An American soldier has given her Invictus Games gold medal to the hospital team that saved her life.
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Sergeant Elizabeth Marks requested Harry give the medal to the medical team at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, as he placed it around her neck.
She was competing after suffering a hip injury in 2010 which has affected her left leg.
She told the thousands in the stands: “I was able to see a Twitter picture from the hospital thanking me, and I cried like a baby”.
Prince Harry started the Invictus Games two years ago in London and brought them to Central Florida this year. “It was premeditated, we had spoken on a different occasion about me wanting to give it to them as a token of gratitude because how do you say thanks to the people that saved your life?”
Samantha Cooke, 36, from Marlow, Buckinghamshire, said she “couldn’t resist” the chance to get close to the royal, 31, who smiled as she made eye contact.
“So, Marks explained, she chose to give Harry one of the medals she’s won at the games in the hopes that it will find its way back to Papworth”.
Doctors at Papworth Hospital in England saved her life before she was transported to an Army hospital in Germany.
“What an unbelievable night”, said Dr. Jill Biden, who was part of the presidential delegation at the Invictus Games.
Harry joined in the celebrations around the water after the United Kingdom men’s relay quartet, led by national team captain David Wiseman, won gold in the final event to add to a clutch of United Kingdom golds bagged by swimmers.
“Those medallions are the real prizes, for the years of intense rehabilitation you put yourself through to be here”, Prince Harry said.
Ken Fisher, chairman of Invictus Games Orlando 2016, welcomed the athletes and spectators.
The Invictus Games will be held next in Toronto in September 2017.
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During the Games, thousands who came in person and millions watching around world saw competition in 10 sports including wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, wheelchair rugby, indoor rowing, and track and field.
