Current PhD student, author, and graduate of BA and MA Creative Writing at St Mary’s University, Twickenham (SMU) Christopher Bryde has won a Silver and Bronze medal at the 2025 Invictus Games held in Whistler, Vancouver.
Christopher competed for the United States in four events during the Games, having served in the US Marine Corps from 2007 to 2012, before joining St Mary’s in 2019.
In the Biathlon Men’s Sit Ski event, Christopher won the Silver medal having missed first place by just nineteen seconds.
He then took home a Bronze medal in Wheelchair Rugby, with the US team beating Columbia, Ukraine, and Australia.
Christopher also competed in the Swimming event where he won his heat, as well as the Indoor Rowing event.
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.
The Vancouver Whistler Invictus Games was the first Invictus Games to feature winter adaptive sports alongside the core sports of Indoor Rowing, Sitting Volleyball, Swimming, Wheelchair Rugby, and Wheelchair Basketball.
Christopher’s debut novel Upgunner launched in October 2024, and delivers a raw and unflinching portrayal of a US Marine’s battle for survival, both physically and mentally, after awakening from a coma to discover he has lost his leg to an IED explosion.
Speaking on his success at the Games, Christopher said, “The Invictus Games was both a very challenging and rewarding experience. I became the first amputee to ever medal in an Invictus Games Biathlon, winning Silver - Gold only 19 seconds ahead of me and Bronze over two minutes behind me. I also won a Bronze Medal in Wheelchair Rugby, after a very intense win against Australia.
“Prince Harry personally congratulated me after both of my wins. He and I were both deployed on combat missions to southern Afghanistan in 2008 and shared that connection.”
