From no experience to gold medal: Alberta veteran part of winning team at Invictus Games

A Calgary-area veteran suffering from post traumatic stress disorder didn't have any experience, or frankly, interest in organized sports, but that didn't stop him from being a part of an archeryteam that won medal at the Invictus Games.

"It is a great feeling," Rob Sanders told The HomestretchFriday in a telephone interview from Toronto.

"I had two teammates with me and we beat Ukraine for the gold, but all the archery competitors shot very well this week."

The thought of being in a noisy space full of people had zero appeal to the veteran until a PTSD clinic facilitator told him about the Invictus Games early last year.

"I spent a few days looking at it and then decided to apply. I applied in June and I was notified in mid-November that I had been selected for the team," said Sanders, who lives in Langdon, Alta., about 30 kilometres east of Calgary.

He had no experience in archery or sitting volleyball, the two sports he is competing in this week.

"A year ago, I would not be talking to you. I was shutting myself off and really would not even entertain getting into an event where there was so much noise and so many people, but Invictus has changed that. We all follow a different road to get here. We all have different disabilities, different issues, but the common bond is we all served."

'Some very dark times'

The optimism and zest for life Sanders speaks with today, is something new. He suffered a brain injury and in 2012 and was diagnosed with PTSD.

"There have been some very dark times," he said.

"I take medication in the daytime and nighttime. I have had excellent doctors and therapists. I have a tremendous support from family and friends. These Invictus Games really have changed my life."

Not to be ungrateful, but Sanders says the gold medal really wasn't the goal.

"Team Canada as a whole, in all of our sports, our philosophy was, 'Enjoy the journey.' It wasn't about medals for us, it was about experiencing the journey of getting to where we are, because this just the start of our journey."

He says the experience of the games, with hundreds of athletes and thousands of friendly volunteers, has touched him deeply.

"My fellow competitors are just like brothers and sisters, we are all one big family," Sanders said.

"We are staying in touch after the games, and we just help each other out."

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With files from The Homestretch