Prince Harry has fired up the spirits of Australian veterans hoping to compete in the Invictus Games, urging them to train hard for what he says is one of the most competitive and inspiring sports events in the world.
Amid torrential downpours, the prince spent the day in Sydney meeting Invictus team members and watching them work up a sweat demonstrating sports including wheelchair basketball as he kicked off the 500-day countdown to when the harbour city hosts the Games in 2018.
Many hope to secure a spot in the team heading to this September's games in Toronto, where 550 wounded and ill veterans from 17 nations will compete in 12 adaptive sports.
"That team is exactly what's been missing for so many of them," Harry told a crowd after watching wheelchair basketball and seated volleyball at Sydney's Overseas Passenger Terminal.
"That ability to serve their country again, that chance to wear the Australian flag on their chest or on their shoulder and to be part of a team, and to have a purpose again."
Harry, who came up with the idea for the Invictus Games towards the end of his decade in the British army, declared "game on" for Sydney.
He urged Australian veterans to "put every single hour or work into training" before the games come to town in October 2018.
"The sport that you will see in front of you will be some of the best, most competitive and uplifting and most inspiring you've ever seen," he said.
A slightly soggy Harry arrived at the sports demonstration after taking to a choppy Sydney Harbour to watch veterans demonstrate their sailing skills.
He met some of them earlier across the harbour at Admiralty House when he launched the countdown to the Sydney games, watched on by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove.
Jeff Wright, an army veteran of 20 years from Townsville who hopes to secure a spot in the wheelchair basketball and rugby teams for Toronto, said Harry's enthusiasm for helping veterans through sport was infectious.
"We feed off that passion," he told AAP.
Jamie Tanner, a former army corporal from Ballina in northern NSW who served in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, said the games allowed veterans to reconnect with their "military family".
"Harry being here is hugely important, not just for us as athletes but also for the general population to see how much input someone like he has in educating people about the issues that veterans face," said the 34-year-old who hopes to play wheelchair tennis, rugby and basketball in Toronto.
But the prince's day wasn't all just about sport.
Harry made time to chat with 97-year-old Daphne Dunne, who braved torrential downpours to wait in her wheelchair to see Harry at Circular Quay along with about 200 other fans.
"He's marvellous. I've met him before and he's an absolute gem," a delighted Ms Dunne told AAP.
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