Team USA competitor Mike Kacer may have cleaned up on the track and field on Thursday after winning a gold and two silver medals, but the real winner at the Invictus Games Sydney 2018 presented by Jaguar Land Rover this morning was eight-year-old Jemma, an arm amputee and Kacer’s new number one fan.
Kacer, an arm amputee himself, was giving kids in the roaring crowd high-fives after his strong athletic performances in the 400m, 200m and discus when he spotted young Jemma in the crowd.
“I saw her walking through towards me with all the kids and when I waved out to her sister, her sister brought her over to me, and she said, “I’ve been cheering for you all day, I’m so happy you’ve been getting everything!” said the four-time Invictus Games competitor.
“I’d never seen her a day in my life but she explained how ecstatic she was about coming to the Games and watching me, and I said, ‘why me?’”
Jemma told Kacer how fun it was to watch someone with the same disability compete so well.
“It was then that I was like, you know what? This is the whole purpose of Invictus Games, it’s about trying to reach out and inspire people to be a better person.
“She expressed how she wanted to be a Paralympic swimmer and that was one of her main goals in life, and I thought why not give her her first medal and let her have an experience of a lifetime that hopefully she’ll never forget.
“It’s the little things in life that mean so much to so many people and giving kids high-fives, and all competitors appreciate their fans. I’d just like to try and pay it forward.”
Jemma’s parents tried to encourage Kacer to keep his own medal, but Kacer put his foot down, having given a lot of thought this week as to what it means to be an Invictus Games competitor.
Having been injured in 2008, Kacer fell into really dark times, admitting he became an alcoholic. It was through sport that he was able to overcome all of his life challenges from before and after his military career.
Now, he spends his time reaching out to the next generation to teach them how to overcome adversity and balancing his studies to become a physical education teacher, all while training to make his Paralympic debut in the sport of Para-taekwondo.
“Through sport, I overcame my strife, and the Invictus Games has been amazing. The friends you meet over the time, the places we go, it’s not just a competition,” he continued.
“I was talking to one of my friends who works for the Invictus Games Foundation. Everybody comes out to support us for this one week, but what happens the other 51 weeks throughout the year?
“How many competitors that don’t bond with others because of their struggles with anxiety or depression, or personal conflicts inside. It’s tough to think about.
“Hearing that little bit is something that played into giving Jemma that medal today. Maybe one day she’ll hit a really tough patch and come across it in a buried box somewhere, and think, ‘you know what? I remember that day.’ It could change a whole bad day, a bad week, a bad month into a really good couple of hours. I’ve improved one person’s day and that could change a life.”
Sascha Ryner
Invictus Games Sydney 2018