Winter 2023Kelly McVitty: Team UK's vice-captain wins big at Invictus Games

Kelly McVitty is a military veteran originally from Heywood. She now lives in Spain and landed five medals at the 2023 Invictus Games, an international multi-sport event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veterans.

The games aim to demonstrate the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and demonstrate life beyond disability.

Once a critical care nurse for the Princess Mary’s Royal Air Force Nursing Service, looking after people on life support and treating injured personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, an unfortunate collision in Afghanistan in 2012 changed Kelly’s life.

Kelly was working on a patient in an ambulance when another road user forced the ambulance to an emergency stop. Kelly was thrown sideways, hitting the left side of her body and woke up the next day, unable to move.

Left with a variety of symptoms – including pins and needles, lethargy, neck and jaw tension and hypersensitivity – Kelly was diagnosed with swelling of her shoulder nerves, as well as compression of her blood vessels and nerves between the collarbone and the first rib.

Kelly underwent surgery in 2017 to remove her first rib and one of her neck muscles to try and relieve the compression in her artery and nerves, but unfortunately her symptoms didn’t improve.

In 2020, she was medically discharged, losing her job as a critical care nurse. She also moved to Spain in March of that year, as the warmer weather helps with her symptoms, which are exacerbated when using her left side and can last for several weeks at a time.

“I began looking at courses and events to attend, to see what else I could do outside of the military,” she said. “One of these included the Invictus Games trials to learn about adaptive sports. My injury stopped me playing many other sports I enjoyed. I eventually stopped many activities as the pain I felt afterwards wasn’t worth it.

“I lost all enjoyment in keeping fit until I went along to the trials where they showed me how to adapt sports to my injury.”

Kelly was selected for the 2020 games but had to withdraw after finding out she was pregnant with her son, Jaxon. Upset she hadn’t managed to take part due to pregnancy and a traumatic birth, Kelly was spurred on to apply for the 2023 games in Düsseldorf – and made the team in January 2023.

Kelly competed across three disciplines – one-armed swimming, recumbent cycling and a 100m relay athletics race. She had been due to take part in athletics, but with no-one else in her disability classification, she was unable to compete. However, she was added to other classifications so she could still run, throw and take part in the long jump.

She said: “It was more important for me to take part and show the world what I can do, in spite of my disability.”

The relay team ultimately placed third and landed a bronze medal, before Kelly would take her first gold and her silver in swimming. Despite not being, in her words, “a confident swimmer,” Kelly won gold in the breaststroke and silver for her backstroke.

She explained she only learned to swim breaststroke using one arm in February this year, keeping her head in the water.

Kelly’s final competition, two recumbent cycling races, saw her win two more gold medals in a 1.6km time trial and a circuit race.

“Cycling is definitely my new love and gives me a freedom I thought was lost forever after my accident as I’m unable to ride a conventional bike. I will continue cycling long after the games, especially because my three-year-old son Jaxon is learning to ride a bike, so this is something we can do together as a family with my husband, Sean.”

Kelly was elated to win the time trial – but her condition began to flare up, causing the familiar nausea and shoulder and back pain, and she considered pulling out of the afternoon race.

She said: “I was so sick and deflated, debating whether I could compete. So many people have to deal with pain, day in and day out; the Invictus Games are about showing what you can do, regardless of being wounded injured or sick, pushing yourself to be the best version of yourself that you are able.

“By pulling out of the race, I would be letting myself down, and everyone else who had supported me, so I pulled up my big girl pants and off I went.

“It was a tactical race and I sat behind the other three bikes for the 20 minutes until the bell rang for the last lap. The finish was in sight, so I pushed as hard as I could with all the energy I had left from a busy and unforgettable week, and I overtook the other three to cross the line first and win gold again.

“This race was to prove to myself that I am worthwhile and to stand up and be counted.”

Kelly added: “The endless kindness of the other competitors, the Royal British Legion and the amazing volunteers that made this all possible. I spent most of the week either laughing or crying happy tears and I left there with my heart full, full of confidence and with a renewed energy.

“I feel it’s my mission now to shout out as loudly as possible about the Invictus Games because it genuinely saves lives. For those that haven’t been in the military but who are injured or sick please reach out in your community to find adaptive sports.

“There is something for everyone, you never know what it may do for your life.”