Semper Gumby: Adapting and Overcoming with Team U.S. at the Invictus Games
By Michel Sauret
“Adapt and overcome” isn’t just a phrase. It’s a reflex injected into the veins of every military service member. In the Army, we used to joke that we were “Semper Gumby” … always flexible. A nod to the Marine Corps’ Semper Fi, but with more stretch and a lot more improvisation.
Nothing embodied that philosophy more than photographing the Invictus Games in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada, where veterans and active-duty athletes from 23 nations competed not just against each other, but against adversity itself.
This year marked the first time Invictus Games added winter sports to the competition, and Team U.S. showed up in force with 50 athletes competing in events like alpine skiing, biathlon, skeleton, and more. I had the privilege of documenting their journey from the inside: the grit, the unity, the brotherhood and sisterhood that carried them through both triumph and defeat.
But this assignment demanded more than just long days and cold fingers. I faced a challenge of my own.
Before the Games started, I came down with a cough that kept me short on breath. Fevers, fatigue, brain fog. I chalked it up to a cold and kept shooting. Eventually, I’d get better. When you’ve served in the Army long enough, you learn to suck it up and drive on.
But after a few days, I landed in the ER with pneumonia, sidelined by antibiotics and recovery.
I missed out on some of the most action-packed competitions, including wheelchair rugby, swimming. I felt defeated. As a visual storyteller, I wanted to be there for every event. Every moment.
It was watching these athletes in action that kept me going.
These were men and women who had survived amputations, cancer, traumatic brain injuries. One of them skied down the mountain slopes 80 percent blindness. Many had stories that would crush most people, but they persevered.
Even while fighting their own battles, several were checking in on me to make sure I was okay. That’s the Invictus spirit: a compassion that unites brothers and sisters in arms together.
When I rejoined the photo team, I shot with a deeper sense of humility. I wasn’t just documenting athletes. The Invictus Games isn’t about chasing gold. It’s about discovering your purpose through perseverance.
Covering this assignment meant braving subzero temps, 16-hour days, and unexpected setbacks. But it also meant standing alongside warriors who have already overcome more than most people will ever face.
