Dave Watson is the kind of bloke who makes many people ask: “What’s my excuse?”
Lost three limbs in Afghanistan
The former Scots Guard became a triple amputee after stepping on an improvised explosive device (IED) in Helmund Province, Afghanistan, in 2010.
The devastating blast led to him losing both legs above the knee and his right arm below the elbow.
Sport provided hope
In the immediate aftermath Dave, now 38, went through “a bad patch” involving drink and drugs until a trip to America with a charity encouraging injured vets to get involved in sport led to his “military mentality” kicking back in.
Prior to his injury he was a keen boxer and footballer. His injuries took those two options off the table. But, to Dave’s amazement, he discovered his stocky build lent itself perfectly to the shot put and discus.
Lots of medals
“They ended up having to get the longer measuring tape out for me,” said Dave, who went on to win three gold medals and two silvers at subsequent Invictus Games, and two golds at the 2018 British Indoor Throwing Championships.
Which brings us neatly on to the next Invictus Games, in 2027, being staged in Birmingham, just a few miles from the home in Romsley, in the Clent Hills, near Halesowen, Dave shares with his wife, Becky, and two daughters aged eight and 10.
“I retired after the Invictus Games in Australia in 2018,” said Dave, who now balances public speaking with his day job at a fishery and wild swimming company near Newcastle under Lyme, Staffs.
‘Daddy, you have to compete!’
“But when my two girls saw the next one was in Birmingham, they both said: ‘Daddy, you have to compete!’
“They have never seen me compete. They’ve just seen photos and heard about it. They both want me to do it.”
So, Dave is now officially out of retirement.
Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 – ‘most emotional of them all’
The Birmingham Invictus Games is going to be more significant than any of the others because for him and many of his colleagues it represents the fourth quarter in their Midlands-based recovery journey.
After being injured in 2010 Dave and other injured colleagues went to the Queen Elizabeth (QE) Hospital in Birmingham to be treated. They then went to Fisher House, the private facility for injured vets and their families on the QE campus, to recover. They went on to Stanford Hall, Loughborough, for rehab …
“We had treatment in the Midlands, recovery in the Midlands, rehab in the Midlands – and in 2027 we’ll get to compete in the Midlands,” said Dave.
“The Birmingham Games will definitely be the most emotional Games of them all.”
Irresistibly positive
Dave’s outlook is irresistibly positive. The positivity spills out of him, in fact. And now, thanks to his daughters’ intervention, he’s dreaming. Dreaming about the Games, visualising, and if not fully into training yet, mulling it through in his mind as he plots the next two years before Invictus Games Birmingham 2027.
But aren’t there sometimes moments where he gets down?
‘Everything happens for a reason’
“It may be a cliché but I believe everything happens for a reason,” said Dave.
“I can’t tell you why I lost three limbs in Afghanistan, but I have faith in the principle that it happened for a reason, and maybe it won’t be until I’m on my deathbed that I know.”
Which led me to thinking: “What’s my excuse?”
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