U.S. Army athletes named to Team U.S. for the 2018 Invictus Games

By Christopher Fields, Warrior Care and TransitionMay 2, 2018

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The Department of Defense has announced the names of the 72 servicemen and women who will represent Team U.S. this fall at the 2018 Invictus Games in Sydney, Australia October 20-27. Among those 72 athletes are 14 active duty and veteran Army athletes that will get the chance to represent their country and the Army at the Games Down Under.

The Invictus Games were founded in 2014 by the United Kingdom's Prince Harry after he attended the 2013 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The word Invictus means unconquered and the Games were created as a way to display the "unconquerable character" and "Invictus Spirit" of the world's servicemen and women.

This will be the fourth Invictus Games and the first to take place in Australia. This year's Games will continue the tradition of showing the amazing resilience of wounded, ill and injured servicemen and women from across the world and their ability to thrive and overcome their challenges.

More than 500 active duty and veteran athletes from an Invictus Games record 18 allied nations, including the United States, will compete in Sydney in 11 adaptive sports: archery, athletics, indoor rowing, power-lifting, road cycling, sitting volleyball, swimming, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, and new this year sailing.

The U.S. Army athletes who were selected as primaries to compete for Team U.S. at the Invictus Games in Sydney are:

Staff Sgt. Ross Alewine, U.S. Army

Retired Capt. Steven Bortle, U.S. Army

Sgt. David Crook, U.S. Army

Retired Sgt. Brandi Evans, U.S. Army

Retired Staff Sgt. Megan Grudzinski, U.S. Army

Spc. Stephanie Johnson, U.S. Army

Retired Staff Sgt. Michael Kacer, U.S. Army

Staff Sgt. Altermese Kendrick, U.S. Army

Retired Staff Sgt. Ryan Major, U.S. Army

Sgt. Ryan McIntosh, U.S. Army

Retired 1st Lt. Christopher Parks, U.S. Army

Retired Staff Sgt. Timothy Payne, U.S. Army

Retired Staff Sgt. Joel Rodriguez, U.S. Army

Maj. Christina Truesdale, U.S. Army

For the complete list of names of Team U.S. members go to: https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1509896/department-of-defense-announces-invictus-games-sydney-2018-team-members/