St Mary’s PhD Student Selected to Compete in Invictus Games

PhD student at St Mary’s University, Twickenham (SMU) Christopher Bryde has been selected to compete in the 2025 Invictus Games for the United States Marine Corps after winning five medals at the Marine Corps Trials.

Christopher served in the US Marine Corps from 2007 to 2012, before joining St Mary’s in 2019 and completing an undergraduate and master’s degree in Creative Writing. Christopher is currently an English Language and Literature PhD candidate at SMU.

The Invictus Games is an annual multi-sport event for wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women who are both serving or veterans. The aim of the Invictus Games is to provide opportunities for individuals after trauma, and to enable those involved to reclaim their purpose and identity beyond their injuries.

Earlier last year, Christopher was selected to compete in the Marine Corps Trials. These are preliminary games where Marines from different NATO countries compete against each other, with the hope of being selected for the Invictus Games.

In the Marine Corps Trials Christopher won a gold medal in Archery, a silver medal in Swimming (breaststroke), and three bronze medals in Swimming (backstroke), Rowing, and Wheelchair Rugby. This successful performance at the Trials means that Christopher has been selected to compete in the Vancouver Whistler 2025 Invictus Games.

Christopher will be competing in the Nordic Skiing, Wheelchair Rugby, Rowing, and Swimming events at the Invictus Games next year.

The Vancouver Whistler Invictus Games will be the first Invictus Games to feature winter adaptive sports alongside the core sports of Indoor Rowing, Sitting Volleyball, Swimming, Wheelchair Rugby, and Wheelchair Basketball.

The winter sporting events at the Games include Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding, Nordic Skiing and Biathlon, Skeleton, and Wheelchair Curling.

Speaking on his selection, Christopher said, “I have been training at Sport St Mary's since 2021, with the goal of getting into the Invictus Games. I am looking forward to representing both the Marines and St Mary's at the first ever Invictus Games to be held during winter.”