Assunta Aquino is injured but unconquered.
The Canadian war veteran from Lynn Valley has faced despair and, through her own healing journey arriving at the Invictus Games, a return to glory.
“It was amazing,” she said. “Better than I could have imagined.”
Aquino served back-to-back tours as a combat engineer in Bosnia in 2004-2005, leading a demining unit. There, she suffered injuries, both physical and moral. Two of her unit members were killed and she was injured when members of an NGO triggered an accidental chain reaction of detonations in a minefield. She also faced sexual violence from those who were supposed to be allies.
Aquino lived with – and tried to suppress – the trauma until about five years ago, when it became too much and she left her military career in a mental health crisis.
Her recovery began with the Homewood Ravensview Treatment Centre, but no small part of the turning of the tide has been her participation in the Invictus Games. Aquino’s husband Francis encouraged her to apply to join Canada’s team for the 2025 games in Vancouver and Whistler. Out of 550 applicants, she was one of 56 chosen to represent Canada.
The criteria had nothing to do with athletic ability and everything to do with how a soldier’s story embodies the spirit of Invictus – the Latin word for unconquered. The games were started by fellow veteran Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, to celebrate the fighting spirit and capabilities of sick and wounded veterans and service personnel.
Aquino said she sees it as nothing short of healing in the form of sport.
“You’ve got 23 other countries that have all brought athletes that are struggling, and you realize you’re not alone in a really big way,” he said.
All the chosen athletes had a year to train for at least three events. Aquino opted for swimming, sit volleyball and downhill skiing – the sport that was dearest to her until her mental health collapse wrenched it away from her too.
A former coach volunteered to train Aquino. And the relationship she built with her Canadian teammates bears an uncanny resemblance to those who’ve faced combat together.
“You just want to do it for each other,” she said. “They’re now my battle buddies as well.”
Now, thanks to her performance in Whistler, it’s no longer just military medals she can wear on her chest.
“I took the gold,” she said with an astonished laugh. “I can’t even believe it. I’m looking at it right now.”
Without or without the medal, participating in the games has been life changing, Aquino said. She now sees herself in a new light and importantly, so does her family who had do endure her crisis in their own way.
“My kids were so proud, and I felt like all of a sudden they could be proud because they couldn’t easily understand until then,” she said, in tears. “But now they understand.”
And as a lifelong monarchist, it was another thrill for Aquino to meet Prince Harry in person. One of the things that inspired her to specialize in demining was the activism work of Harry’s mother Princess Diana.
“He said ‘You guys have got this. I brought you here for this, and I want you to make the most of it,’” she said.
When they met for a photo, Aquino gave him a hug and whispered her own personal thanks in his ear.
“He’s amazing,” she said.
Since the end of the games, Aquino and her teammates have stayed in close touch – a new network of comrades looking out for one another. She’s been reaching out to other veterans, encouraging them to apply for the next Invictus Games set for Birmingham in 2027. And she’s been tapped for a role within the Invictus Games Foundation.
If there’s anything the wider community should take away from her experience, Aquino said she hopes it is a bit of inspiration.
“You can do this … anyone with mental health issues. I think it really has brought to the forefront that it doesn’t have to be hidden,” she said.
Because of how Aquino’s story reflects the “unconquered” spirit of the games, a video sharing her story was featured in the closing ceremonies, seen by more than 500 athletes and a packed BC Place stadium.
Afterward, Aquino had strangers approach her to thank her. It means, to some extent, she can declare ‘mission accomplished.’
“There’s a lot of people that we can reach. Funnily enough, when I left Ravensview, I said I was going to sing it from the mountaintops,” she said. “And I did.”
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