A MANGER of a clothing store in Festival Place will be jetting off to the Invictus Games after turning her life around through exercise.

Carly Ward will be swapping Superdry for Sydney in an ambassador role after submitting an emotional two-minute video detailing how she transformed her physical and mental fitness through exercise, losing three-and-a-half stone and raising £1,000 for The Prince’s Trust by running the Bournemouth half marathon last year.

The store manager’s video was picked as the winner from hundreds of entries, and she will now travel to Sydney to represent Superdry, who are the official sportswear partner for Team UK during the games, which run from October 20-27.

“I entered because I wanted to raise the profile of mental health issues and highlight how supportive Superdry has been,” Carly said.

“My dad took his own life when I was 19. He suffered from fibromyalgia which is very painful, and the condition really affected his mental health. The stigma around mental health was a lot worse then, especially for men.

“As a result of losing my father, my own mental health declined, but I hid it. I had seen the reaction to my father and so I didn’t get help.

“Two years ago, my hair started to fall out and it took a long time for me to realise that this was linked to me bottling up feelings and not getting help. I finally went to the doctor and was given medication which helped but made me put on a lot of weight.”

She added: “I decided to sort myself out and started exercising. It was time to put myself first and get myself back to better health.

“I’m now coping much better and, because I know what triggers my anxiety, I am able to work around that. Superdry has been very supportive of me and made some changes at work which helped me.”

The Invictus Games were created by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, in which wounded, injured or sick service personnel and veterans take part in sports, including: wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, and indoor rowing.

Launching the first Invictus Games in London in 2014, Prince Harry said that the Games would “demonstrate the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and demonstrate life beyond disability.”

This year’s Games in Australia will see more than 500 competitors from 17 nations expected to take part in 10 different adaptive sports. Events will be held across Greater Sydney, including Sydney Olympic Park and on and around Sydney Harbour.