Georgian servicemembers claim gold at US Air Force Trials for injured troops
The 13-member team of injured Georgian servicemembers is featuring in the Trials for the first time. Photo: The Georgian Defence Ministry.
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The Georgian team has claimed a gold medal in sitting volleyball at the United States Air Force Trials - a Paralympic-style competitive event for injured servicemembers running in Las Vegas.
The Georgian Defence Ministry on Monday said the team had defeated their American rivals in the final for the sports discipline.
With the result, the Georgian side added the gold to Junior Sergeant Iago Kakulia’s bronze in the 73 kg weightlifting category of the tournament.
The 13-member team of injured Georgian servicemembers is featuring in the Trials for the first time. Athletes from the country are involved in wheelchair basketball, shooting, track & field, indoor rowing and archery in the competition, facing counterparts from the US and the United Kingdom.
The Ministry said the Georgian team had undergone “intensive” preparations for the contest, which is being hosted at the Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas between February 24- March 3.
The Trials are hosted under the USAF’s Air Force Wounded programme, with the Georgian Ministry noting the games were intended to “raise combat spirit and motivation” of injured servicemembers and support their rehabilitation through sports.
A 13-member team of injured Georgian servicemembers will feature in the Air Force Trials - a Paralympic-style competitive event starting this month in the United States - for the first time, the Ministry of Defence said on Monday.
Georgian corporal Temur Dadiani, who lost both his legs in a mine explosion in Afghanistan in 2011, won a gold medal at the world armwrestling championships in Istanbul, the Georgian defence ministry said on Tuesday.
Georgia's wounded service members have claimed 20 medals at the anniversary 10th Marine Corps Trials, an international competition organised by the United States' Marine Corps and involving teams from across the world.
The Georgian military servicemembers finished the Invictus Games in the Hague with a record number of medals in the country’s eight-year competition history. This was another successful appearance at the international competition for injured former service personnel of Georgian armed forces in April 2022. Established by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex in 2014, the games aim to recognise and support the achievements of service members who have suffered "life-changing injuries, both visible and invisible, while serving their countries." Speaking at the launch of the first venue in 2014, the Prince said that the Games would "demonstrate the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and demonstrate life beyond disability.
The Georgian team has returned home from the United States Air Force Trials with 23 medals under their belt after marking a successful appearance at the international competition for injured servicemembers.
The Georgian team returned from the United States Marine Corps Trials, an international competition for injured servicemembers, on Tuesday with 22 medals under their belt.
A six-member team of the Georgian Defence Forces claimed three gold, one silver and two bronze medals at Cateran Yomp, a 24-hour charity walk involving injured troops from around the world in Scotland, the country’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.