Veteran and Olympic champion Pete Reed made honorary Royal Navy captain

Three-time Olympic rowing champion Pete Reed has been made an honorary captain in the Royal Navy.

The Armed Forces veteran was medically discharged from the Navy earlier this year, having suffered a spinal stroke that left him paralysed from the waist down, in 2019.

It followed an international rowing career in which he won three Olympic titles, five world championships and was awarded an OBE.

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In a tweet, he said: "It is my great pleasure & privilege to share the news that His Majesty has approved my appointment as an Honorary Captain in the Royal Navy.

"Thank you to the Admiralty Board for welcoming me back as an advisor, advocate & critical friend. I'm here for every Rate & Rank. Onwards."

In 2021, Captain Reed helped to raise thousands of pounds in a charity challenge.

Speaking the same year, he said he wanted to help others in a similar situation to himself, saying: "One of those things I want to do is teach people with a spinal cord injury just how much there is to do in life.

"When you are lying in your hospital bed having just had a trauma, it feels like life is over and it really isn't.

"It can take a while to come back and a lot of hard work but a new life is just beginning. It's worth working for," he added.