A silver medal and many golden moments for Lynn RAF veteran

A former RAF intelligence analyst has overcome a severe hip injury to win a silver medal at the Invictus Games in Canada, where he represented Team UK.Peter Lauder, 45, from Lynn, served in the RAF and did tours of Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan before being diagnosed with fractured necrosis of the femur.However, in the years since, Lauder, who underwent a hip replacement which extended to the knee, resulting in nerve damage, loss of feeling and one leg being left shorter than the other, has battled back with help and support from the Royal British Legion.Reflecting on his experience, Lauder said: “It was an awesome experience and I can’t thank the Royal British Legion enough for picking me and allowing me to have this opportunity.”Vancouver was a lovely city and Whistler was so majestic, going on the peak to peak gondola, all the snow, the view from the top of the mountains was mind blowing, especially as it was -20 degrees C.”The event was mind blowing, awe inspiring and epic. Having my wife and daughter with us made it that extra bit special, to allow them to see us in action and to cheer us on.”Having other nations cheering us on too, was mind-blowing. The feeling as you walk out into the stadium and hearing people cheering you on, gives you goose bumps.” Competing in the wheelchair rugby, Lauder helped the team reach the final after wins over New Zealand and Italy in the pool stages, before defeating long-time rivals Australia 28-9 in the last four. In the final, a strong second half display from Farance saw them emerge victorious with a 19-14 win.Lauder said: “Going into it we knew it was going to be tough. Our first game in the tournament was NZ, which we knew was a tough test, but we stuck to our game plan, followed our coach’s advice and came away with the win (16-10).”Next was Italy, which we won (18-3). This gave us a semi-final against Australia, always a grudge match. “We were nervous before the game and it started at a frantic pace, but we put big hits in and two of us being tall in our chairs we used that to our advantage to win.”This left France in the gold medal match. We knew this would be a tough game, as they had been training with their paralympic squad for two years before this, it was a lot harder. “It was end to end and close at half time, but superior fitness and use of subs, France ran out winners.”The RAF veteran also competed in the indoor rowing and sitting volleyball. Lauder, who now works as an information analyst for the NHS, dealing in mental health and child services, came away with so many memories.”I will admit at the final whistle I broke down in tears, realising a tough 10 months of training had come to an end and brought rewards, but hard work pays off,” he said.”Not even thinking about medals, my ‘gold medal moment’ was scoring my first try for Team UK, meeting Richie McCaw (All Blacks rugby legend) and walking out at the opening ceremony.”However, the one that sticks in my mind and still gives me goose bumps was when rolling out for the gold medal match in wheelchair rugby into the stadium in front of a 5000 sell-out crowd as your name is announced and hearing everyone cheering you on.”Seeing my wife and daughter in the front row, right on courtside to watch was so special.”