para-archery.
In December 2024, she won gold in her category at the Pan Pacific Masters Games. By mid-2025, she earned bronze at the Para-Powerlifting National Championships and is closing the year with another National Para-Powerlifting competition in Melbourne.
But it’s archery that has opened a new chapter.
Identified through the Future Green and Gold Talent Search, Diane found herself on a surprising but exciting pathway.
“I never thought archery would be something I’d be able to competitively take up, but now it’s an exciting new challenge for me, and I want to see how far I can go.”
After completing classification and development sessions in Brisbane with national coaches and QAS staff, she described it as a place that was filled with passion and dedication from competitors, supporting each other to succeed.
“It was about celebrating the passion, resilience and dedication of para-archers and building a strong, supportive environment for success.”
Chelsie Clayton: keeping connected to the invictus movement
If 2025 was about exploration, Chelsie Clayton embraced it wholeheartedly.
Fresh from the 2024 Warrior Games and newly named to Team Australia for Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, she rediscovered snow, got her passion back for swimming earning four swimming medals, and building friendships to last a lifetime amongst the Team Australia cohort.
She admitted that coming home from the Games with such a high was daunting, until she started looking for other opportunities to remain engaged in spot. On the We Are Invictus app, created by the Invictus Games Foundation, Wounded, Injured or Ill veterans are welcomed into a community to connect through conversation and sporting opportunities Chelsie spotted an opportunity to embark on an Invictus Adventure in Egypt on a guided open swim, alongside other veterans and civilian swimmers. Chelsea was successful in her application and has recently returned from this experience, sharing;
“Swimming with other veterans and connecting with them over things we all loved was an experience I’ll never forget. Now I have made new friends from all over the world.”
Back home, Chelsea continues to seek out opportunities to stay connected in sport, most recently attending the 2025 Australian Sitting Volleyball Championships as part of Team Veteran and is now turning her attention to training for the 2026 World Lifesaving Championships in hopes of being selected for Team Veteran Australia.
Torben Louwen-Skovdam: Mentoring Through Sport and Showing Up for His Mates
Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 alumnus Torben Louwen-Skovdam has spent much of this year giving back.
Over two school terms, he volunteered at Circular Head Christian School, running sitting volleyball clinics aligned with the students’ learning about disability, inclusion and human potential. Sharing his own journey from injury to adaptive sport to the Invictus Games has helped students understand how sport can create equitable pathways for participation.
He also joined teammate Doug Griffiths on the Kosciuszko 100km ultra challenge, supporting Doug as he pushed through injury and difficult conditions to complete 46km over 10 hours and raise more than $8,000 for Invictus Australia. While Torben was their to support his teammate, partaking in this challenge was also a key step on his own rehabilitation journey.
“Being out there with Doug was a deep privilege. We set this challenge together off the back of the Invictus Games, with returning to running being a key focus of my own rehabilitation, after more than 2 years off distance running. Just getting to the start line was a success for both of us. Watching Doug dig deep and keep moving despite the pain reminded me why sports matters. It gives us a reason to show up for each other. I’m proud to be part of a community that never lets anyone face the tough moments alone.”
Torben’s presence throughout the challenge spoke to the power of connection that lasts long after a Games campaign ends.
Torben ended his year how he began, connecting through sport, by joining Team Veteran at the Australian Sitting Volleyball Championships earlier this month.
Forging New Winter Pathways: Dave Miln, Taryn Dickens and Matt Brumby
Beyond the Games, three competitors are driven to perform at an elite level on the word stage, chasing new possibilities in Para-Biathlon and Nordic skiing at the upcoming 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milan and Cortina dÁmpezzo in Italy.
Dave Miln (Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025) Taryn Dickens (Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023) and Matt Brumby (Invictus Games Sydney 2018) have been training and competing together in Para-Biathlon and Nordic Skiing, with hopes of being part of Team Australia at the 2026 Paralympics. You can read more about their journey here.
Ongoing Community ConnectioN
The Invictus Games and Warrior Games are a single moment in time, but they can serve as a launch pad into ongoing connection through sport. They spark change by helping veterans rediscover what is possible, that recovery through sport is real, and that identity does not end with service.
Staying connected to sport brings significant benefits. It provides purpose, a reason to keep moving and striving. It creates connection, a sense of belonging that strengthens identity beyond service. It also builds friendships, relationships that offer support and encouragement long after the Games have ended.
These are outcomes that matter. They form the foundation for resilience and recovery and demonstrate why involvement in sport at every level, from grassroots participation to elite competition, from volunteering to coaching, involvement at every level is powerful. When these pathways through sport exist, veterans return to teams, routines and communities that keep them engaged and moving forward.
Beyond the Games, this is where the Invictus spirit continues to live on, through shared goals, new mates and the confidence to take on the next challenge with the support of others.
This article was created thanks to submissions from Alumni. If you are an Invictus or Warrior Games Alumni, and are interested in sharing your story, get in contact with us today.
Looking to get involved in sport in your region? Connect with our staff through your regions Facebook group or email support@invictusaustralia.org.
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