US soldier asks Prince Harry to give Invictus medal to UK hospital which saved her life

A US soldier has given her Invictus Games gold medal to Prince Harry to return to the medical team who saved her life at a hospital in Cambridge.

Sergeant Elizabeth Marks publicly asked the Prince to return it to Papworth Hospital after he placed it around her neck.

The 25-year-old, from Arizona, became gravely ill on the eve of the first games in 2014, when she collapsed with a serious lung condition and was put into an induced coma.

Prince Harry chats with USA Invictus Team Member Elizabeth Marks in the competitor's tent at the swimming pool during the Invictus Games in Florida. Credit: PA
Prince Harry presents Sergeant Elizabeth Marks with a gold medal at the Invictus Games. Credit: Reuters
Sergeant Elizabeth Marks paid tribute to the NHS for the care they gave her. Credit: Reuters

Sgt Marks, who joined the US army aged 17, suffered a serious hip injury in 2010 which left her with no sensation in her left leg but she has battled back to fitness and still serves in the military.

Fighting back the tears, she paid tribute to the NHS, saying:

She won all four swimming events she entered at the Invictus Games for injured military and veterans, but decided to give her 100 metre freestyle gold to the hospital as it had been touched by the Prince, she said.

Prince Harry tries on Elizabeth Marks' Team USA jersey in the competitor's tent at the Invictus Games. Credit: PA