Luke mcCallum
Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 Competitor
ADF service: I joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1997, 4 weeks after my 17th birthday. I was one of 4 under 18-year-olds in my division at recruit school. It made for a very interesting first year of service. I served for almost 20 years as a Communications and Information Systems Sailor. My role included running every type of communications into and out of the ship, from emails received over a satellite link to coded signals via visual morse code. My service took me on operations and exercises all over the world, including the Solomon Islands in 2000 and 2002, East Timor in 2001, the Middle East in 2002 and 2004, and border protection duties around the approaches to Australia from 2001 to 2005. I also served in Joint Task Force Gold in support of security for the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Paralympics.
Other information: I have 2 sausage dogs named Hannah and Rupert (Rupert is my blind from birth rescue puppy), and a basset hound named Rosie. I love playing an alternate reality/scavenger hunt game called Munzee, and I am slightly obsessed with indoor rowing. Since leaving the Navy, I have worked in the private sector, largely for Defence and other government agencies.
Age: 44
Hometown: Broken Hill, NSW
Current town: Canberra, ACT
Competing in: Indoor rowing, skeleton and wheelchair curling.
What is the nature of your injury or illness? Early on in my career I suffered a significant lower limb injury, fast-roping from a helicopter. I got really knocked around and it took a long time to recover, but I did get myself back up and was able to continue to serve. Over time the injuries continued to get worse and deteriorated to the point that an infection in my right leg compromised the metal in my foot and got into the bone, necessitating a below-knee amputation.
Sport background: I grew up playing cricket over summer and Aussie rules over winter. Since my amputation, I have come to embrace adaptive sports and have competed in indoor rowing and wheelchair Aussie rules. I also had the honour of representing Australia at the 2024 US Department of Defence Warrior Games, where I competed in sitting volleyball, indoor rowing, powerlifting, shotput, discus and pistol shooting.
What role has sport played in your rehabilitation? After a 6-month long, gruelling rehabilitation program, I ‘earned’ my first prosthetic leg. While it was great to get up and about, regaining some sort of independence and a better quality of life, I entered a period of depression and anxiety. This lasted until I had a light bulb moment in June 2023 when I discovered a Defence/veteran indoor rowing program, embracing the sport and gradually finding myself coming out of the shadows. Being involved in sport has made me a better father to my sons. I take much more pride in my work. I am much more outgoing, not shutting myself away from the world and I no longer fear the challenges life presents me. I recognise now that I have the support of my family, my friends, and my fellow athletes. Nothing will give me my leg back, but I can still achieve anything I put my mind to.
How did you feel when you were told you made the Invictus Games team? It felt amazing to receive the advice that I would continue my adaptive sports journey and again represent my country at an international event. I am reminded of a moment shared between myself and my vascular surgeon and anaesthetist as I was being wheeled into the operating theatre for my amputation surgery. I said to them both that I would not let this hold me back and I made the assertion that I would represent Australia at the Invictus Games. Now, in February 2025, I will do exactly that.
What is your greatest achievement to date? Over the last 12 months I have fully thrown myself into indoor rowing. Receiving my para-athlete classification from Rowing Australia and Paralympics Australia and competing in ADF, state and national championships is an accomplishment I never thought possible. Holding 4 adaptive Australian records in indoor rowing is an achievement that has yet to sink in. More important than individual achievements, being selected to compete alongside the most amazing people at the Warrior Games was a truly life-changing experience. Being surrounded and supported by wounded, injured, and ill athletes from Australia and the United States has inspired me to further pursue adaptive sports and set a positive example for people who are going through the same issues and experiences.
Why did you apply for Invictus Games? I was looking for my ‘tribe’. I was looking to regain that feeling you get when you put on a uniform and work with amazing people to overcome adversity and achieve your goals. I wanted to be surrounded by people who had a shared lived experience, who wanted to conquer those same fears I had, and who wanted to show that, like me, they were not defined by the injuries that brought us together.
What will ‘winning’ look like for you at the Games? A win at Invictus Games for me is embracing the challenge of the new winter sports and showing everyone I am not defined or restricted by my disability. I can achieve anything I set my mind to; I just may need to do it differently.
Who is supporting you at the Games? For the Invictus Games I will have some immediate family travelling with me, and I know there will also be lots of family and friends livestreaming events back home in Australia.
