The British Army soldiers fighting for Ghana and Scotland at the Commonwealth Games
Included among the ranks of elite athletes, top-level coaches and eagle-eyed officials at this year’s Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games are members of the UK Armed Forces who have been supported by their service to pursue athletic excellence.
We catch up with three of the serving personnel taking part in this year’s Games to learn about their journeys and balancing a high performing sports career with the day job of keeping us safe at home and abroad.
Lance Corporal Victor Ahiavor
1st Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, Ghana, Judo
Lance Corporal Ahiavor is a vehicle commander and gunner in the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers who will be competing in Judo for Ghana at the Commonwealth Games, shortly before deploying to Eastern Europe on NATO operations.
His service career has featured both a wide range of operational and sporting experience. Lance Corporal Ahiavor competed in the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, coached Ghana at the Rio Olympics and qualified for the 2020 Olympics, but couldn’t compete after Covid-19 forced its rescheduling.
He won a Judo World Cup silver medal in Mauritius in 2013 just a few weeks after returning from his deployment to Afghanistan, and shortly after the Commonwealth Games this year he will be deployed to Kosovo on a peacekeeping mission, and then to Estonia as part of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence. He has also served in Iraq and as part of the force protection team in Kenya.
The Army and my regiment have been really supportive of my judo career and without their support, I would never have been able to fit in the training I need.
I returned from my tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2013 and only had a few weeks to train for the African Open Championships, but I managed to come out of that with a silver World Cup medal. As soon as I’m done with this competition, I’ll be getting ready to deploy, first to Kosovo on a peacekeeping mission and then to Estonia.
I’m proud to be representing both Ghana and the British Army. The games will be seen by young people in my country, other Commonwealth nations and all over the world, so it’s an opportunity to show them that in the Army you can be anything. You can find a life and a trade and be part of the institution that is the Army. Joining was the best decision I ever made.
Ahead of the Games I’m feeling calm and really ready. I’m competing in the 100kg weight class for the first time at these Games, having previously competed in the 90kg category, so we’ll see if it’s right for me.
My motto is ‘just be happy’. Winning makes me happy, but if I lose, I’ll know what I did wrong and I can still be happy with that.
Lance Corporal Megan Reid
27 Regiment Royal Logistics Corps, Scotland, Boxing
Lance Corporal Megan Reid, 32, is a communications specialist responsible for making sure all communications devices and systems are in a fit state for operations. Originally from Duns in Scotland, she joined the Army 13 years ago and is now a full-time athlete based in Aldershot.
She got into boxing after her regiment asked her to sign up and is hoping to become the first Scottish female to medal in boxing at the Commonwealth Games. She is the only female in Scotland’s eight-strong Commonwealth boxing team, and has previously competed in three World Championships and a European Championships.
I got into boxing eight or nine years ago when the regiment wanted to recruit some females to the regimental team. I was always quite physically fit, so I thought I’d give it a go, and here I am. This is my first year pursuing boxing full-time and hopefully I’ll be reselected next year.
I definitely have hopes for a medal, gold if possible, and if I’m successful I would be the first Scottish female to medal in boxing at a Commonwealth Games. This is what I’ve been training for for the past couple of years, so I’m very excited. I don’t think I’d even be here [competing in the Games] without the support of the Army.
The UK Armed Forces are proud to support the Commonwealth Games. Alongside the elite athletes representing their country and their service, hundreds of Armed Forces personnel will provide security and ceremonial support at Birmingham 2022.
