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Six months after first learning to ski, Captain Olivia Miley-Dyer stood on the podium at the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 in Canada, holding Australia’s first medal of the competition. For her, the gold in Nordic skiing was more than a competition win.

“Knowing I could take up a new sport, try new things and perform at a high level for the first time since my treatment was a huge mental and physical victory for me,” Olivia said.

“I grew up by the beach and had never skied before joining Team Australia at the Invictus Games. My family and I were completely shocked when I won. They had never even seen me ski before, as I had only done it twice in the lead up to the games.”

Olivia will bring her story to the ���������¼� Canberra University Lecture, where she’ll explore the importance of mindset, keeping yourself accountable and being a part of a team.

Olivia was diagnosed with advanced thyroid cancer during the COVID pandemic and underwent a nine-hour bilateral neck dissection, which required the nerves and muscles across her neck to be cut. After only a short recovery period, she began systemic radiation.

“During treatment, I lost a lifetime of health and fitness, and with it, I lost a huge amount of confidence and sense of self-worth,” she said.

“Sport has always been a huge part of my life, and being a competitive athlete was intrinsic to my identity.

“At the start of my recovery I had a hard time accepting my ‘new normal’. I had to relearn to swim and run and often felt like I was taking three steps forward and ten steps backwards.”

Olivia went into her one-year scans confident, like many other cancer patients, that she had beaten it and would be given the all-clear. Instead, she was told the cancer had spread to her chest and lungs and was back in hospital the next day for further treatment.

“I quickly realised that when faced with the worst-case scenario the only thing that brought me comfort was the knowledge that every decision I had made up to that point had given my body the best chance of recovering,” Olivia explained.

“This marked a shift in my journey, as I came to accept that this was not a short-term detour in my life, with a quick fix. Instead, it was something that would require a more long-term recovery journey.”

Being diagnosed during the pandemic was very isolating, so applying for and joining Team Australia for the Invictus Games gave Olivia the opportunity to be a part of a team again with people who have similar life experience to her. The Invictus Games are an international sporting event where wounded, sick or ill military personnel, both actively serving and veterans, compete in a range of sports.

“Watching what my teammates, as well as all the international competitors, have been able to achieve and overcome has been so inspiring. Being part of this team and the broader Invictus community has lifted me up and inspired me to be better each and every day,” she said.

Now, Olivia is rebuilding her strength, returning to running and surfing, and looking to restart her studies. She is also reframing what resilience means.

“To me being anti-fragile is to go through a shock that breaks you and instead of coming back the same, you rebuild to come back better and grow stronger in the face of stress and volatility,” she said.

“I found this change in mindset has helped me focus on how I can grow from life’s challenges, rather than focus on what I have lost and constantly trying to recapture my pre-cancer self.”

Her recovery has also been buoyed by music, especially Taylor Swift. Attending four different nights of the Eras Tour, each with a new outfit, Olivia delayed a round of scans to attend each concert.   

“On my worst days, when I felt so sick and overwhelmed thinking about how the hell I was going to get through treatment, I would listen to Red (Taylor’s Version) as this was the only thing that brought me a sense of calm. So, to be well enough to attend the Eras Tour was a huge personal victory for me,” she said.

As she prepares to step onto the ���������¼� stage, Olivia hopes students leave with a message of hope, accountability, and teamwork.

“You are going to face setbacks, sometimes unimaginable ones. But the worst-case scenario won’t permanently break you. If you hold yourself accountable, stay true to who you are, and work as part of a team, you can come back stronger than you ever thought possible.”