A small group of local boosters and veterans are working to bring the 2029 Invictus Games to San Diego.
The games — launched in 2014 by Prince Harry of Great Britain — feature disabled veterans from around the world competing in an array of adaptive sports.
The competition is the subject of the 2023 Netflix documentary "Heart of Invictus."
Andy Soler is on the board of the British-American Business Association and is the co-chair of San Diego's bid committee.
He says San Diego's bid is "strong," but getting the games isn't certain.
"I think we've got a pretty strong bid," Soler said. "We're going to know if we get down to the final two in December and then it gets really serious.
The five other finalists are Denmark, Nigeria, South Korea, Ukraine and Italy.
It's going to take the community coming together for San Diego to put together a winning bid, Soler said.
"We're a strong military town," he said. "We've got a lot of veterans. We want to turn that positivity — that love of our military — and we want to show the rest of the world how San Diego looks after its military."
Navy veteran Jiesyl Rama competed with Team USA at this year's games in Vancouver.
"Adaptive sports has changed my life," Rama said. "It's given me a community ... a place to be myself and feel normal."
Rama was at wheelchair basketball practice with her service dog Hugo.
She said her life changed forever five years ago when the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard caught fire at Naval Base San Diego.
She was assigned to the USS Fitzgerald, a guided-missile destroyer moored across the pier from the Bonhomme Richard.
"We were actually responding to the fire," she said. "I happened to be outside during the second blast."
The impact of that blast threw Rama to the deck of the Fitzgerald. Her injuries were severe and ended her nine-year Navy career.
She was medically retired.
She found adaptive sports and eventually competed in the Warrior Games — the Defense Department's adaptive sports tournament. Her performance there earned her a spot on Team USA for this year's Invictus Games in Vancouver.
She said hosting the Invictus Games would do so much for San Diego's veteran community.
"You just have to be there — you have to experience it," Rama said. "Everyone who's been — it's very impactful. It's life-changing."
Steve Kappes is the director of the San Diego Wounded Warrior Tennis Program. The retired Navy captain said he's seen what adaptive sports do for people and is excited for what a winning hosting bid would do for the community.
"I've had many wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans say to me ... our tennis program has saved their lives," Kappes said. "(The Invictus Games) will shine a very bright light on the whole worlds of adaptive sports."
At 6'9", Anthony Pone loved playing able-bodied basketball. When he was in the Army in the early 2000s, a car accident took his right leg.
"I thought that the game was over for me," he said. "But when I started to play (wheelchair basketball) it was like — it's just as competitive, if not more."
Pone would go on to earn an athletics scholarship to the University of Texas at Arlington and play professionally for the Dallas Mavericks wheelchair basketball team.
He led Team USA to a gold medal in wheelchair basketball at the 2017 Invictus Games and is now training to throw shot put and discus at the 2028 Paralympic Games.
He said he wants to host the Invictus Games in San Diego to help others in their recoveries.
"I'm happy that I'm alive because there's an alternative — and I almost met that alternative in my car accident," Pone said. "So every day I'm alive, I breathe deep. It's all about (sharing) my experiences and hope they're motivated by them so they can get on their journey as well."
