Chris Jackson/Getty Images for InvictusPrince Harry continues his duties in Orlando today as one of the chairmen for the Invictus Games, an event for injured military and veterans, and he got to experience one very special moment with a United States soldier.
While presenting the awards for the swimming portion of the competition today, he met Sergeant Elizabeth Marks, 25, from Arizona who joined the military at age 17 and suffered a serious hip injury in 2010 that left her with no sensation in her leg, according to the Press Association.
Then, the night before the first games in 2014, she became gravely ill when she collapsed from respiratory distress syndrome and was put into an induced coma at the Papworth Hospital in Cambridge
Despite her hard times, however, she has battled to stay in shape, and today she saw victories in all four swimming events she entered during the 2016 games.
In fact, when Prince Harry was presenting her with a gold medal for the 100 meter freestyle, she asked him to instead give the medal to the Papworth Hospital who helped save her life.
"They absolutely saved my life and I can't thank the U.K. enough for having that kind of medical support and taking such good care of me," she said of the gesture. "So I gave Prince Harry one of my medals and hope it will find its way
back to Papworth."
She added through tears, "Thank you, I'll never be able to repay you, but what you're doing is wonderful."
Meanwhile, Prince Harry has been in Florida since last week and officially kicked off the Invictus Games in Orlando with Michelle Obama on Sunday night.
"I cannot tell you how proud and excited I am to open the second Invictus games here in the America," he told the crowd during the opening ceremony in a powerful speech. "I'm a long way from London tonight. But when I look out and I see so many familiar faces, servicemen and women, their friends and their families and all the people who have got them here - I feel like I'm at home."
Having been deployed to Afghanistan twice himself as a 10-year member of the British Army, Prince Harry witnessed the toll of war on his fellow servicemen firsthand.
"I served alongside soldiers from all over the world. I saw the sacrifices you and your families made to serve your nations. I learned about the importance of teamwork and camaraderie in a way that only military service can teach you. When I traveled back from the battlefield on a plane carrying the body of a Danish soldier and three young Brits, fighting for their lives, I began to understand the real, permanent cost of war."
He continued, "What I learned through serving was that the extraordinary privileges of being a Prince gave me an extraordinary opportunity to help my military family," he declared. "That's why I had to create the Invictus Games—to build a platform for all those who have served to prove to the world what they have to offer."
"You will see people who by rights should have died on the battlefield—but instead they are going for gold on the track or in the pool," he revealed. "You will be inspired, you will be moved, and I promise you will be entertained."