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Defense Department's 2026, 2028 Warrior Games coming to San Antonio

The games were supposed to take place in the Alamo City in 2020 but were canceled by the pandemic.

By Sanford Nowlin on Tue, Aug 13, 2024 at 9:54 am

Public Domain / Pfc. Julie Driver

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Shawn Runnells, Team Army athletes, competes in wheelchair basketball during the 2018 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

San Antonio will host the Department of Defense Warrior Games in 2026 and 2028, giving Military City USA a second shot at the distinction after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled plans to hold the event here in 2020.

U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, which oversees the games, revealed the location of the upcoming games on Tuesday. The 2025 installment will take place in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

First held in 2010, the annual Warrior Games brings together hundreds of wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans to compete in adaptive sporting events such as wheelchair basketball, cycling, indoor rowing and more.

“We’re excited to welcome the Department of Defense Warrior Games and recognize our wounded, ill or injured service members in Military City, USA, home of the DoD’s largest medical center,” Jenny Carnes, CEO of San Antonio Sports, which worked with the City of San Antonio to attract the competition, said in an emailed statement.

"We know that this competition is about more than just athletics," Carnes added.
"We look forward to celebrating sport as a means of empowering individuals, giving confidence, strengthening community and being an integral part of the recovery journey.”

The competition typically attracts some 250 athletes from five teams representing branches of the U.S. military along with teams invited from the armed forces of ally nations, said Travis Claytor, the Warrior Games' communication director. Support staff combined with athletes' friends and family tend to account for another 500 to 700 attendees.

While Claytor said past competitions have drawn local and regional spectators, he declined to speculate how many might attend the San Antonio event.

“We are excited to host this event in locations with a deep tradition of supporting the military, especially those service members going through recovery journeys. These men and women deserve our support as they overcome these obstacles,” Gen. Gary Brito, commanding general of TRADOC, said in a statement.

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