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After Britain's Prince Harry presented Army Staff Sgt. Elizabeth
Marks with the four gold medals she had earned in swimming at the
2016 Invictus Games here May 11, 2016 ... Marks asked him to present
one to the Papworth Hospital in London, where the staff saved her
life two years ago while she was there to compete in the inaugural
Games.
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Prince Harry presents a gold medal to U.S. Army Sgt. Elizabeth Marks
at the 2016 Invictus Games in Orlando, Fla., May 11, 2016. Marks won
the gold medal with a time of 42:67 seconds. (U.S. Air Force photo
by Staff Sgt. Carlin Leslie)
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“It was my chance to thank everybody. They ultimately saved my
life,” said Marks, who earned gold medals in the 50-meter
backstroke, 50-meter breaststroke, 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter
freestyle.
During the closing ceremony for the Invictus Games, Prince Harry
said he was inspired by athletes like Marks who showed courage to
make it to the starting line and give it their all.
“The
competition has been fierce, with performances at the highest
international standard across a number of events, but what inspired
me was the courage to make it to the starting line, to take to the
field or to dive into that pool, motivated by the goal of giving
your all, medal or no medal,” he said to the athletes. “You showed
your families, your friends and yourselves just how far you've come
regardless of the results. I know by your nature you all want to
win, but these games are so much more than that. Invictus is so much
more than that.
“What is the force that drives Elizabeth
Marks to return to these games after nearly dying two years ago to
compete now at the highest level in a sport that renders her blind
and faint, Invictus,” he continued. “You are all Invictus. You are
all now ambassadors of the spirit of these games. Never stop
fighting, and do everything you can to lift everyone around you.”
When Marks had landed in London for the 2014 inaugural Invictus
Games, she had gone into respiratory failure and had been put on
life support. She was put on a machine known as ECMO --
extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, which works as an external lung
-- for 10 days. She was put into an induced coma.
Her older
brother, Jacob Marks, was there by her side.
“It was
terrifying,” he said. “I felt very lucky to be there, though, to be
there by her side. I will be forever grateful. There was a huge team
around her, and she received great care at Papworth. I don't know
anywhere else where she would've gotten that kind of care. I feel
very lucky she was where she was and got the care she got. She may
not have made it in a lot of other places.”
Marks said she
was so grateful for the care she received that she asked Prince
Harry if he would present one of her gold medals to the hospital.
“It's the only way I could really thank them for saving my
life,” she said. “These gold medals are a direct reflection of all
the love and support I've had. It's not so much that I've earned
them, but that the Invictus team has earned them as a whole.”
Invictus Games, Take 2
Marks said getting to compete in Invictus this time was a chance for
her to thank her friends and family for the love and support they've
shown her throughout her recovery.
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Army Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Marks swims for gold during the 2016 Invictus Games in Orlando, Fla., May 11, 2016.
(DoD photo by EJ Hersom)
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“When I was on life support, they took the time to send me
pictures and to send me love,” she said. “When I woke up off
life support and out of my coma, it meant everything to me,
and I cried like a baby. It felt like I wasn't absent from
it. It felt like a part of me was there, because I was there
with my friends and the people I love. I consider them my
family. It means everything to me to be able to do that
again.”
Marks said athletes from many nations have
supported her on her journey.
“Athletes from every country have supported me. The French
have been super supportive, the Netherlands, the [United
Kingdom], they've all reached out and shared love with me on
my whole athletic journey and my journey through recovery,”
she said. “There's no country or service branch barrier.
It's just, ‘You're a soldier, and we love you. We hope
you're OK,' and that's meant the world to me.”
Family Support
Marks's sister, Maggie Cook, said it was a treat to see her
sister compete professionally for the first time. “It was
indescribable,” she said. “It's a huge treat, and with the
Invictus spirit in the air, she's just really incredible.”
Cook said she's proud of how far Marks
has come since London. “She's really pushed hard and done a
good job,” she added.
Marks said she was happy to
have her family in the stands, cheering her on. “At the last
Invictus Games, my brother had to watch me in [the intensive
care unit] on life support, so this was nice for him to get
to see that I'm OK,” she said. “And it's wonderful because
my sister is pregnant, so my beautiful baby niece got to
come and see her aunt swim. It's really nice I got to share
what I actually do for a living now.”
Jacob Marks
said he's proud of his baby sister, and that sometimes it
feels like she's the older sister. “I look up to her like
she's my older sister -- she's a great mentor,” he said.
“She's always working so hard and stays positive. It makes
me want to be a better person.”
Road to Rio
Marks
originally injured her hips during a deployment to Iraq in
2010, while serving as a medical assistant. She's had three
hip surgeries, and due to decreased mobility in her legs,
she is Paralympic-eligible.
Since London,
Marks broke her own American record in the 200-meter
breaststroke and won four gold medals and two silver medals
at the California Classic meet. In addition to setting the
world record in the 50-meter breaststroke in January, she
also broke the American and Pan American records in the
200-meter breaststroke with a time of 3:17.89. She broke
Jessica Long's SB7 world record in the 50-meter breaststroke
with a time of 41.21 seconds.
She was also the first
swimmer and first woman in the Army's World Class Athlete
Program. She encourages others to join the program. “Now
that we have a route, I want more people to come down to it
with me. It's life-saving, life-changing and it's beautiful.
I want to share it,” she said.
In September, Marks
said, she hopes to represent the Army and her country at the
2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, which has been her
goal since the very start of her Paralympic swimming career.
“I have the trials at the end of June, and I'm very
nervous,” she said. “Hopefully, I'll be able to earn a slot.
I've been training very hard and trying very hard to get to
Rio. Hopefully along that path, I'll be able to encourage
more soldiers to get into the pool because everyone's
welcome.”
Marks said she encourages all disabled
service members and veterans to give adaptive sports a try.
She said she continues to swim as a way to thank her fellow
service members for their service.
“There's not a
second I get into that pool or under the block that you guys
aren't on my mind,” she said. “Every time I swim, it's quite
painful, but the pain is nothing compared to the sacrifice
that my brothers and sisters make every day, so it's my way
to carry them with me. You guys push me and drive me and
make me believe in what I'm doing. It's not for a medal or a
time. It's for a lot more than that.”
Marks said she
thanks everyone who has supported her and continues to
support her on her journey.
“I'd just like to thank
Prince Harry for the Invictus Games,” she said. “I'd like to
thank the U.S. Army for standing behind every second of
every recovery I put you through, and for all of the
veterans who maybe haven't come out yet. I want to thank you
for your service, for your dedication, for your country. I
love you and care about you, and I hope you can come join
me.”
By Shannon Collins
DOD News
Copyright 2016
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