‘Anything is possible’: Double amputee veteran who climbed Mount Everest shares story ahead of Invictus Games

The athletes have arrived and the stage is set for Saturday’s opening ceremony of the Invictus Games.

Hari Budha Magar served with the British Army for 15 years across five continents. In 2010, while on tour in Afghanistan, he lost both his legs following an attack from an improvised explosive device.

“My world was turned upside down,” said Magar. “I didn’t know what to do.”

In the following years, Magar made it his mission not to be defined by his catastrophic injury. The Nepalese native wanted to overcome the seemingly impossible: climb Mount Everest as a double amputee.

But first, he needed the Nepal court to change certain laws that restricted him from achieving his ultimate goal.

“There was a ban on, you know, persons with disabilities, especially for double amputees and visually impaired,” said Magar. “So we had to go to Supreme Court in Nepal to overturn it before actually go and climb it.”

In 2023, Magar made history, becoming the first above-the-knee amputee to reach the 8,849-metre summit.

On Friday, ahead of the Invictus Games in Vancouver, he told his story to a panel hosted by CTV’s Mi-Jung Lee.

“I think as long as we can, you know, adapt your life according to time and situation and don’t give up, you know, anything is possible.”

Starting Feb. 8, roughly 500 sick or wounded military service members or veterans will participate in the eight-day Invictus Games. The athletes come from 23 countries and will compete in 11 sports in Vancouver and Whistler.

“Stories will emerge from the next nine days that will bring a tear to your eye,” said Dominic Reid with the Invictus Games Foundation. “It’s a very, very powerful endorsement of the human spirit.”

“I was lucky enough to do 11 Olympic Games in my career,” said Invictus Games CEO Scott Moore. “The difference between the Olympic Games and the Invictus Games? The Olympic Games change lives. The Invictus Games save lives.”

Officials lit the Olympic Cauldron on Friday afternoon and the opening ceremony is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at BC Place.