GREAT Britain's Carolyne Dufley admits taking wheelchair rugby gold at the Invictus Games, presented by Jaguar Land Rover, will go down as her greatest achievement to‑date.
Following on from Thursday's athletics event at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, attention switched to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as wheelchair rugby and archery took centre stage.
The Copper Box Arena was the venue for wheelchair rugby with Prime Minister David Cameron joining HRH Prince Harry in the crowd to watch some of the day's play.
And Dufley, who has spinal cord, disc and muscle damage, played her part as Great Britain made it all the way to the final before defeating the USA 13‑12 in a nail‑biting encounter.
She said: "Getting the gold medal means more than anything else I've ever wanted in my life.
"We've worked so hard, so many hours of training and dedication, falling out of chairs and getting bruises.
"There is only one word for these Games ‑ amazing. To come here and have such recognition for the Armed Forces is astonishingly good."
And there was a further treat in store with stars of sport joining Prince Harry and the wounded, injured and sick service personnel for the Jaguar Land Rover Exhibition Wheelchair Rugby Match.
Rugby legend and World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson and his former England head coach Sir Clive Woodward went head‑to‑head as managers for each team with the retired fly‑half leading his side to victory 8‑6.
Sir Clive said: "I was hugely honoured to be asked to lead the side out and as soon as I received the letter asking me, I cleared my diary immediately.
"I come from a service background, my dad was in the RAF, and I think the Invictus Games is hugely important as a way of saying thank you to the service men and women and that we appreciate what they do.
"It was a very hard fought game, you could see all the competitive juices flowing."
There were some equally enthralling battles in the archery at the Here East venue which included Great Britain taking a one‑two‑three in the mixed individual recurve open competition ‑ David Hubber claiming gold ahead of Gary Prout and Steven Gill.
Hubber and Prout also teamed up with Gavin Watson to take gold in the mixed team recurve open final.
Hubber said: "I honestly didn't think I was this good and I didn't think I would beat Gary in the individual final.
"For me the Invictus Games is about trying to prove to servicemen that are injured and have left the military that it can still be done."
Today sees three sports take place around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with wheelchair basketball, indoor rowing and road cycling all scheduled.
Jaguar Land Rover is proud to be the presenting partner of the Invictus Games, the international sporting competition for wounded, injured and sick Service personnel. For more information visit www.jaguar.com and www.landrover.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
About the Invictus Games
Launched by Prince Harry earlier this year, the Invictus Games
will use the power of sport to inspire recovery, support
rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect of
those who serve their country. The nine sports at the Invictus
Games are: Archery, Athletics, Wheelchair Basketball, Road Cycling,
Powerlifting, Indoor Rowing, Wheelchair Rugby, Swimming and Sitting
Volleyball. There will also be a Jaguar Land Rover Driving
Challenge. Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will host events in the
London Aquatics Centre, Copper Box Arena, Lee Valley VeloPark &
Here East, with Athletics at Lee Valley Athletics Centre, thanks to
the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, the London Legacy Development
Corporation and the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. Teams have
been invited from Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia,
France, Germany, Georgia, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, UK &
USA. Jaguar Land Rover is the Presenting Partner of the Invictus
Games. BT, Fisher House, Ottobock, PwC and YESSS are Official
Supporters. The Invictus Games are being organised with the support
and backing of The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge and Prince Harry and the Ministry of Defence.
About Jaguar Land Rover
Jaguar Land Rover is the UK's largest premium automotive
manufacturing business, built around two iconic British car brands.
All its vehicles are engineered and designed in Britain.
While it has ambitious plans for global growth, the heart of the
business remains in the UK, with billions of pounds invested in
state‑of‑the‑art production, research and development
facilities. In 2013, Jaguar Land Rover sold 425,006
vehicles ‑ up 19% from the previous year ‑ in more than 170
countries. The company employs 30,000 people globally.