Invictus Games US swimmer gives gold back to Prince Harry for a good reason

Prince Harry was handed back an Invictus Games gold medal by an American soldier for a good reason. Sgt. Elizabeth Marks returned her prize to the British prince, asking him to hand it to the medical team in Cambridgeshire as a thank you for saving her life.

The 25-year-old military medic was a participant at the Invictus Games, winning all four of the swimming events that she entered in. But instead of taking them all home, she decided to give one to the people who deserved it.

When Prince Harry awarded Marks her gold medal for 100m freestyle on Wednesday, Marks handed it back to him a few minutes later. She has asked the prince to give the medal to the medical team at Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire.

As she explained, the British medical facility saved her life in 2014. She arrived in London to compete in the Invictus Games that year, but she ended up with a grave lung condition on the eve of the first games. She was then put into an induced coma, waking up 10 days later in an army hospital in Germany.

“I was in hospital in London and went into respiratory distress syndrome, they shopped a team down from Papworth who put me on to ECMO (extra corporeal membrane oxygenation) life support and that ultimately saved my life,” she was quoted by the BBC as saying.

“But they absolutely saved my life and I can’t thank the UK enough for having that kind of medical support and taking such good care of me,” she said, adding, “So I gave Prince Harry one of my medals and hope it will find its way back to Papworth.”

Marks, who has served in the US army since she was 17, also praised the National Health Service of England, saying, “Thank you, I’ll never be able to repay you, but what you’re doing is wonderful.”

Marks suffered from a serious hip injury in 2010, leaving her with no sensation in her left leg.

Claire Tripp, Papworth’s temporary chief executive, was “delighted” by Marks’ achievement and gift, while Roger Hall, the hospital’s medical director, described her donation as “generous and unexpected.”

The Paralympic-style 2016 Invictus Games kicked off Sunday in Orlando, Florida, in the US, and concluded Thursday. It was launched by Harry in 2014 for wounded or sick soldiers and veterans. It features hundreds of participants from 14 invited countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Canada.